Saturday, December 17, 2011

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

I’m back!  Check out my Monday and Tuesday posts next week to learn about my trip and what I learned.

Since I was gone most of the week the BUZZ is a bit brief today.  It should be more “meaty” next Wednesday.

+ And if you have not already done so - check out the December issue of LOIS.

+ Great news as Trish McIntire tells us of “RAL's Last Day” at OUR TAXING TIMES.

A RAL is a “refund anticipation loan”.  RALs are no good – they usually have usurious interest rates and excessive fees.

The last day any taxpayer can get a Refund Anticipation Loan will be April 30, 2012. After that, you'll have to find another source for a high interest loan on your tax return.  And prior to April 30th, it's going to be hard to find a RAL because only one bank, Republic, will be offering the loans.”

However Republic “will continue to offer Refund Anticipation Checks (RAC)”, which are not loans.  So Henry and Richard will still be able to screw clients.

+ And Trish has a great way to solve the problems with the idiots in Congress in “Congressional Life Swap”.

That’s It Congress! I’ve had it with your refusal to do your jobs and your ability to reduce everything you do to a pissing match or a huge game of Chicken. I was at lost for a solution but I think I’ve come up with plan.”

Check out Trish’s plan and see what you think.

+ The Tax Foundation has created a “Presidential Candidate Tax Plan Comparison” tool to allow you to compare the plans proposed by the Republican candidates.

+ TAX GIRL Kelly Phillips Erb reports at FORBES.COM that “Richard Hatch ReleasedFrom Prison (Again)”.

The post ends on a disturbing note –

Hatch has claimed that he no longer has any money remaining. You and I both know what that means: more reality TV.

+ Bill Perez makes a good point in his post “Year-End Tax Tips for Self-Employed Persons” at ABOUT.COM–TAX PLANNING:US.

Normally, tax people tout the merits of deferring income into the following year and moving expenses into this year. But 2011 may be an ideal year for self-employed people to adopt the opposite strategy, that is, to accelerate income now and wait until 2012 to incur additional expenses. What I have in mind here is the lower self-employment tax rate in 2011 (13.3% instead of the usual 15.3%) and the fact that the income base for the Social Security portion of the self-employment tax will be increasing for 2012 (from $106,800 in 2011 to $110,100 in 2012).”

Of course this will only work if the idiots in Congress fail to extend or expand the “payroll tax holiday” to 2012, as they are now attempting to do. 

Once again a delay till literally the very last minute by these idiots causes confusion, uncertainty, and agita for year-end tax planning.

THIS JUST IN –

It looks like the “payroll tax holiday” will be extended for 2 months so the idiots in Congress have more time to “think” about it.  What fools!

TTFN

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