From the category archives:

government/federal agencies

Are You Ready for Government Prepared Tax Returns?

13 January 2012

“The income tax has made more liars out of the American people than golf has.” – Will Rogers But what if it were easier? And what if the IRS made it nearly impossible to lie? What then? Last year, IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman hinted that one way to reduce the potential for tax fraud was [...]

0 comments Read the full article →

Audit Finds That Prisoners and Felons Granted Permission To Prepare Returns

3 January 2012

At tax time, many taxpayers feel like they’re being ripped off by Uncle Sam. However, IRS is concerned that they might also be victims of those paid to help them: tax preparers. As a result, new rules governing the preparation of tax returns have been in the works for nearly three years with the first [...]

0 comments Read the full article →

When Dumb Meets Stupid: Payroll Tax Cut ‘Compromise’

16 December 2011

So months and months of debate on the payroll tax cut has resulted in this: a two month extension. No, you didn’t read that wrong. Two months. Democrats and Republicans in the Senate couldn’t figure out how to pay for the whole thing so they decided on a ridiculous fix. Two months. “But it’s paid [...]

0 comments Read the full article →

Compromise Should Avoid Government Shutdown

15 December 2011

Nothing is written in ink (yet) but all indications are that Congress has reached an agreement that would avoid a government shutdown. While the details are sketchy, it would appear that the final budget would include a payroll tax cut extensions, jobless benefits and a continuation of Medicare payments for physicians. All of these items [...]

0 comments Read the full article →

Shutdown Looms, Payroll Tax Cut Extension Still Not Approved

15 December 2011

The “naughty” list is getting longer… No, I’m not talking about Amy pinching her brother this morning while getting ready for school. I’m talking about those in Congress who are squabbling over the payroll tax cut extension all while the deadline for keeping the lights on in D.C. creeps closer. The Senate has yet to [...]

0 comments Read the full article →

Veterans Day Tax Bill Moves Forward

11 November 2011

When I was in high school, the coolest grown-up that I knew enlisted in the service. My older brother, Rob (okay, so maybe my circle of cool grown-ups was somewhat limited), joined the Navy. He drove me back to school shortly after the announcement, somehow managing to get lost between our tiny town and Durham, [...]

0 comments Read the full article →

New W-2 Reporting Requirements for Health Care Confusing Taxpayers (Already)

10 November 2011

I had prepped myself for the idea that taxpayers were going to be confused by the new health care reporting requirements ever since last year when the rumormongering about taxing health care benefits in 2011 started. I wasn’t expecting taxpayers to be in a dither quite so far ahead of tax season. Judging from the [...]

0 comments Read the full article →

Christmas Tree Fee Out for the Holidays

9 November 2011

Hooray! Christmas has been saved! Okay, a bit dramatic. But the hue and cry surrounding the so-called Christmas tree tax had reached such a fevered pitch by this afternoon that you could have assumed the very holiday itself was under attack. Rest assured, the holidays are still on track. Nonetheless, President Obama announced plans to [...]

0 comments Read the full article →

Scrooge Comes Early This Year With “Christmas Tree Tax”

9 November 2011

I like a fresh-cut tree at Christmastime. Yes, I know all the arguments against buying fresh-cut Christmas trees and we do it anyway. It happens to be one of my favorite things about the holidays and now that I live in the snowy northeast, there’s something ridiculously gratifying about heading out in mittens and hats [...]

0 comments Read the full article →

DOJ Revises Statement on Taxpayer Funded Muffins

30 October 2011

Those must have been some delicious muffins. Initial reports out of the Department of Justice last month indicated that department officials had doled out $16 per muffin for an Executive Office of Immigration Review conference in Washington, D.C. The revelation raised ire among taxpayers and officials, making those muffins the equivalent of the $600 toilet [...]

0 comments Read the full article →

← Previous Entries