Happy New Year 2009!
Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better man. – Philadelphia’s own Benjamin Franklin Happy New Year!
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Fix The Tax Code Friday: Property Tax Abatement
It’s Fix the Tax Code Friday! Earlier this week, the Philadelphia Inquirer ran an article about an issue that has been on the minds of many local taxpayers as the city prepares for major cuts in services: real estate tax abatement. Many municipalities – from major metropolitan areas like Philly and NYC to smaller towns…
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Street Ordered To Federal Prison
T. Milton Street Sr., embattled brother of the former mayor of Philadelphia, John Street, has been sentenced to 2-1/2 years in prison for failing to file tax returns. He was immediately taken into custody. Street’s 2006 trial raised allegations of improprieties stemming from a three-year investigation. The investigation was part of a wider look into…
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Philly, Philly, Philly: Or Where to Host BlogHer 2009
In 2007, BlogHer was in Chicago (great location, wonderful city). In 2008, BlogHer was in San Francisco: I made no secret about my disappointment with SF. I had waited, it felt like, eons to make it there and, well, it was no great shakes. Lovely weather, beautiful buildings but crazy expensive as all get out…
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Obituary: William M. Goldstein, Philadelphia Tax Attorney
William Goldstein, a popular Philadelphia tax attorney, passed away today. Here, reprinted with permission from Drinker Biddle, is his obituary: William M. Goldstein, 72, a partner at Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP in Philadelphia and one of the nation’s preeminent tax and business lawyers, died today. A resident of Wayne, Pa., he had battled cancer…
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Banking Giant Gets "Tax Incentive"
Massachusetts’ Economic Assistance Coordinating Council is expected to give its approval to a $3.5 million tax break for JPMorgan Chase & Co. voted in by the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) and City Council. The tax break includes a $2 million cut in property taxes and a $1.5 million break on state income tax. It’s a…
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Have Federal Tax Charges Made Fumo An Angry Man?
Pennsylvania State Senator Vincent J. Fumo is facing charges on 139 indictments including 2 counts each of filing false tax returns and aiding and assisting in the filing of false tax returns. Gilbert Coleman, Jr., senior pastor of Freedom Christian Bible Fellowship in Philadelphia, believes that those charges have made Fumo an angry man. Gilbert…
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Pizza Hut Mogul Fails To Deliver
La-Van Hawkins, who built a fortune with Burger King, Pizza Hut and Checkers Drive-In franchises across the country, has another legal battle brewing. Hawkins grew up in Chicago’s Cabrini-Green housing project where he was an admitted gang member and cocaine addict. He began working at a McDonalds cleaning toilets and eventually became general manager of…
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Looking To Increase Your Sales Tax Burden? Move To Chicago!
Your tourist souvenirs in the Windy City just got a little more expensive. As of November 2008, Chicago will become the most expensive city in the United States for paying sales tax. Cook County voted to double the county sales tax to 1.75% putting Chicago’s total sales tax bite at a whopping 10.25%. That officially…
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J – K – L – Meme…
I’ve been tagged by Tracee at blogfabulous for a meme. I’ve memed before here and here. Hopefully, you’ll learn something new! Enjoy, it’s the weekend… enough of this economic stimulus talk! 1, When I was little, my great-grandmother told people in Greenville, South Carolina that I talked just like a Philadelphia lawyer. Apparently, she was…