Wow. The response to the tax haiku this week has been phenomenal! I received nearly 100 responses via twitter, the blog and Facebook. Many of those were shared, reposted and retweeted many times over. It was a great contest and I am so grateful to those of you who participated – whether you wrote a…
One of the great things about writing about tax is that I have the opportunity to remind folks not to take it quite so seriously. Yes, it can be stressful. And yes, it’s a big deal. And yes, those deadlines and rules are important. But overreacting doesn’t help. It doesn’t make it go away. And…
Our next tax trivia question is: In honor of President’s Day, today’s trivia focuses on a little presidential and tax history… The top federal income tax rate for incomes of more than $200,000 was, at one point in our country’s history, a whopping 94%. Though that rate only lasted for two years, it spanned two…
Our next tax trivia question is: According to legend, in the 11th century, Lady Godiva took pity upon the people of Coventry who were being oppressed by heavy taxation imposed by her husband. In one of the more interesting takes on tax reform, her husband agreed to tax relief if Lady Godiva would ride through…
Our next tax trivia question is: In January 2012, which celebrity told Piers Morgan that the most difficult check she has to write each year is to the IRS, and has employees bring her tequila when it’s time to do it? For more about the giveaway, including rules and prizes, check out this post.
Our next tax trivia question is: Congress passed the Bank Secrecy Act (sometimes referred to as BSA or the Currency and Foreign Transactions Reporting Act), which included cash reporting requirements and FBAR (Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts) rules, in 1970 as the first laws to fight which crime in the US? For more about…
Our next tax trivia question is: Taxpayers may indicate on their tax returns that money be given to the Presidential Election Campaign Fund. About how much money was given to the Presidential Election Campaign Fund from 2010 tax returns? For more about the giveaway, including rules and prizes, check out this post.
Our next tax trivia question is: The man who is largely responsible for writing the modern-day Tax Code, Ward M. Hussey, also drafted language for other major legislation including which large-scale program meant to help rebuild European economies after the end of World War II and stop the spread of Soviet communism? For more about…
Our next tax trivia question is: The original purpose of the Social Security number, which was introduced in 1935, was to track individuals’ accounts within the Social Security program. In 1938, as part of a promotion to sell wallets primarily through Woolworth’s, wallet manufacturer E. H. Ferree Company used a sample Social Security card to…
Our next tax trivia question is: In 2000, Vice President Cheney and his wife owed federal taxes of $14,295,058 on adjusted gross income of $36,086,635. After taking into account withholding and other payments, how big a check did the Cheneys have to write when they mailed in their taxes? (I’ll take answers within $100,000) For…