* Have you checked
out the latest “issue” of THE LAKE REGION SOMETHING?
* The IRS has
released the COLA and inflation-adjusted numbers for tax year 2019 (for
returns to be prepared in 2020). Get my
special report on WHAT’S NEW FOR 2019 for only $1.00 – available from MY DOLLAR STORE.
* Peter J Reilly
suggests you “Ask Your Tax Pro About 199A” at FORBES.COM.
In my opinion, as I
said in a post here at TWTP, "The Section 199a Deduction Makes No Sense”.
* TAXGIRL Kelly
Phillips Erb’s latest “Getting To Know You Tuesday” introduces us to "Justin T. Miller", “a national wealth strategist at
BNY Mellon, an adjunct professor at Golden Gate University School of Law, and a
Fellow of The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC)”.
Kelly tells us “Being a tax professional doesn’t necessarily
mean that you prepare tax returns.”
As Justin describes his job – “I
serve as a national thought leader for the firm, and I work collaboratively
with other advisors to provide comprehensive wealth planning advice to clients
and their families.”
Returning to Section
199a, I like his description of the new deduction, quoting Churchill -
“It is a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma.”
And correctly adding –
“I know that our representatives spent dozens of minutes working on the
tax legislation at the end of 2017, but 199A really set the standard for poor
drafting by including limitations, exceptions to limitations, exceptions to
exceptions, phase-ins, phase-outs, and poorly defined terms.”
* And Kelly’s “Ask
The Taxgirl” entry last week involved a couple who was “Married But Faking Being Single”.
Good advice from KPE –
“With so many moving parts, keeping up with the lie is going to catch up
with you. As Mark Twain once said, ‘If
you tell the truth, you don’t have to remember anything.’ {good advice for
Donald T Rump as well – rdf}
The bottom line is that this definitely isn’t a good
strategy on the tax side. Only you can
figure out whether it’s a good strategy on the family/relationship side, but it
might be worth considering whether you want to start your new life with a lie.
Best of luck.”
* Jason Dinesen briefly
reviews “Tax Deductions for College Professors” at DINESEN TAX TIMES, with
special emphasis on how the GOP Tax Act has changed things.
As Jason correctly
points out -
“. . . college professors are out of luck in claiming any deductions for
their research expenses or other out-of-pocket classroom expenses.”
* Jim Blankenship has
some thoughts on “What can you do to save if you have no 401k?” at GETTING YOUR
FINANCIAL DUCKS IN A ROW.
* And Jim tries to
answer the question “Why are Social Security benefits taxed?”, while reviewing
the history of taxing these benefits.
Why are Social
Security benefits taxed? Because the
government needs money.
* The National
Association of Tax Professionals has warned members of a new Social Security
scam -
“The acting Inspector General of Social Security, Gale Stallworth Stone,
is warning citizens about an ongoing caller ID “spoofing” scheme misusing the
Social Security Administration’s (SSA) national customer service phone number.
SSA has received numerous reports of questionable phone calls displaying SSA’s
1-800 number on a caller ID screen. This is a scam; citizens should not engage
with those calls or provide any personal information.
These reports indicate the calls display the
1-800-772-1213, SSA’s national customer service number, as the incoming number
on caller ID. People who have accepted the calls said the caller identifies as
an SSA employee. In some cases, the caller states that SSA does not have all of
the person’s personal information, such as their Social Security number (SSN),
on file. Other callers claim SSA needs additional information so the agency can
increase the person’s benefit payment, or that SSA will terminate the person’s
benefits if they do not confirm their information. This appears to be a
widespread issue, as reports have come from citizens across the country.
The acting Inspector General urges citizens to be
extremely cautious, and to avoid providing information such as your SSN or bank
account numbers to unknown persons over the phone or internet unless you are
certain of who is receiving it. If you receive a suspicious call from someone
alleging to be from SSA, you should report that information to the OIG at
1-800-269-0271 or online at https://oig.ssa.gov/report.”
TTFN
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