“There are people who make things happen, there are people who watch things happen, and there are people who wonder what happened. To be successful, you need to be a person who makes things happen.” <em>- Jim Lovell</em>
So there’s been a bit of a flurry recently in the tax professional community about some proposals to further regulate our profession. Specifically, the federal government is looking at licensing anyone who prepares taxes on others’ behalf (this is already the case, essentially, in California and Oregon). The goal is to nab the people who are helping others cheat on their taxes…and get the IRS more revenue, of course.
So what do I think about this?
Well, you might think I’d be opposed to it… but, in fact, legitimate preparers generally welcome higher standards as a way of announcing to our clients that we meet those standards! The American Bar Association and H&R Block are [...]
“Worry a little bit every day and in a lifetime you will lose a couple of years. If something is wrong, fix it if you can. You can train yourself not to worry. Worry never fixes anything.” <em>- Mary Hemingway</em>
An amusing story came out just recently…apparently, there’s consequences for not being on top of your taxes!
Turns out a restaurant owner in Texas got audited, and it was discovered that he owed about $40,000 in back taxes. OUCH! This particular entrepreneur decided to, oh, find a way around it…by offering the IRS agent *pizza*–and a job.
(Full story here: <a href=”http://www.webcpa.com/news/IRS-Agent-Refuses-Pizza-Bribe-50595-1.html”>http://www.webcpa.com/news/IRS-Agent-Refuses-Pizza-Bribe-50595-1.html</a>)
Two lessons to take from this one:
1) Pizza may not be the best form of bribery
2) <strong>Always let a professional handle your books!</strong> (personal and ESPECIALLY business)
Sure, that’s a bit self-serving…but come on–pizza?
Moving on, another recent story points to a rising problem for our government–revenues are down. (<a href=”http://www.usatoday.com/money/perfi/taxes/2009-05-26-irs-tax-revenue-down_N.htm”>http://www.usatoday.com/money/perfi/taxes/2009-05-26-irs-tax-revenue-down_N.htm</a>) [...]
Never work just for money or for power. They won’t save your soul or help you sleep at night. <em>-Marian Wright Edelman</em>
There’s just something about the advent of summer which seems to bring out parental fears. I suppose it’s all of the possibilities for injury, etc. during vacation…but I really don’t quite have an understanding of it.
One thing I KNOW is true for parents–they want their children to be well cared for, should anything ever happen to them.
You see, life can turn on a dime…and we’ve all faced our share of abrupt shifts. Some good, some … pretty rough. But I can’t tell you how good it feels to be <span style=”text-decoration: underline;”>prepared</span> for whatever curve balls might come across the plate of your life.
For me and my family, we’ve put some simple plans in place for a VARIETY of circumstances, not just financial or legal. And it truly [...]
“An inexhaustible good nature is one of the most precious gifts of heaven, spreading itself like oil over the troubled sea of thought, and keeping the mind smooth and equable in the roughest weather.”
- Washington Irving
The dust is truly beginning to settle around here (ok, maybe that’s just pollen).
Regardless, we’re beginning the process of serving you during the “off season”, and evaluating how things went. To that end, if you’re one of the many good folks we helped this season, then–THANK YOU for trusting us with your finances this year. We know how personal it is to you!
Speaking of tax returns (and personal details)…how would you like to see former President George W. Bush’s *actual* tax return from 1997? It’s been obtained by CNN, and is available here: http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/interactive/allpolitics/0804/bush.cheney.taxes/bush.pdf
(I like that he and Laura seemed to be very generous with their charitable contributions–which, if you’ve read my previous posts, you [...]
You can use the fanciest computers to gather the numbers, but in the end you have to set a timetable and act.
- Lee Iacocca
How was your Memorial Day Weekend? Mine was pleasant…and, of course, sobering. With all of the news flying around this week (North Korea, budget showdowns, economic fear, etc.), it’s tempting to see our current troubles as the *worst* we’ve ever faced.
Our veterans have faced much worse–and prevailed.
The “Greatest Generation”, during WWII, had meat on a weekly basis, sugar monthly, and faced a level of sacrifice we haven’t had to even think about. So it’s right that we paused to consider the sacrifice of so many men and women who went without so much–so that we could live the lives we have now.
It’s a good reminder, during these turbulent times. Let’s not give up, in the face of our own fights.
Moving on… I wanted to weigh in this [...]
“We come to love not by finding a perfect person, but by learning to see an imperfect person perfectly.”- Sam Keen
It’s a glorious spring morning, as I write this, and once again…I’m reminded of the newness of every week. It’s really true that no matter what happened the day before–we get a new day, NOW!
Imagine if we there were no “day and night”, and all we had was one lo-o-o-ong day. The phrase “having a bad day” would be much more serious!
Well, it’s not like me (a tax person) to get so philosophical so suddenly, but I’m simply grateful today for new beginnings. Remember…whatever happened yesterday (or whatever happens TODAY for that matter), there’s always tomorrow.
Speaking of the future, could we be continuing to see the much-promised recovery? Not clear, but this article says the answer is … mixed: http://bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=aDyuaXtothZw&refer=home .
Further, I often get asked about what I see happening [...]
“Don’t say you don’t have enough time. You have exactly the same number of hours per day that were given to Helen Keller, Pasteur, Michelangelo, Mother Teresa, Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Jefferson, and Albert Einstein.”
- H. Jackson Brown
Government debt is clearly on the rise. Right now, the government is borrowing almost 50 cents for every dollar it spends this year. That is certainly scary.
(Source article: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/White-House-Budget-deficit-to-apf-15199183.html?.v=8 )
My opinion, though, is that it’s not yet clear exactly what this will mean for our future. The stated hope in the recent stimulus packages was that, yes, there would be much higher spending–but it would be offset by the short and mid-range gains brought about as a result of that very spending.
We’ll see, on that one.
But, what can you do about it?
That’s exactly why I’m here–to be your “port in the storm”, and give you real world, actionable advice.
So, despite the chaos and [...]
“The measure of a man’s real character is what he would do if he knew he would never be found out.”
- Thomas B. Macaulay
We start this week with a big announcement from President Obama about how he is seeking to close “tax loopholes”. (Full article here: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gpKlcN2oB5og6-h34ilV1flq338wD97VGQH01)
And though I try to steer clear of politics here–I did want to say this:
Finding legal “loopholes” in the tax code, to ensure that you’re receiving all the money you’re due to keep, is *exactly* what we do. Now, the word “loophole” carries some emotional baggage to it, and is often associated with negative and unethical behavior, so this could seem like a controversial statement, but here’s the thing about “loopholes”…
They’re built into the tax code. Our current system is FULL of loopholes! They’re also called “legal deductions”. Now yes–there’s some shysters out there whose sole tax strategy is to take unethical advantage of [...]
“It’s not what you do once in a while, it’s what you do day in and day out that makes the difference.” – Jenny Craig
Last week was crazy. We had so many last-minute folks come through our doors before the 15th, that I was (briefly) tempted to shut our doors so we could handle the flow!
But we didn’t. I’m glad to say that we worked very hard during the “offseason” so that we would be prepared for the tax season rush. We were able to work with everybody that came in, even folks who walked in on the 15th.
That said…shutting those doors at the end of the day on Wednesday (the 15th) was sweet. My staff and I could look back on months of hard work, and take real satisfaction in hard work and a bunch of new client relationships which we’re excited to see last for years.
“So…what now?”
That’s [...]
“If you want to feel rich, just count the things you have that money can’t buy.”
- Unknown
Yes, this is it. This week a couple things happen.
1) Monday is “Tax Freedom Day”. I hate to start on this downer note, but April 13th is the date pegged by the Tax Foundation as the date when you’ve finally worked to pay off your taxes. The rest of the year is “take home” pay.
The Tax Foundation is a non-partisan educational organization dedicated to informing US–the taxpayers–about the burdens of our tax liabilities, and according to the Foundation: Tax Freedom Day answers the basic question, “What price is the nation paying for government?” An official government figure for total tax collections is divided by the nation’s total income. The answer this year is that taxes will amount to 28.2 percent of our income, and the stretch of 103 days from January 1 [...]