Owner: Taxgirl URL:www.taxgirl.com Join Date: Sat, 24 Mar 2007 09:29:06 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: tax news, tax policy, tax answers wrapped up in bloggity goodness. Site statistics:Click here
Obama’s Church Gets a Little Help From the Man Upstairs 2008-03-05 13:49:47 No, not that man upstairs. I mean Seth P. Waxman, a partner at Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr.
Waxman’s firm has agreed to represent the United Church
of Christ on a pro bono basis during the IRS investigation of the church’s tax-exempt status. The entire denomination’s status is at risk due to the [...] Read more:Obama
Robber Flees, Leaves W-2 2008-03-05 10:25:29 Police in Des Moines weren’t dusting for thumbprints after a robbery: they were checking tax forms.
A man robbed a Git-N-Go store in Des Moines last Friday after threatening a clerk, claiming that he had a gun in his jacket. He pocketed $115 for his troubles.
Apparently, he felt the need to pare down after [...]
Time for taxes: Are you organized? 2008-03-05 08:15:50 I think one of the most frustrating parts of tax time is getting everything together.
Back in the day, when I actually prepared tax returns for clients (I don’t have time anymore), I was amazed at the various styles of “organization” utilized by my clients. There were the über-organized with print outs and annotations; the [...]
Ask the taxgirl: Unions 2008-03-05 04:30:36 Taxpayer asks:
I’m a Union Steamfitter
As part of a Union am I listed as a Sub Contractor? I work for a company.
Taxgirl says:
If you work for a company and you receive a form W-2, then you are an employee of that company and not a subcontractor. As I understand most unions, you work [...] Read more:Unions
Lou Pearlman Stops Playing Games… With the Feds 2008-03-04 21:48:24 Lou Pearlman, former producer and puppetmaster for mega boy bands, the Backstreet Boys and ‘N Sync, has agreed to plead guilty to charges including conspiracy, money laundering and bank fraud charges.
Even with the plea, he still faces up to 25 years in prison and $1 million in fines - and that’s assuming there are no [...] Read more:Games
, Stops
Ask the taxgirl: College expenses 2008-03-04 15:53:29 picApp_publisherId = 447;picApp_imageId = 2464;picApp_imageWidth = 286;picApp_imageHeight = 430;picApp_configUrl = "";picApp_Picview="";picapp_numberOfLine=1;ImageServe();
Taxpayer asks:
My daughter is in her second semester in Troy University. She has never had an income so we are paying everything from tuition, books, clothes, her apartment, providing a car, cell phone, gas etc. I know that I can deduct the tuition, what [...] Read more:College
Ask the taxgirl: More rebate questions 2008-03-04 13:51:03 Taxpayer asks:
I keep hearing all different kinds of stories about this money that we are to be expecting in May. I have heard that this is coming out of our tax returns in 2008, I’ve heard that it’s not. I’ve also heard that if I’m married we get 600.00 for the both of [...] Read more:questions
Ask the taxgirl - LIVE - will be rescheduled 2008-03-04 13:34:41 The ask the taxgirl LIVE segment originally scheduled for today will be rescheduled.
Stay tuned for details!
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Looking to increase your sales tax burden? Move to Chicago! 2008-03-03 02:46:39 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 [...]
How Much is that 75p Soda? Sales Tax Revisited. 2008-03-10 09:08:28 Greetings from the UK! Yep, hubby and I packed up and headed across the pond to Jolly ol’ England for a few days of rest and relaxation (as well as a hint of business).
I won’t regale you with the saga of what’s really happening here (lots of sick travelers, present company included, ridiculously fickle [...] Read more:Revisited
, Sales
, Sales Tax
The Ban Is Over… You Were With Me All The While 2008-03-07 10:31:55 The taxgirl.com ban is over!
I had a telephone conversation this morning with the folks at Secure Computing regarding the Smart Filter ban on taxgirl.com. Apparently, the site was earmarked as inappropriate for, um, we’ll just say “not safe for work” content (in case my mother is reading) back in 2004 - before I owned [...]
Fix the Tax Code Friday: Nonprofit Organizations and Politicking 2008-03-07 07:27:27 It’s Fix the Tax Code Friday
!
The IRS has become more aggressive during this election year about enforcing the prohibition against politicking by tax exempt organizations. To date, the IRS has made inquiries into charitable organizations who have supported or opposed candidates including Obama, Romney and Huckabee.
Is this good policy - or is the IRS [...] Read more:Organizations
Does the IRS discriminate against unmarried couples? 2008-03-06 17:42:14 Does the IRS discriminateagainst
unmarried couples
?
I’m specifically referencing same sex couples in this post because, while traditional unmarried couples may encounter the same kinds of difficulties with the Service, they have an “out” that same sex couples don’t have: marriage.
At my firm, we represent same sex couples in a number of [...]
Is the UK going green? 2008-03-13 07:31:09 Is the UK going green?
You might think so. Since we’ve been here, we’ve been inundated with organic produce and eco-renovation television programming - my son is even using environmentally friendly diaper wipes.
What else is going green? UK tax policy.
The Chancellor has introduced a new budget which includes a substantial tax [...]
Sin Taxes Hit UK 2008-03-13 07:29:58 I’ve posted before about sin taxes - this notion of using tax as a means of controlling or modifying behavior.
In the UK, the Chancellor delivered the new budget this week. The budget included little in the way of new or increased taxes since the UK is in the throes of many of the same [...] Read more:Taxes
Ask the taxgirl: Form 1099 and Schedule C 2008-03-16 06:38:14 Taxpayer asks:
Hi,
I have a question, I’m hoping you can help me resolve my issue.
My husband recieved a 1099 Misc form as his only source of income, but we have be told that he has to file as self-employed been he has to file a Schedule
C form, but our conflict is that it is not [...]
Burning A Hole in My Fake Pocket: Rebate Meme 2008-03-16 06:14:45 Jennifer, over at My Organized Biz, tagged me for a meme about rebates.
She asks:
1, If you could do whatever you wanted, how would YOU spend your $600?
2, Is that the same or different from how you actually plan spend it?
We’re *lucky* in that the government has decided, in its ridiculously [...] Read more:Burning
, Pocket
, Rebate
Tax on Internet Sales Not Likely to Pass… Again 2008-03-15 06:21:12 Assemblyman Charles Calderon of California wants the state to consider imposing a tax on new media downloaded from the internet. He is specifically targeting goods like iTunes which are currently exempt from tax. He claims that the sales tax should apply equally to online and in store purchases.
I think he might have a [...] Read more:Again
, Internet
, Sales
Does Geneva Yahoo? 2008-03-15 06:06:12 picApp_publisherId = 447;picApp_imageId = 4723;picApp_imageWidth = 357;picApp_imageHeight = 464;picApp_configUrl = "";picApp_Picview="";picapp_numberOfLine=2;ImageServe();
Yahoo
! has confirmed that it will move its European headquarters from London to Geneva
- just a few skips away from Google, which is now located in Zurich. Yahoo! claims that the move is to “increase financial performance” which has been widely translated as [...]
Note to Tax Evaders: Don’t Hide Your Money in the Shed 2008-03-15 05:54:21 One of my favorite tax stories to come out of the BBC (yes, even more than the new UK budget) is the saga of Hatsue Shimizu and Yoshiko Ishii. The two Japanese sisters have been arrested for alleged tax evasion - the National Tax Agency in Japan is calling it the biggest ever case [...] Read more:Money
Should You Pay to Finance the War in Iraq? 2008-03-18 22:27:57 This week, the US marked the fifth anniversary of the war in Iraq
. President Bush is expected in his remarks on tomorrow to confirm that the war in Iraq was necessary, saying, “Removing Saddam Hussein from power was the right decision, and this is a fight America can and must win.”
He is also expected [...]
Federal Court Tells NJ That RAL Rates Are Fine 2008-03-18 08:06:56 A federal judge has ruled that New Jersey cannot limit the interest rates and fees national banks can charge for taxpayer RALs (refund anticipation loans) even though the judge noted that the loans’ APR average 115%. Nope, not a typo, that’s well over 100%. New Jersey law limits interest and fees to 30% [...] Read more:Court
, Federal
, Rates
IRS Announces Order of Rebate Checks 2008-03-18 07:29:01 My inbox has been filled with folks wanting to know when the IRS would begin mailing rebate checks and how the order would be determined. Well, wait no more. The IRS has released a statement explaining the order of the rebate checks. The order is as follows:
Remember that this schedule is based [...] Read more:Order
, Rebate
How Much is Your Rebate Check? IRS Shows You. 2008-03-18 07:17:51 “How much am I getting?” That seems to be a popular question as it relates to rebate checks. If you want to know in advance, you can check out the “Economic Stimulus Payment Calculator” on the IRS web site.
How does it work? You must answer a series of questions on the web [...] Read more:Check
, Rebate
Ask the taxgirl: Vacation Rentals 2008-03-21 07:25:26 Taxpayer asks:
I have a question. I have been reading that you can deduct the cost of vacation homes or second homes. Each summer, our family rents out a beach home. Can we deduct this on our taxes?
(I love your site - you’re very funny!)
Taxgirl says:
Thanks for the nice compliment about the site. [...] Read more:Rentals
, Vacation
, Vacation Rentals
32 Arrested at Iraq War Protest at IRS 2008-03-20 21:07:38 Initial reports indicate that 32 people were arrested on Wednesday morning as part of protest to mark the fifth anniversary of the war in Iraq
.
As initially reported, the protesters blockaded the IRS building as a statement in protest of the use of tax dollars to fund the war. I am not sure how many [...] Read more:Iraq War
, Protest
Has Obama Changed the Race? 2008-03-19 19:54:52 If you had asked me, before today, what the single most important issue would be in the upcoming presidential election, I would have said the economy, hands down. For purposes of the election, it’s more important to voters than Iraq, than health care, than the environment (though clearly those issues are intertwined with the [...] Read more:Obama
Why Murphy Will Fail at the Supreme Court 2008-03-19 16:24:13 Hey, you didn’t hear it from me. I’ve sworn off commenting on Murphy
, remember?
I’ve said my piece on Murphy - and argued with opposing counsel. I’ve posted my mea culpa.
I’ve updated regarding Murphy’s petition for rehearing and the subsequent rejection of that petition. I’ve also referenced the Ninth Circuit’s decision not to [...] Read more:Court
, Supreme
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