I really do appreciate the assistance of the other tax pros around the country who have been helping me keep up on the various topics we have been discussing here.

Ohio CPA Dana Stahl has been a big help and has provided this update based on a recent conversation he had with Dan Pilla after attending one of Dan’s seminars.

Mr Guru – just got off the phone w/Dan Pilla.  Some items you may find interesting:

 

1.    Regarding the IRS/1040x matter, Dan said he is unaware of any national policy along those lines as we’ve previously discussed.  He did say there is a “Revenue Protection Policy” in effect, which is an apparent threshold of a refund claim that would trigger an audit.  Dan said he didn’t know the threshold amount, but other than that policy, there is no movement within IRS he can identify.  Dan commented that, if such a policy were in effect, it still shouldn’t effect someone with a $10,000 or more refund, since one would not want to leave that kind of money on the table.  Anyway, I let him know what you & I have discussed, and I said I’d let him know if any other information becomes available.

 

2.    I also asked him about those IRS abuse hearings, as you & I discussed a couple of weeks ago.  I told him about the Edward Jones teleconference with the former IRS Commissioner denying that the abuses were true.  Dan said that the abuses WERE true, and apparently Dan helped put together much of the research (including testifying before the Committee himself!) used during the hearings.  He said there has been an effort to discredit the testimony given during the abuse hearings in order to undue the protections put into place as a result of the hearings (since the government now needs more money).  I told him I’d let him know what kind of response I get from the Edward Jones people to my inquiry on the Ex-Commish’s remarks (as I will you, also).

True, except in places such as the PRC, which charges corporations an annual minimum tax of $800 even if they had no activity at all.

National Sales Tax – Walter E. Williams’ take on the plan to eliminate the insane Federal income tax system and its effects on the out of control spending by our imperial rulers in DC who long ago stopped caring what the US Constitution says about authorized government activities.

What Social Security ‘crisis’? – We all know what they say about denial.  This idiot’s “solution” is to just repeal all of the Bush tax cuts for the evil rich and everything will magically balance out. 

Social Security Reforms Could Make or Break Careers – To say nothing of the people who are stuck with whatever our rulers force on us.

Don’t Count on Immediate Tax Overhaul

Treasury and IRS Issue Final Regulations on Student Exception from Employment Taxes

Study Indicates Tax Shelters Improve Companies’ Financials

I just learned that Intuit has another what appears to be unnecessary product on the way to the market place, Quicken Rental Property Manager.  We have been using plain old QuickBooks just fine for keeping track of all rental activities for years and years.  Setting up a Class for each property makes it a very simple task to complete Schedule E.  If Intuit sends me a copy of this program to review, I’ll check it out; but I doubt if it will be any more useful than the Simple Start program I reviewed a few months back. 

As much as I love the QuickBooks programs, the folks at Intuit are creating a lot of unnecessary confusion with these various new versions that serve no useful purpose in the real world of accounting and taxes. Just a guess here; but it’s as if they set a goal of introducing a certain number of new products each year and quantity has taken precedence over quality. 

I wonder how many bad reviews of their products I am allowed before they kick me out of their Certified Pro Advisor program.  I guess we’ll find out if they continue to pump out stupid programs.

The Early-Retiree Problem. Another strain on the Social Security system.

The ‘Fair’ Tax – No argument here that the current income tax system punishes achievement and is counter-productive to a capitalist society.

Agency calls TV money man’s claims deceptive  – Another bubble has burst.  That wacko on TV, Matthew Lesko, and his free money schemes may not be on the up and up.  Who would have figured that?

Average American Spends over $250,000 on Automobiles – Thanks to AutoBlog for this article.  Amazingly, there is no mention of the fact that the financial wizards at the IRS long ago proved that vehicles cost much less to operate when used for charitable (14.0 cents per mile) or medical (15.0 cents per mile) reasons, than for evil money making endeavors (40.5 cents per mile).  Think of the savings if we only used our cars for charitable or medical trips.