I’m writing this particular post from my hotel room in Durham, NC, just across the way from Duke Hospital where my dad had surgery on yesterday. Thanks for all of your thoughts and prayers. He came through surgery just fine – although the family and I are quite worn out from dealing with Duke (yes,…
When I was in college, I spent a year in the northeast of England (Hull, to be exact) on an exchange program. I had a blast. I also learned a lot about the British educational system. My peers also learned a lot about our system in the US – and were shocked to learn how…
The week started with an offer to move my blog over to a network (no thank you) and ended with a marriage proposal (also no thank you) – all in all, not a bad week. The one complaint I had was that, by turning down the latter, I missed my potential suitor’s offer to “set…
First appointed by Ronald Reagan in 1987 as Chair of the Federal Reserve. Served under not one but three Republican presidents, including both Presidents Bush. Self-described “lifelong libertarian Republican.” So you’d think that Alan Greenspan would be all about the current Republican agenda to extend the Bush tax cuts – the very tax cuts he…
The last couple of tax seasons have been tough for many taxpayers trying to utilize popular refund anticipation loans (RALs). With banks increasingly unwilling to provide loans for third-party preparers, the potential pool of money available to folks seeking RALs was pretty limited. This made taxpayers unhappy. It made the IRS fairly happy. They, like…
Yesterday, Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker in San Francisco ruled that California’s Proposition 8 violates the US Constitution. While there were a lot of cheers and boos after the ruling, you and I both know this means practically nothing. No matter which side Walker came down on, an appeal was a sure thing. I…
A little over a year ago, Bernie Madoff received a 150-year sentence (that’s more than most serial murderers get, folks) for his “extraordinarily evil” fraud. Nearly six months later, David Friehling, Madoff’s longtime accountant pleaded guilty to assisting Madoff with the fraud. Friehling, who is expected to receive over 100 years in prison for his…
While the use of marijuana for medical reasons remains controversial, it’s becoming more mainstream. Currently, 14 states and DC have legalized medical marijuana in some form (you can check out the details here). That’s pretty interesting in and of itself since marijuana remains illegal for federal purposes. From a tax perspective, the legality of medical…
Taxpayer asks: Dear taxgirl, I need some help. I am being audited by the IRS and I don’t know what to do. I am self-employed (web design) and I do not have many records to back up my tax returns. I didn’t lie on my taxes but I can’t prove it. I don’t know what…
Taxpayer asks: Hi tax girl! Greetings and thank you in advance for your time: I too live in Philadelphia, and looking to rent another house… My credit rating is 798 and I have over $X in an investment account. I have started a new company and had practically no income last year… I am an…