This month’s webcast from IRS looks to be pretty interesting. It’s on the latest changes to the IRS audit procedures, which should be useful to tax practitioners as well as anyone who files a tax return. The live broadcast, via the web, is this coming Tuesday, May 11, from 2:00 to 3:00 pm EDT. If you miss the live feed, it will be posted to their archives.

I’ve only watched a few of these over the past few years because most of the topics have been about things I’m not interested in, such as e-filing. The ones I did watch were quite educational and I learned enough to make it well worth the time. This will be even easier for me this time, as long as my DirecWay Internet connection stays up, because it will be the first one I’ve watched since I set up multiple monitors on my main computer. I can have the webcast showing on one screen while doing other things on the other two monitors. Excellent multi-tasking opportunity.

Watching the webcast is free, and while they do offer one hour CPE credit, the price of $25 for that credit is not even close to reasonably priced. I’ve found much more economical CPE from such places as The CPE Store and PASSOnline; both of which I have used and been very satisfied with their offerings and service.

A Tax Break for Educating Your Employees

Reform the Federal budget?

Ohio’s GOP governor may help Bush lose the election

I’ve discussed on several occasions why I’m not a big fan of investing in the stock market; mainly because it is too unpredictable, easily manipulated and completely out of the small investor’s control. I’ve been skimming some of the news about the upcoming IPO for Google and am amazed that anyone thinks it is a good investment opportunity. As this comic illustrates, the current owners want to have their cake and eat it too by preventing the new shareholders from having any control over the company’s operations; so they are planning to sell non-voting shares to the public. That is about as stupid from an investment perspective as the tracking stocks that were being sold during the dot-com stock market fiasco. Of course, there will be no shortage of fools eager to throw money at this latest hot thing.

Let’s hope people do remember what happened last time…

Thanks to Ben Cunningham for passing on this perfect illustration of the relationship between us voters and our public servants. Notice what they are serving us. It’s consistent with my infamous poster of how tax legislation usually turns out.

On Fixing the Alternative Minimum Tax

House works to hold back minimum tax for a year – This is better than nothing; but adjusting the thresholds just for one year is only a band-aid to an issue that needs major corrective (removal) surgery.

Social Security Time Bomb

Teresa Heinz Kerry’s Taxes

New Jersey Governor’s Attack on Business

Get on with the tax cuts

Why John Kerry Won’t Release Wife’s Tax Returns – Tax returns tell a lot about a person.

Ex-IRS Man Declares Himself Tax-Exempt – Tax protestor scam artist Joe Bannister continues to get plenty of press coverage. How long will it be until we see a story about his prison sentence, similar to this one about his fellow tax criminal, Richard Simkanin, who is on his way to a seven year stay in the Federal gray bar hotel? That should be soon, as it will be for anyone stupid enough to follow his advice.

Poll shows support for offshoring tax – I find this very hard to believe; that business executives would actually approve of a new tax on jobs they move off shore. If you look at the big picture, there already is a tax on such cost savings maneuvers. Lower costs for the company yield higher profits and higher income taxes.