For Individuals
Will Smith becomes a capitalist
The text of this conversation is printed below. Will Smith: I have no issue with paying taxes and whatever needs to be done for my country to grow. I believe very firmly that my ability to sit here—I’m a black man who didn’t go to college, yet I get to travel around the world and…
Read MoreIf we did Financial Statements like the White House and Congress . . .
We would simply overstate your net income by 384%! Not surprisingly, the White House and Congress speak of the yearly deficit in amounts of 1.3 trillion. However, if we use the same accounting rules that your business and my business are required to follow, the numbers change to roughly 5 trillion. Most financial…
Read MoreHow “Qualified” are your relatives?
One of the tests to claim a dependent is that the person must be a qualifying child or relative. Like most things with IRS, the meaning of their terms is never simple. Here are some of the tests used to qualify your dependent as a write-off. Tests To Be a Qualifying Child Tests To…
Read MoreDownside of Online: Cyber Crime & Stolen Data
by Rick Viall (Guest Editor) How safe is private information when stored electronically? You may not want to know the answer to that question. But if you’re just a bit curious, consider visiting privacyrights.org/data-breach. The site allows you to scroll through a frequently updated chronological list of reported breaches of private…
Read MoreLet the rich guys pay this tax bill
Why wouldn’t we let them pay? The non-payers (but still voters) have almost reached 51%
Read MoreIntuit solves the wrong problem with a new Quickbooks option
For clients using Quickbooks, here’s a useful tip from one of our most trusted sources for software training. The instructors at K2 Enterprises will walk you through the process of limiting your Quickbooks data file to the current year. This will make QB run faster and more efficiently, but this does not solve the IRS…
Read MoreDoes Volunteering Your Time Mean Volunteering Your Insurance?
by Guest EditorRick Viall rviall@viallins.com Millions of Americans donate time—their most valuable asset—to serve as a volunteer board member on non-profits, booster clubs, churches, PTAs and civic organizations, just to name a few. The decisions these folks make can have a dramatic impact on their respective organization—and not always for the better. If a volunteer…
Read MoreDownside of Online: Cyber Crime & Stolen Data
by Guest EditorRick Viall rviall@viallins.com How safe is private information when stored electronically? You may not want to know the answer to that question. But if you’re just a bit curious, consider visiting privacyrights.org/data-breach. The site allows you to scroll through a frequently updated chronological list of reported breaches of private data. Some data are…
Read MoreSounds too Good to be True: Downloading Illegal Music
by Guest EditorRick Viall rviall@viallins.com Remember the days of curling up to the radio on a Saturday night, torturing yourself through commercials and lame tunes just to be able to crank it when Mr. DJ played your favorite song? No longer does one require the patience to spend an entire evening anticipating the next round…
Read MoreCustomer no-service from IRS gets even worse!
As if things weren’t bad enough, now the less-than-sterling level of IRS service just got worse. It’s not just my opinion, check out this eye-opening article from “Forbes.” IRS Gone Bad: Are Things About to Get Even Worse? The details aren’t all that important. Basically, I called the IRS to discuss a client’s tax…
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