“98% of the adults in this country are
decent, hardworking, honest Americans.
It’s the other lousy 2% that get all the publicity. But then, we elected them!”
Lily Tomlin
* JK LASSER takes
us for a stroll down memory lane in “Tax Rules of Yore: Tax Breaks You Can’t Use Now But …”, discussing tax law that is no more.
While I do miss
Income Averaging (it allowed tax preparers to literally pull a rabbit out of
our hat), I am truly glad that the new home buyer credit and the deferral on
home sales (replaced by Section 121 exclusion) are gone, and that there is no
longer a need for a Maximum Tax.
* Miranda Marquit tackles
the question “Should You Pay Off Your Student Loans Early?” at the
MONEYSMARTLIFE blog.
She makes some good
points, with which I agree. For example,
pay down higher-interest debts, such as credit cards, first.
* “Hobby vs. Business: Hobby or Real Business? What are the Tax Laws?” Jean Murray explains
the difference at ABOUT.COM.
* Joe Cicchinelli
and Jared Trexler from THE SLOTT REPORT provide a “Reminder: Qualified Charitable Distributions From IRAs Have NOT Been Reinstated”.
“Many advisors and the public have asked us
about the status of Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs) for 2014. QCDs,
also known as charitable IRA rollovers, expired after December 31, 2013. While
it was widely expected that {the idiots in – rdf} Congress would reinstate them, as of today they have not yet been
reinstated for 2014.”
The word is that
the “extenders” will not be extended until the end of the year, after the
November elections. So those who want to
benefit from QCDs might want to put off taking their RMD until year-end.
* ACCOUNTING TODAY
reports on a recent study that suggests “Tax Season Sign-up Could Boost ObamaCare Enrollment”.
What this seems to
imply is that individuals should sign up for health insurance when they had
their taxes prepared.
Thanks, but no
thanks. Tax preparers have enough to
deal with during the “season”. We are
already expected to be social workers by verifying that taxpayers qualify for
federal welfare (the Earned Income Credit).
We do not need any more unrelated work.
The administration of ObamaCare is not the job of the tax preparer, and
should not be the job of the IRS.
Government social
programs, no matter how good they may be, or the distribution of the benefits
thereof, should never be
administered through the Tax Code!
* THE CHICAGO FINANCIAL
PLANNER, aka Roger Wohlner, takes us through “401(k) Loans by the Numbers”.
TTFN
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