WHAT’S THE BUZZ, TELL ME WHAT’S A HAPPENNIN’

* VERY IMPORTANT!  Please read, and share, my “Open Letter to the Leaders of the Republican Party” in the June “issue” of THE LIBERTY TIMES.

 

* Kay Bell, the yellow rose of taxes, tells us “Private tax bill collectors already breaking rules says TIGTA” at DON’T MESS WITH TAXES.

 

No surprise here.  As Kay starts her post –

 

“Most of us suspected it would happen. We just didn't think it would happen so soon.

 

‘It’ is apparent disregard by some private debt collectors of the rules established in connection with the collection agencies' latest congressionally mandated foray into federal tax collection.”

 

Forcing the IRS to use private collection agencies is, as it was in the past, a stupid idea.

 

There is no doubt, certainly for me, that Kay’s bottom line prophesy will be proven true -

 

“Based on prior experiences and early reports of the 2107 program, it's likely to be a third lose-lose for taxpayers and the IRS.”

 

* Kay Bell also explains “529 college saving plan perks and pitfalls” in an earlier post.

 

I like the 529 Plan.  However, as Kay correctly points out - “There is no tax deduction at the federal level for these contributions.”  However you may be able to get a state tax deduction.

 

* And I finish a Kay Bell “trifecta” with “4 summer tax matters to consider in June”.

 

* Here is one more example where the “Tax Court says taxpayers can’t blame DIY programs” provided by Roger Russell at ACCOUNTING TODAY.

 

The court in this case showed real wisdom when assessing an additional penalty for the taxpayer’s FUs -

 

“Although Bulakites claimed that his tax software made him do it, the court reasoned that, ‘Tax preparation software is only as good as the information one inputs into it’.”

 

How many times must I say this – No software package is a substitute for knowledge of the Tax Code, and no tax software package is a substitute for a competent, experienced tax professional.

 

* Jason Dinesen reposts a “blast from the past” with important information for taxpayers with rental properties at DINESEN TAX TIMES – “From the Archives: Rental Properties and Basis Allocation”.

 

* Speaking of a “blast from the past”, Jim Blankenship recently tweeted a 2012 post from GETTING YOUR FINANCIAL DUCKS IN A ROW on “5 Facts You Need to Know About Your Retirement Plan” that is still relevant today.

 

* And in a new post Jim talks about “Higher Education Expenses Paid From an IRA”.

 

I touched on the same topic in my post “Don’t Touch That 401(k)!”.

 

* Kelly Phillips Erb, FORBES.COM’s TaxGirl, tells us “States Offer Sales Tax Holidays For 2017 Beginning In Summer”.

 

The post provides alphabetical lists of the states that will and may be offering sales tax holidays this summer and the specific items to which the “holiday” applies.

 

* Also from FORBES.COM, Tony Nitti gives us a primer on “When It Comes To Tax Time, Who Is A Dependent?”

 

* A recent “tweet” from the IRS Taxpayer Advocate –

 

“Do you have suggestions about tax reform? Share them with TAS on the Tax Toolkit.”  

 

Click here to send Nina your tax reform suggestions.  I sent her mine a year or so ago.

 

* Over at INVESTMENT NEWS Greg Iacurci discusses “The appeal and pitfalls of holding unconventional assets in retirement accounts”.

 

I have a client who holds rental real estate in his traditional IRA.  Greg is correct when he tells us “While non-traditional asset classes held in individual retirement accounts may have return and portfolio diversification benefits, there are ‘unique complexities’."

 

THE FINAL WORD

 

Part 1 –

 

Denouncing and opposing nut job Trump, and calling for his removal from office, is NOT political.

 

I do not denounce and oppose Trump because he is Republican and I am a Democrat.  I voted for Romney in the 2012 Presidential election.

 

I do not denounce and oppose Trump because he is conservative and I am a liberal.  I am conservative on some issues and liberal on others.  During the campaign I urged those who could not in good conscience vote for Hillary Clinton to support the Libertarian Party candidate Gary Johnson.

 

I denounce and oppose Trump because he is a dangerous, delusional, ignorant, mentally unstable malignant narcissist.  He must be removed from office before he does any more damage to America and the world.

 

Denouncing and opposing nut job Trump, and calling for his removal from office, is not political - it is patriotism!

 

I will continue to speak out against Trump, my patriotic duty, here and in social media until he is removed from office.

 

Part 2 –

 

An excellent assessment of the current White House from a New York Times editorial by Nicholas Kristof titled “On a Portland Train, the Battlefield of American Values” -

 

"Today’s White House seems to stand for nothing loftier than crony capitalism and the scapegoating of refugees, Muslims and immigrants. To me, Trump ‘values ‘ primarily narcissism, nepotism and nihilism.

 

And this is infectious: Cass Sunstein of Harvard cites psychology research indicating that Trump has made it more acceptable for Americans to embrace xenophobia. I wrote last year that “Donald Trump is making America meaner,” prompting bigotry in rural Oregon where I grew up, and around the country.

 

What the three men in Oregon understood, but the White House doesn’t, is that in a healthy society, Islamophobia doesn’t disparage just Muslims, racism doesn’t demean blacks alone, misogyny hurts more than women, xenophobia insults more than immigrants. Rather, we are all diminished, so we all have a stake in confronting bigotry."

 

TTFN