What movies, music, and celebrity headlines can teach us about taxes — Taxgirl’s take on tax in pop culture and the news.
I like to give people the benefit of the doubt on a lot of things, especially when it comes to taxes. It is, after all, easy to rely on the advice of others – tax professionals – and make bad choices. In fact, a lot of what I do involves helping people get out of…
Joan Collins has expressed her outrage at a fraud scheme which has been confirmed by the UK involving children’s charities. The charity in question was founded by Trevor England, 60, of Carmarthenshire, and Mary Johnson, also 60, of Warrington, who were both were jailed after a judge heard they stole more than £500,000 (as of…
Going green is all the rage these days – even in the tax world. And I’m not just talking about hybrid vehicles and credits for energy efficient improvements to your home. I’m talking as green as it gets: vegetarian green. That’s right, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is calling on congressional leaders to…
You’d think that the rich and famous would actually put a little more thought into things like wills, taxes and probate. Or at least hire someone to think about it. But not our Anna. Let’s take her will for starters. I can’t even imagine why, when the possibility exists that Anna was worth millions, the…
Tax season has finally wrapped up more or less for individual taxpayers – well, except for those of you (like me) with extensions. After sorting through my inbox filled with questions from panicked last-minute filers, I decided that what I really needed to post was a “What Not to Do” list. So, enjoy this list…
Just hours after the news of Anna Nicole Smith’s suspicious death broke, there were already questions about the status of her deceased husband’s estate. The main query was whether the case could proceed. The short answer is yes, that absolutely it can proceed. In fact, the executor of her estate (who many people assume will…
The James Brown saga gets more and more interesting… James Brown’s partner, Ms. Hynie, has filed suit in court against the Estate of James Brown. Curiously, according to the media, Ms. Hynie is not simply claiming an elective share but rather that the will and trust are not valid "for a variety of reasons." I’ve…
Or so says Dick Solomon of NBC’s former “Third Rock” series. And then he had to go figure his taxes (as seen on YouTube)…
Chances are, you did not Google to get here today. At least, if Gregory Hill of Devon, PA, has his way you didn’t. Mr. Hill is a middle-aged builder in neighboring Chester County, Pennsylvania. He was recently sentenced for a conviction for payroll-tax fraud for paying transient workers under the table. The damage? According to…
Remember my post about Second Life? Forbes has an interesting look at the kinds of numbers that the company is generating. And by way of comparison from that old post in October, here are the numbers today: Total Residents: 2,835,296 Logged In Last 60 Days: 1,007,488 Online Now: 23,967 US$ Spent Last 24h: $1,063,827 LindeX…