Tax history, trivia, and the lighter side of the tax world — because even tax law can be entertaining sometimes.
I woke up this morning the mother of an eleven-year-old. I’m still not sure how that happened. But I’m sure glad that it did. Here’s what you need to know about my daughter, Kate. She’s super smart and pays attention to detail: in the fourth grade, she won an award for “best data presentation” at…
You’re probably firing up the grill later today. It is, of course, the unofficial first day of summer. But it’s also something more: Memorial Day. It’s the day to remember those men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice while serving our country: those who have died while in the military service. Even though the…
Birds in Germany are dying by the millions and Peter Berthold of the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology in Radolfzell, Germany, says that cats are to blame. By his calculation, cats kill approximately 50 million birds each year in Germany alone. The solution, he says, to this travesty, is a cat tax. No, this isn’t…
April 15. It’s that red-letter day on the calendar that many taxpayers have come to hate: time to pay up to Uncle Sam. It may be painful to write that check but all across the country, retailers and restaurants are offering taxpayers a break to make the day a little brighter. Here are some of…
(Note: Now that this post is a few days old, not everyone gets the joke. I don’t want to spoil the surprise at the end but, er, read with a grain of salt. And don’t stop midway!) With sequestration in full swing, Congress has been searching for new ways to raise revenue for the nation’s…
My kids are on spring break this week which means we are spending a lot of time together. A lot. In the space of a few days, I’ve learned some invaluable information. The best car ever made? An Audi R8, according to my six-year-old. A love of coleslaw? Not hereditary (I’m still reeling from this…
It’s Dr. Seuss’ birthday! Theodor Seuss Geisel, or Dr. Seuss as he is better known, was born on March 2, 1904. If he were still alive, he’d be 109 years old. Dr. Seuss is known for a number of books and poems. Oh, the Places You’ll Go! first appeared in print in 1990, making it…
(Updated: We have our winner! See the comments below.) Our next tax trivia question is: The term “budget sequestration” was first used to describe a section of the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Deficit Reduction Act of 1985 (GRHDRA). The GRHDRA was named after three Senators who sponsored the bill. What three states did the Senators represent?
(Update: We have our winner. See comments below.) Our next tax trivia question is: We all know that the Tax Code is becoming more unmanageable for most taxpayers. These days, the “easiest” individual tax form is the Form 1040EZ. The instructions, however, make it seem like it’s not so simple after all. Including the front…
Opening your form W-2 can be traumatic for many folks but for one Tennessee man, it was enough to make him quit his job. Walter Slonopas, a maintenance worker at Contech Casting LLC in Clarksville, Tennessee wasn’t upset with the dollar figures on the form but rather the control numbers. The Form W-2 he received…