From the second John Kerry was attacked via the “Swiftboating” episode, I knew that Americans (and, given that we seem to invading other countries electoral political process, the world) were in for a heap of trouble. You see, the group (I am clearly being of generous mood, here) behind this attack, the “Swift Boat Veterans for Truth” was a 527 organization. A “tax exempt” organization that focuses on “issues”.
Continue reading Of the people, by the people, and for the people?
Many of you know we work with many law firms to grow their business and streamline their operations. And, we just were asked by one of them to examine their marketing efforts, which seem to be falling short. (Yes, that’s what they said… They did not ask us to change them or improve them- just make them look better. But, that’s a topic for a different day’s post.) [Hey, don’t leave just because you are not lawyers. Everything here pretty much applies to you, too! Just change LAWYER or LAW to your business segment.]
I have a good friend who shares dinner with me often. And, we often argue. (No, we don’t fight; there’s a vast difference. We have different politics- and can still learn from one another.) One of the recurring arguments is his belief that when he buys stock in a company, he actually owns a part of it.
Continue reading Do you own that company- or not?
So, it turns out that at least some of us are turned out to help others. fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) is being used to prove that fact. But, the goal of most of the studies has not been to see if we are generous to a fault, but to determine how (if?) we can help folks who lack empathy or want to improve on their generosity.
I’ve written about family law before. You know- the fancy term for divorce law. I not only have experienced divorce (ok, I was one of the adults- I caused the divorce; my children experienced it), but I have served as the financial manager for a family law practice for more than a few years. This is a big business- there are about 800,000 divorces filed annually in the US (compared to the 2 million marriages begun).
Continue reading Divorce- Technology Style
Betty Thompson would be pissed. Yes, she would. Because, she knew that the best way to have divorce ‘work’ in America was to make things equitable. She worked hard to change the laws in Virginia. Instead of basing the split of assets from who had the title (which typically was the male, especially when she began her practice) to “equitable distribution”. And, while she knew that alimony had to have a finite limit- and not proceed for decades or for life- that change came slower.
Continue reading Till Death Do Us Part?
If you think it’s just the federal government that is scrambling for revenue to cut their deficits, you are badly mistaken, Almost every single state is desperate to increase the tax coffers to balance budgets and/or deal with immediate needs- including transportation needs. And, one source they are desperate to tax is internet sales. Some $ 23 billion a year escapes state coffers (National Conference of State Legislature estimates) because of the 1992 Supreme Court ruling that currently obtains.
Continue reading Have Sales- Will Tax
I used to joke- back when I first moved to Alexandria (that’s about a quarter century ago)- that jobs were getting scarce because companies were demanding college degrees for no good reason. It was making folks go to college just to get a subsistence job, which is why so many poorly qualified or even unqualified people, were demanding the right to enter colleges.
Continue reading Job Opportunity: BA, BS required
Are you planning to file your taxes yourself? If you are single, an employee, and don’t own a home- then I agree, that’s a great thing to do. Once any of these attributes change, then there a great deal of options available to you that will let you save money. And, that’s where talented folks like our staff actually save you more money than you would pay us to determine the lowest taxes you ar legally required to pay.
Continue reading T-40 and counting
It’s tax time. No, really.
Corporations have to file by the ides of March. And, those entities that need to provide K-1’s to their stockholders (S entities, LLC’s operating as S) incur substantial penalties for late filing. About $ 100 per K-1 per month. (Yes, it can amount to thousands of dollars for those entities with numerous stockholders.)