* From the NJ Division of Taxation summer
newsletter -
"The
following jurisdictions are conducting tax amnesty programs. During the
designated amnesty period, taxpayers have a chance to pay back taxes with
reduced (or eliminated) penalty and/or interest. For more information,
including eligibility requirements, or to obtain an application, visit the jurisdiction’s
website.
* The NJDOT newsletter also reported –
“P.L.
2015, c.73, signed into law on July 6, 2015, and effective immediately, amends
the New Jersey Gross Income Tax Act to increase the amount of the New Jersey
earned income tax credit from 20 percent of the federal earned income credit to
30 percent for tax years beginning on and after Jan. 1, 2015.”
FYI, it is my belief that the Earned Income
Credit does not belong on either the federal Form 1040 or the NJ-1040.
* Dr. Jean Murray’s recent online
newsletter on business taxes from ABOUT.COM covers “S Corporations and Single-member LLCs”.
* Bill Perez, also from ABOUT.COM, shares
some advice on how to “Communicate Effectively with Your Tax Preparer”.
* Barbara Weltman makes a good point in “Time Cards for Owners?” at BARBARA’S BLOG –
“The
question I raise is should every business owner clock in and out each day? From
a tax perspective, it can’t hurt.”
* Check out “The Jason Dinesen Plan for Preparer Regulation” at DINESEN TAX TIMES.
Jason feels that the IRS is already
regulating tax preparers via the PTIN program – and that is enough.
I do not support regulation of the tax
preparer industry by the IRS or any other government agency, and agree with
Jason that PTIN registration is sufficient.
But I do support the establishment of a universally accepted independent
voluntary tax preparer credential – not to “regulate” tax professionals but to
provide a way to acknowledge their competence and currency and to help the
taxpayer public identify competent and current preparers.
* And Jason continues his tutorial on “Choosing
a Business Entity” with a review of the “Partnership”.
* No surprise here – unfortunately Hillary
“Clinton Would Tinker With, Not Rewrite, The Tax Code”.
Clinton wants to continue to misuse the Tax
Code “as a tool for economic and social
policy”.
The purpose of the federal income tax is to
raise the money necessary to fund the government – and not to “redistribute wealth” or to distribute social program
benefits.
Howard Gleckman, who wrote the piece
for FORBES.COM, suggests that, based on what Clinton has proposed so far, “unlike many Republicans, broad-based tax
reform is far from the top of her mind”.
* While David Letterman is gone (I, for one, do not
miss him), Top 10 Lists continue. Here
is a good one from the IRS – “Top 10 Tips about Tax Breaks for the Military”.
THE FINAL WORD –
It appears that Trump does not just screw
his stockholders and lenders. He screws
everyone with whom he does business.
In the early 2000’s a long-time friend and
client purchased a condo in NYC for cash and owed a small amount to finalize
the deal. The Trump Organization was the
developer/builder. The money was due to
the financing bank. Of this payment 90%
would go to the bank and 10% would go to Trump.
Trump’s lawyer told my client to write a check to the Trump Organization
and it would in turn pay the bank.
The bank did not want my client giving
anything to Trump – they wanted payment to go directly to them. The bank’s lawyer told my client that he did
not trust the Donald because he had reneged and screwed the bank multiple times
in the past.
My client told me -
“We
later learned that Trump always shorted his sub-contractors by 5 to 10% and
didn't care if they sued him. Ultimately
they would settle with him, taking a 5%+ haircut, and Trump always came out
ahead.”
TTFN
No comments:
Post a Comment