Uh-oh. This time it could be for real. That oft-quoted, hardly found marriage penalty? I guess it finally had to come about, since Peter has been calling Wolf so long.
Continue reading Marriage Penalties
We all have heard (or read) how middle class wealth has been devastated over the past quarter century. Even now, as the economy seems to be perking up, it’s only the very wealthy that are seeing those gains. Mostly because the stock market is way up (interest rates are so low, it’s the only place for the wealthy and the retired to park their funds)- and housing has still not recovered (which is where the bulk of middle class wealth is found) to those pre-2009 levels.
Continue reading Is the Tax Code Fair?
Whew. You’re done. You managed to file your income taxes yesterday. (Some of you remember- long ago, when we stopped spending money to build America- that the Post Office stayed open until midnight [or 2AM] to yield that coveted 15 April postmark. No more…) And, now you won’t worry about taxes for the next 11 months.
Continue reading Post-apocalypse?
Another change in the tax situation for 2013…
Many folks are afraid to claim their duly earned home office deduction, because they fear they will be audited. About 3.5 million folks used this deduction in the past years- which is a lot lower than the number of folks who maintained a home office. (NASE- the National Association for the Self Employed- did a survey in 2008 and found more than 60% of those entitled never took this deduction.)
Continue reading Simpler Taxes Are Not Always Better
With the fiscal (cliff, bump, curve, impediment) approaching, everyone is writing about how this will affect (investing, jobs, taxes, mortgages, home building, charity). I figured that gave me the right to write (had to use that one) about their crazy thoughts. The chart that is seen right below is the one that forced me to respond.
Continue reading Charitable Giving…
So, I was reading the Wall Street Journal. An article by John McKinnon. It was to explain a plan developed by Martin Feldstein (Harvard University, Chairman of Council of Economic Advisors under President Reagan), that “demonstrated” how a plan (now espoused by Speaker of the House John Boehner) to limit tax breaks would actually raise revenue. Except that the “sample data” was as realistic as having a jet plane land on my driveway.