Doesn’t paying taxes make you feel so patriotic?
Posted by taxguru on January 9, 2009
Posted in comix, TaxBurden | Comments Off on Doesn’t paying taxes make you feel so patriotic?
News Tidbits:
Posted by taxguru on January 8, 2009
Legality of proposed California tax plan in question – The rulers in Sacramento are trying to use sneaky tricks to get around the state’s two-thirds requirement for new taxes. Calling new charges “Fees” instead of “Taxes” is supposed to allow them immunity from the law.
Detroit lawyer gets 5-cent IRS bill, 4-cent refund – Classic case of the left hand not knowing what the right hand is up to.
A nicer IRS?
IRS Speeds Lien Relief for Homeowners Trying to Refinance, Sell – from IRS.
IRS Offering Leniency Plan For Taxpayers – from WSJ
Many Taxpayers Stand to Gain From New Laws – WSJ’s Tom Herman reviews some of the 2009 tax changes that are already on the books. As we all know, many more changes are in the offing based on what our new rulers in DC feel like doing in the next few months.
Confusing Tax Rules Under Fire – Has there ever been a more obvious headline? Again, as always when our rulers try to simplify the tax laws, there will be much more work for us sorting out their even more complicated mess. My infamous poster still fits the bill here.
Madoff Is a Piker – John Stossel with another comparison of Madoff’s Ponzi scheme and the much larger Ponzi scheme called Social Security.
Tyranny of the Tax-Exempt – Dick Morris notices that the proposed Obama “tax cuts” are really more welfare payments.
Are Tax Revolts a Thing of the Past? – With higher taxes being touted as the patriotic thing to accept, those of us who complain are going to be demonized even more.
Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on News Tidbits:
State Tax Refunds
Posted by taxguru on January 6, 2009
Reconciling the amounts to report as income on a 1040 with the 1099–G forms that State tax agencies send to IRS has frequently been a little tricky. When the 1099–Gs are showing incorrect information, I have learned that it’s impossible get the State tax agency to correct their mistake, so it is necessary to add explanatory info to the 1040 in order to avoid a document matching error down the road.
I just received this emailed press release from the Arkansas DFA admitting to some erroneous 1099–Gs that they sent to IRS.
Subject: FW: State 1099-G Form Issued with Incorrect Refund Amount
Please review the following press release:
The Department of Finance and Administration announced today that 28,040 taxpayers recently received 1099-G forms indicating an incorrect amount of refund or credit received by the taxpayer. The incorrect forms were mailed to taxpayers between December 22nd and 29th, 2008. The Form 1099-G is a Federal form that the Internal Revenue Service requires to be sent to taxpayers to remind them of the Arkansas Income Tax refund or credit they received during the previous tax year.
This problem occurred because of a computer processing error. When the 1099-G forms were produced, information from 2007 rather than 2008 was mistakenly used to create the forms. The 1099-G’s are currently being recreated using the correct 2008 information. The corrected 1099-G forms will be mailed to the affected taxpayers by January 9, 2009.
We sincerely regret this error and any inconvenience you may have experienced as a result. We strive to provide quality service to the taxpayers of this state. When errors do occur, we will work to correct those errors as expeditiously as possible. If you have any questions or need additional information, please contact: Individual Income Tax at 501-682-1100 (Inside Pulaski County or Outside of Arkansas) or
1-800-882-9275 (Inside of Arkansas, outside of Pulaski County).Thanks,
As with most cases where an erroneous 1099 is followed up with a CORRECTED one, IRS ends up looking for both amounts on the 1040 rather than ignoring the first one. So, be careful when working on a 1040 for someone who was lucky enough to receive the admittedly incorrect 1099–G from DFA.
Posted in StateTaxes | Comments Off on State Tax Refunds
Madoff Lessons
Posted by taxguru on January 6, 2009
The best learning tool has long been OPM (Other People’s Mistakes) because nobody can live long enough to make them on his/her own. The recent exposure of Bernie Madoff’s Ponzi scheme should be a good slap across the face to any investor.
From James B. Stewart of the WSJ – The Lessons to Be Learned From the Madoff Scandal.
From Jay Leno via NewsMax:
“Congress says they’re looking into the Bernie Madoff scandal. So the guy who made $50 billion disappear, is being investigated by the people who made $750 billion disappear.”
“His family says he suffers from multiple personality disorder. Apparently, every one of them is greedy.”
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Roth IRAs
Posted by taxguru on January 6, 2009
I will soon be posting another email exchange with a reader on Roth IRAs. In the meantime, here are some recent items from the free WSJ on them.
Posted in Retire | Comments Off on Roth IRAs
Tax Guru - Ker$tetter Letter 