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

 
So here it is – the last BUZZ of 2022.
 
* President Biden signed into law the $1.7 trillion Consolidated Appropriations Act spending package, which includes S.E.C.U.R.E. 2.0 (Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement).  I will discuss the tax-related retirement plan enhancements in SECURE 2.0 in some detail in the February 2023 issue of ROBERT D FLACH’S THE 1040 LETTER.
 
* And the IRS finally issued the standard mileage allowance rates for 2023.  They are included in “What’s New In Taxes for 2023” available on the FREE STUFF page of my TAX PLANNING RESOURCE CENTER website.
 
* The TAX FOUNDATION discusses in detail “State Tax Changes Taking Effect January 1,2023”.
 
* Michael Cohn gives taxpayers and tax preparers some bad news at ACCOUNTING TODAY.  It appears the “IRS tax return backlog will continue into 2023 filing season” -
 
“The Internal Revenue Service won't meet its goal of catching up on its backlog of millions of unprocessed tax returns by the end of this year and the pile is expected to mount next year, according to a new report.”
 
The Service will begin the new year with millions of returns still awaiting processing or other resolution.
 
* Good news – “IRS announces delay for implementation of $600 reporting threshold for third-party payment platforms’ Forms 1099-K” (highlights are mine) -
 
“As a result of this delay, third-party settlement organizations will not be required to report tax year 2022 transactions on a Form 1099-K to the IRS or the payee for the lower, $600 threshold amount enacted as part of the American Rescue Plan of 2021.”  
 
* In the final BOBSERVATIONS post of 2022 I look back and look forward.  
 
* KIPLINGER.COM recently updated its list of “10 Least Tax-Friendly States for Retirees”.
 
Guess who, like Oliver Twist, is last on the list? 
 
“Sorry, New Jersey, but you're the least tax-friendly state in the country for retirees.”
 
Is anyone surprised?
 
One reason why, as Kiplinger reminds us - “The Garden State has the highest median property tax rate in the country.”
 
* Kay Bell reports “Interest rates on late tax refunds, and unpaid taxes, going up in 2023” at DON’T MESS WITH TAXES (highlight is mine) –
 
“For the first quarter of 2023, the rate for delayed individual refund amounts will be 7 percent.”
 
Of course, any interest the IRS pays you on late or amended returns is taxable income that must be reported on your 2023 return.
 
THE LAST WORD –
 
Just so you know - I do not oppose and denounce today’s Republican Party because I am a staunch life-long liberal or Democrat.
 
I oppose and denounce today’s Republican Party because I have a brain, a heart and a conscience.
 
TTFN