Today's BUZZ is so meaty!
* Tax pros, PLEASE check out the December “issue”
of THE TAX PROFESSIONAL and let me know your comments on my “Soapbox”
editorial.
* On Thursday two of my articles appeared at
MAINSTREET.COM -
* Also at MAINSTREET.COM - “You Won't Guess The Most - and the Least - Corrupt States in America” by Robert McGarvey. Surprisingly, it’s not New Jersey!
“You
knew New Jersey ranked near the top of the most corrupt states in America.
Everybody knows that. But did you know that, hands down, the state with the
most criminal corruption involving elected officials is Arizona?”
The least corrupt - Massachusetts and
Vermont.
There is illegal corruption and “legal”
corruption (NJ is high on list of both).
“Legal” corruption is defined as “the
political gains in the form of campaign contributions or endorsements by a
government official, in exchange for providing specific benefits to private
individuals or groups, be it by explicit or implicit understanding.”
Click here for the actual report referenced
in the article.
* Any takers for $1.00 tax guides from MY DOLLAR STORE? They make great stocking
stuffers for adults.
* There is a new timely post up at BOB’S
BABBLINGS – it discusses using “Debit Cards vs Credit Cards” when it comes to
online holiday shopping (actually online shopping at any time of the year).
* Jason Dinesen embarks on a series of
posts to elaborate on the items he listed in his previous post “5 Things About
EAs” with “We’ve Been Around Since 1884” followed by, perhaps the most
important “thing”, “We Don’t Work for the IRS”.
“2014
marked the 130th anniversary of the Enrolled Agent designation, but the
anniversary passed with little fanfare.”
The EA designation was created in
legislation “informally called the ‘Horse
Act’.” Originally the Enrolled Agent
acted as an agent on behalf of a citizen claims against the government for lost
horses and other property damage during the Civil War.
Many, myself included, feel that the name
Enrolled Agent should be changed. Jason
says –
“. .
. it’s not the name that’s the problem, it’s the lack of recognition. Nearly
90% of the public has never heard of an EA.”
* Jon Swaner of WTHITV10 tells us to
“Expect Rough 2015 Tax Season”.
* Need more proof that (1) refundable tax
credits are a magnet for fraud and should be banned from the Tax Code, and (2)
the Tax Code should not be used to distribute federal welfare payments? Just read “IRS Urged to Crack Down on Improper EITC and ACTC Payments” by Michael Cohn at TAXPRO TODAY (highlights
are mine – and fyi, ACTC stands for the Additional Child Tax Credit, which can
be refundable) -
“Using
IRS data, TIGTA estimated the potential
ACTC improper payment rate for
fiscal year 2013 is between 25.2 percent and 30.5 percent, with potential ACTC improper payments totaling
between $5.9 billion and $7.1 billion. In addition, IRS enforcement data
show the root causes of improper ACTC payments are similar to those of the EITC.
The IRS estimated
that it paid $63 billion in refundable EITCs and $26.6 billion in refundable
ACTCs for tax year 2012. The IRS also estimated that 24 percent of all EITC payments made in fiscal year 2013, or $14.5
billion, were paid in error.”
* E. Hans Lundsten and Joseph Marion, III
explain how “Saving for College is Also Good for your Estate Plan” at JDSUPRA
BUSINESS ADVISOR.
* Wednesday’s CCH daily TAX HEADLINES email
newsletter reports “Coburn Releases Report “Decoding” the Tax Code” –
“Sen.
Tom Coburn, R-Okla., on December 9 issued a new report highlighting over $900
billion of “giveaways” throughout the tax code. More than 165 tax expenditures
worth over $900 billion in 2014 and more than $5 trillion over the next five
years are revealed in “Tax Decoder,” a new report about the tax code.”
I will continue to refer to the members of
Congress as idiots as long as they continue to act like idiots – but I will
also acknowledge a Congressperson who actually says something smart (a
rarity). The CCH piece quotes Coburn as
correctly stating –
“Ideally,
Congress would throw out the entire tax code and start over, but at the very
least the code should be made simpler, fairer and flatter.”
* I agree with Joe Kristan, who, in a
response to my post on Donor-Advised Funds included in his Wednesday “TaxRoundup, 12/10/14: Extender bill lives, permanent charitable extender bill doesn’t. And: don’t just buy it; install it!” at the ROTH AND COMPANY TAX
UPDATE BLOG, said -
“For
at least 99.99% of taxpayers, these are far better than setting up a private
foundation.”
* Tax Mama Eva Rosenberg deals with the
question “How Old Do You Have to Be to File Taxes?” at EQUIFAX -
“Is
there an age limit when it comes to paying taxes? No. Age has nothing to do
with taxes; it’s all about income.”
I have dealt with this question from a different
perspective over the years – “How Old Do You Have to Be to Stop Paying
Taxes?” The answer is the same.
As I have said many times before, you pay
taxes if you have sufficient taxable income – whether you are 1 years old or
101 years old. And you pay FICA tax
(Social Security and Medicare) if you have earned income (W-2 or
self-employment) – whether you are 1 years old or 101 years old.
* While we are still waiting for the idiots
in the Senate to pass an extender bill, we hear from Laura Prabucki and William
La Jeunesse of FOX NEWS POLITICS that “Congress Prepares to Extend Tax Breaks for Horse Owners, Film Industry and More” –
“While
you might lose money betting on the tracks, some race horse owners are making
millions -- and with the help of the U.S. tax code, they can write off the cost
of their thoroughbreds.
That's just one of
55 tax "extenders," worth up to $44 billion, currently being debated
by Congress.”
The House has extended for one year ALL of
the “tax extenders”. While we hear about
the “extenders” that affect the 1040 – the deductions for educator expenses,
tuition and fees, and state and local sales tax among them – the full list
includes loopholes for specific business activities.
I certainly agree that many of these
specialized loopholes should not be in the Tax Code – including the 1040 deduction
as mortgage interest for mortgage insurance premiums – and really should not be
extended. But at this point there is no
time for the idiots to pick and choose, with those members whose pockets are
lined by the recipients of the individual specialized loopholes wasting more time
fighting to keep the loophole that they are paid to champion, regardless of its
“appropriateness”. Just vote them all in
or all out and be done with it.
TTFN
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