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Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Existing Home Sales Increase in October In October, existing home sales rose by 10.1% and are now 23.5% above the year-ago rate. Sales were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.10 million, up from 5.54% in September and a 4.94 million pace a year ago. Existing single family home sales rose by 9.7% to a 5.33 million pace, while condo sales soared by 13.7% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 770,000. Click Here for full article. Labels: houses, new home buyer credit Friday, November 20, 2009
Congress has not fixed the Estate Tax. The current estate tax rate is 45 percent with an exemption level of $3.5 million for individuals and $7 million for couples. Unless something is done, in 2010 the rate and exemption level will fall to zero and then jump up to 55 percent and $1 million, respectively, in 2011. Labels: estate planning, estate tax, tax reform Wednesday, November 11, 2009
States Attack Business! In order to collect more money to pay for their profligate spending many states are hiring collectors and placing judgments against taxpayers who owe taxes. Many states are trying to declare businesses as being resident of their state and therefore requiring them to register and pay taxes with the state. New York is leading the attack, but others are quickly following suit. Full Article.... Labels: 941 collection, business, states, Tax Monday, November 09, 2009
The New Home Buyer Credit is Extended!
Labels: new home buyer credit Thursday, November 05, 2009
IRS Employee Going to Jail for Stealing Money from Mail! An IRS employee in Kansas City opened taxpayer mail and stole cash payments. Even though she is going to jail, the poor victims are out of money! This should act as a reminder to NEVER MAIL CASH especially to the government, Saturday, October 31, 2009
As unemployment climbs to new highs, President Obama is claiming credit for 640k new jobs "created" be spending taxpayer's money. The $1 trillion dollar stimulus went to big banks and union industries that are rapidly lowering their workforces and eliminating jobs. The money is taken from individuals and small businesses that increase productivity and sent to Washington and the big banks. No country has every taxed and spent its way to riches and it cannot happen now! Labels: income taxes, spending, taxes Monday, October 19, 2009
IRS Increasing Audits of Businesses with Subcontractors! The Wall Street Journal reported today the IRS is attacking business. Established and growing companies are being audited by the Internal Revenue Service to force compaies to treat independent contractors as employees. Construction subcontractors, cable installers, drivers, dancers, and other normal independent contractors are being argued as employees. All businesses should have their tax attorney review there employee and independent contractor agreements and documents. Labels: audits, employment, independent contractors, irs, subcontractors Saturday, September 26, 2009
New Jersey government has raced towards the goal of being the worst place in the country for business. The highest real estate tax, aggressive tax administration and ridiculous regulations combine to make New Jersey a poor choice for new business. The " nonprofit, nonpartisan Tax Foundation's...annual State Business Tax Climate Index found the state's tax structure was the least hospitable to economic growth, and its survey of census data on property taxes found New Jersey's were tops in the nation." the Atlantic City Press. Economist Arthur Laffer warned the Federal Reserve and the government may have avoided financial disaster last year current policies may be leading us into a second Great Depression. Laffer believes Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke desperately wanted to avoid the mistakes of the 1930s by not creating a “tight money” economy which prolonged the Great Depression. Laffer credits the Fed for keeping Fed Fund rates close to zero, but warns that is was not tight money and higher interest rates alone that caused the Great Depression to become so bad and last so long. Laffer said in a Wall Street Journal article this week that protectionist trade policies and big tax hikes are what ultimately turned a recession into the Great Depression. It began with the Smoot-Hawley trade legislation that slapped tariffs on foreign goods, which quickly triggered a huge response of trade retaliation by the United States global trading partners. This trade war paralyzed U.S. and global economies. Then, States enacted big domestic tax hikes that further slowed the economy. Laffer thinks the current Obama Administration is already sparing with China over trade and tariffs (tires and chicken), and starting massive government programs that will require increased taxes to pay for them. Adding to the tax hikes is he possible ending of the capital gains and dividend tax cuts in 2010, and you can see why Laffer is worried about a repeat of what he thinks made the Depression worse. Friday, August 21, 2009
13% of Mortgages in Trouble! At the end of the second quarter, 4.3% of all residential mortgages were in some part of the foreclosure process, up from 3.85% at the end of the first quarter and 2.75% a year ago. In addition, on a seasonally adjusted basis, 9.24% of all mortgages were delinquent (behind by at least one payment), up from 9.12% at the end of March, and just 6.41% at the end of June 2008.Both were records since the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) started keeping track back in 1972. On a non-seasonally-adjusted basis, the delinquency rate was not quite as bad at 8.86%, but still a record.That means that 13.16% of all residential mortgages (NSA basis) are in trouble. Click Here for full article. Saturday, July 25, 2009
New IRS Offer In Compromise Forms The Internal Revenue Service has released a new version of Form 656-B, “Offer in Compromise Booklet,” and a revised Form 656, “Offer in Compromise.” The new Form 656-B contains all of the forms and instructions necessary to file an offer in compromise. The revised Form 656 has been slimmed down to four pages and now only includes the four-page offer-in-compromise application. All of the worksheets, checklists and instructions previously found in Form 656 can now be found in Form 656-B. The availability of the two forms allows taxpayers and practitioners to access the offer-in-compromise application without printing or sorting through the offer booklet. An offer in compromise is an agreement between a taxpayer and the IRS that resolves the taxpayer’s tax liability. Under certain circumstances, the IRS has the authority to settle federal tax liabilities by accepting less than full payment. Simply filling out the form is not enough! Your tax attorney must prepare a detailed narrative explaining the reason for the OIC. If you have a question, call Ronald J. Capppuccio, J.D., LL.M. (Tax) at 856 665-2121 Labels: Alternative Minimum Tax, offer in compromise, OIC Small tax-exempt organizations must file Form 990-N The IRS and the Treasury Department have issued final regulations clarifying how and when certain small tax-exempt organizations must file an annual electronic notice. The final regulations finalize the temporary regulations without substantive change and affect small tax-exempt organizations whose annual gross receipts are not normally in excess of $25,000. They may be required to electronically submit Form 990-N, also known as the e-Postcard, unless they choose to file a complete Form 990 or Form 990-EZ. The Pension Protection Act of 2006 added this filing requirement to ensure that the IRS and potential donors have current information about tax-exempt organizations. The first e-Postcards were due in 2008 for tax years ending on or after Dec. 31, 2007. The e-Postcard is due every year by the 15th day of the 5th month after the close of the organization's tax year. For example, if the organization’s tax year ended on Dec. 31, 2007, the e-Postcard is due May 15, 2008. Organizations cannot file the e-Postcard until after their tax year ends. Labels: form 990-N, tax exempt organizations |