So, none of us have a crystal ball but earlier this week, I made some predictions about potential tax changes in the new year. I touched on federal estate tax repeal, capital gains rates, oil and gas company tax breaks, increased income tax rates and the expiration of the Making Work Credit. Later in the…
We are a Mac household. And a Mac family. Before you judge, rest assured that it wasn’t that cute Justin Long that influenced our decision. We were all-Mac before it was cool. My husband was a Drexel grad back in the 1980s when Drexel standardized the Apple and has been addicted obsessed hooked a fan…
There are very few things that my brothers and I agree on. My older brother is a Tarheels fan, my little brother is a Wolfpack fan and I’m a Blue Devils fan – just imagine ACC basketball season around my house when I was a kid. Both of my brothers (gulp) have, at one time…
But don’t get too excited. It’s totally lame – again. You see, when it comes to the AMT (alternative minimum tax), Congress has no answer. So every year – without fail – at the very, very end of the year, Congress gives us a band aid in the form of temporary relief. Don’t believe me?…
In one of the more bizarre statements this post-election season, Gov. Pat Quinn (D) of Illinois has advised the legislature that an alternative plan to raise revenue won’t work and instead, he wants to focus on raising the state’s income tax. Days after squeaking by in the gubernatorial race, Quinn told the Chicago Sun-Times that…
Seattle, long known as one of the most bicycle-friendly cities in the US, may be facing some resistance in its efforts to green up the city a bit more. With a multimillion dollar deficit looming, Mayor Mike McGinn is threatening to pull financing for the city’s Bike Master Plan; specific projects planned for the coming…
Taxpayer asks: Can successful or failed contenders deduct their expenses from the federal taxes as a job hunting related expense? Got to wonder what Whitman was thinking spending all that money except, I can deduct these ‘loans” one way or the other not as a political contribution (rather limited) but a job hunting expense. Curious…
I have to say that I remain fascinated by the vote in Washington state that would have transferred a majority of the tax burden onto the upper wage earners (those earning more than $200,000 as individuals and $400,000 as married couples). Despite the fact that most Washington taxpayers would be financially better off under the…
When I first moved to Pennsylvania from North Carolina, I thought I had hit the lottery. I distinctly remember standing in Express buying some clothes on sale and waiting for the total. When the sales girl finished ringing me up, the total showed. It was the same as the subtotal. I stood there for a…
According to most post election polls, voters cited the economy as the #1 factor in influencing votes – more than health care, more than abortion, more than homeland security, more than immigration, more than education. This makes me wonder: what influenced your vote this year? If it was the economy, were taxes a factor? Or…