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Tax

Who is being high-handed here?

August 4, 2008

In March, agents served the original summons, calling Wesson to testify and produce certain books, records, papers and data accounting for his taxes dating back to 2003. Instead, Wesson demanded a certified copy of an IRS agent’s oath and a copy of the agent’s photo ID, according to court documents. Click Here to see the [...]

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IRS Told to Tighten Up Collection Methods, Debt Monitoring

August 4, 2008

Small Business Owners across the land are tightening their belts due to our challenging economy. But one thing that we forget sometimes is the IRS is also doing business in the same economy. “In an era of growing federal deficits and amidst reports of an increasingly gloomy fiscal outlook, the federal government cannot afford to [...]

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Some highlights from the Housing Assistance Tax Act of 2008

August 2, 2008

Like most legislation passed by congress that involves taxes, the newly enacted $15.1 billion package of housing tax incentives entitled the “Housing Assistance Tax Act of 2008” (the Housing Act) is quite complicated. I have compiled only a few of the highlights below. It includes a measure creating a new, temporary property tax deduction for [...]

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Will the 1040 Be 3 Pages Next Year?

July 26, 2008

This from the Tax Policy Blog over at the Tax Foundation website: Once again, the United States Congress is making the tax code worse. Not that it should surprise any of the readers of this blog. Members of Congress, however stupid their policies may be, just want to appear as if they are doing something [...]

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More Red Tape

July 1, 2008

Congress is on the verge of requiring payment card processors to tell the Internal Revenue Service how much money merchants receive through credit card and debit card transactions. … “This proposal does not raise taxes on anyone,” said Baucus, who chairs the Senate Finance Committee. “These information reports would just cause people to file more [...]

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IRS Increases Mileage Rates through Dec. 31, 2008

June 29, 2008

In an unprecedented move…… IR-2008-82, June 23, 2008 WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service today announced an increase in the optional standard mileage rates for the final six months of 2008. Taxpayers may use the optional standard rates to calculate the deductible costs of operating an automobile for business, charitable, medical or moving purposes. The [...]

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First Hard Numbers on Obama Tax Plan Show Dramatic Tax Redistribution

June 28, 2008

“Under the Obama plan for 2009,” explains Hodge, “more than $131 billion would be shifted from the tax burden of all low-, middle- and high-income taxpayers to the burden of the highest-earning 1 percent.” Click Here to see the article in it’s natural habitat

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Can Good Accounting Solve the High Gas Price problem?

June 23, 2008

The short answer is NO. No amount of accounting is going to make the prices lower at the pump. (Surprised you, huh? I bet you thought I was going to wax poetic about some underused tax deduction.) But Good Accounting can help you save money on expenses (and taxes) including your fuel expenses. I always [...]

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Great Fact Sheet from the IRS on Business Structures

June 19, 2008

Here is a really informative and easy to follow IRS fact sheet on Business Structures. I will be recommending this to my Small Business Clients when they ask about incorporating. Click Here to see the article in it’s natural habitat

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Tax Deductible Vacations?

June 8, 2008

Although business is business, and pleasure is pleasure, the world rarely adheres to absolutes. So, as the summer vacation season begins to unfold, you may want to consider mixing some leisure time in with your business travel. With a little planning, you can get Uncle Sam to subsidize your downtime. Business or Pleasure. The IRS [...]

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Withdrawal of Stimulus Rebates

June 8, 2008

If you provided the IRS with your bank account number on your tax return, both your refund and any Economic Stimulus rebate you qualify for will be automatically deposited to that account. And if you instructed that your refund be deposited into an account that is given favorable tax treatment under the Code, your Economic [...]

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Redux: Who Orders Things Online?

June 8, 2008

Another story about ordering stuff online. You can tell the US Treasury might be starting to feel the sting of a slowing economy…. There is simply too much money involved for tax free online sales to continue: “The IRS is watching power sellers to identify any underreporting or non-reporting of income,” Carl said. “The IRS [...]

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No Good Deed Goes Unpunished

June 8, 2008

The IRS is giving a hard time to Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker: Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker had to fight the IRS to allow him to claim the portion of his salary he gives back to the county as a charitable donation, Walker says. Walker gave back $60,000 a year of his $129,000 salary [...]

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Who Orders things online?

June 5, 2008

Looks like mean ol’ New York is going to start taxing Amazon. Savvy shoppers have long enjoyed a simple rule of thumb: buy from out-of-state e-tailers, save the tax. The Empire State is the first (and so far only) state to require online retailers to collect sales tax even when they have no “physical presence” [...]

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Best. Website. Ever.

June 2, 2008

I recently came across the coolest website ever at the National Federation of Independent Business. The website is 411SmallBusinessFacts.com. I have to be careful, I could read this all day. This website has compiled the results of over 2000 small business surveys For instance did you know that Sixty-one (61) percent of small-employer taxpayers typically [...]

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