I’ve been toying with the idea of ending my cell contract with Sprint early, and getting an iPhone. I’m cheap and don’t want to pay the early termination fees…but this may make it worth it.
The tax code on my iPhone. I want. It would be all kinds of awesome.
(hat tip: TaxProf Blog)
He who controls the gold, makes the rules.
In a historic first, Uncle Sam has supplanted sales, property and income taxes as the biggest source of revenue for state and local governments.
The shift shows how deeply the recession is cutting. Federal stimulus money aimed at reviving the economy and a sharp drop in tax collections have altered, at least temporarily, the traditional balance of how states, cities, counties and schools pay for their operations.
The sales tax had been the No. 1 source of state and local revenue since the mid-1970s, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Before that, property taxes were the primary source. That changed in the first three months of 2009.
Federal grants — early stimulus money plus conventional federal aid — soared 15% in the first quarter to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $437 billion, eclipsing sales taxes, which fell 2%
That’s a pretty nice revenue stream you got there, Arizona. I’d hate to see anything happen to it. I’d hate to see it disappear if you don’t do what The One asks of you.
It can’t be just me that sees this as a problem?
I’m in the throes of busy season here in Farrahzona. The spring busy season for me isn’t as bad as my fall busy season. Generally all my compliance projects are extended, so August and September I rarely see daylight. Which is great, because the weather is lovely this time of year, and awful during my fall busy season. But I digress.
In honor of this very special season, I’m passing along Smart Money Magazine’s Top 10 Things The IRS Won’t Tell You.
- Like it or not, you may need help with your taxes
- You don’t have to be rich to get audited
- Fear is often our best weapon
- The AMT is our ATM
- Just because we billed you doesn’t mean you owe us money
- If you don’t pay, we’ll sic a collection agency on you
- Want to go green? We’ll help pay
- April 15 isn’t necessarily a hard deadline
- We may be a government agency, but that doesn’t mean your data’s safe
- We may still have your refund
I deal with #5 pretty much on a weekly basis. Last week it was straightening out an extension payment the IRS said they never received (that’s very bad - no extension payment means extension is invalid and the return is late and that means large penalties and interest assessed).
It was a million dollar payment they said they never received, even after we twice provided them with copies of the canceled, cashed check. After two rounds of correspondence and three phone calls, someone with two brain cells to rub together finally updated our account and removed the penalties and interest. It was an easy resolution, but a hassle.
If someone who’s ever dealt with the IRS is a supporter of government funded/run universal health care….I’m convinced that person is truly an idiot.
I hope some of the tips are useful. Happy Tax Season!
(via the TaxProf Blog )
My paycheck this week was $20 higher than it usually is. And my next check is going to be $20 higher too. And the one after that, and the one after that.
Ladies and gentlemen, today, I was stimulated. What to do with all my government booty plundered from my son’s future?
Hmm… What could I do with $40? Well $40 a month is one tank of gas for my EVIL luxury SUV. Or my lunch budget for a week. Or 1/2 my monthly dry cleaning bill. Or the full copay for my son to visit his doctor, but not the copay for the drugs she’ll prescribe for his ear infection. Or 37 songs from iTunes (30 if I lived in New York City). Or a Wii game on sale. Or one mani/pedi, if I stiff the gal on the tip. Or 1/3 my weekly grocery bill. Or 1/2 my monthly car insurance bill. Or 1/4 my monthly electric bill. Or….Boy, $40 a month doesn’t get much these days, does it?
If it doesn’t buy much, it won’t do much to help the economy either.
At first I was kind of excited to see that FINALLY I’ll get some benefit from a tax credit….but now I’m just bummed. I really thought I was part of the 5% of people The One said wouldn’t get a tax cut under his plan. I guess I’m not as successful as I thought I was.
Advance copies of The One’s big speech tonight are floating around the internets. I don’t have time to read it right now. Besides, I like listening to these things live anyway. I find I comprehend complex subjects better when I’m not distracted by pretty pictures or shiny metal objects.
I want to leave you with something to think about while The One delivers his sermon on The Hill. It’s my screen saver at the office, it’s what I have written on a sticky note taped to my two monitors so it’s in my mind every moment I spend helping EVIL rich people minimize their tax burden. It’s something I know to be true, something I’ve witnessed first hand.
“The power to tax involves the power to destroy.” - Chief Justice John Marshall, McCulloch v. Maryland, 1819.
Remember that when you listen to The One lay out his big plans for the country.
It is rare I come across a tax I think is a good idea, let alone endorse. This one is shaping up to be one I will wholeheartedly support.
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood says he wants to consider taxing motorists based on how many miles they drive rather than how much gasoline they burn — an idea that has angered drivers in some states where it has been proposed.
Gasoline taxes that for nearly half a century have paid for the federal share of highway and bridge construction can no longer be counted on to raise enough money to keep the nation’s transportation system moving, LaHood said in an interview with The Associated Press.
“We should look at the vehicular miles program where people are actually clocked on the number of miles that they traveled,” the former Illinois Republican lawmaker said.
Let me start with the qualifier that I haven’t seen the details of the proposal. I’m simply addressing the concept.
What I like most about this tax is it’s more explicitly voluntary to pay it than the current gas tax. I don’t like the tax code being used to drive behavior, but it is and it does so whenever a taxpayer has the ability to choose not to pay a tax legally, I fully support that.
With this VMT, you don’t have to pay the tax until you drive, rather than all at once when you fill up your gas tank. It gives taxpayers a better decision making tool, and a way to legally avoid paying the tax by avoiding the activity that’s taxed.
If I’m going to pay $1 to drive to the market that’s a mile away, I’d probably walk. That $1 is four Diet Cokes during the week at the office. But if I’ve already paid that $1 when I filled up my tank, I’d probably drive. I’ve already paid the tax, might as well make it count.
As with every tax plan, the devil’s in the details. There is no mention of eliminating the current federal gas tax. Just freezing it at it’s current rate of 18.4 center per gallon. This plan seems like it would be an additional tax, and that is something I vehemently disagree with.
And then there’s this:
The system would require all cars and trucks be equipped with global satellite positioning technology, a transponder, a clock and other equipment to record how many miles a vehicle was driven, whether it was driven on highways or secondary roads, and even whether it was driven during peak traffic periods or off-peak hours.
The device would tally how much tax motorists owed depending upon their road use. Motorists would pay the amount owed when it was downloaded, probably at gas stations at first, but an alternative eventually would be needed.
I do not like this at all. It’s none of the government’s damn business how many times I drive to In N Out Burger. If they did find out, they’d find a way to tax that too, under the guise of wanting to make sure my fat ass doesn’t get heart disease or some vague notion of “public health”.
If the gas station is only the collection point for total miles, rather than details of my movement, I would find this more palatable. For now, it reeks of Big Brother.
I’ll be keeping my eye on this one.
UPDATE: Well, that was quick.
Press secretary Robert Gibbs commented after Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told the Associated Press that he wants to consider the idea, which has been proposed in some states but has angered many drivers.
“It is not and will not be the policy of the Obama administration,” Gibbs told reporters, when asked for the president’s thoughts about the policy and LaHood’s remarks.
Naturally. It’s a good idea. Why would it be part of the Obama administration.
So the tax ‘rebates’ are going out sooner than planned. Qualifying folks whose Social Security numbers end in 00 - 20 should be seeing their stimulus payments in their bank accounts this week.
The IRS said all checks for those who filed tax returns on time are scheduled to be deposited or mailed by July 11. The direct deposits and the paper checks are being processed by the last two digits of a taxpayers’ Social Security number.
For people receiving direct deposits, those with a Social Security number ending in 00 to 20 will have their economic stimulus payment deposited to their bank account by May 2.
Those with Social Security numbers ending in 21 to 75 will get their direct deposits by May 9 and those with Social Security numbers ending in 76 to 99 getting their deposits by May 16.
If you’re not sure if you qualify for the stimulus payments, here’s a handy dandy little calculator that will tell you if you qualify, and how much you’ll be stimulated if you do.
I will not be stimulated today. I will not be stimulated on May 9 or May 16. I will not be stimulated with my green eggs and ham Sam-I-am.
This should upset me. But it doesn’t. I’m used to giving more than half my pie to government only to be told to continue to bend over and grab my ankles so they can take even more.
If you’re like me, seeing the numbers on your 1040 tend to make your blood boil.
My husband and I paid over $35,000 in Federal income taxes for 2007. That’s more than some of my friends make in a year.
We paid $15,000 in Social Security and Medicare taxes through payroll deductions and self employment taxes. A big fat piece of our pie given to someone else, as we’ll never see any of that again. Both programs will be insolvent by the time we retire. Senator Hope and Change would be proud, no?
The state of Arizona took $5,700 in income taxes and the county and other localities hit us up for $3,500 in property taxes. I chose to live in a state with low income and low property taxes. Lucky? No. Good life choices.
Before factoring in sales taxes on the things I buy and gas taxes on every gallon of gas I use…I’ve given government $60,000 this year.
$60,000 and Senator Hope and Change and his lovely bride think I should pay MORE?
How much more?
No, seriously. I’m asking.
How much more of my pie should I give to someone else? I work over 2400 hours a year for my salary (normal full time is 2080 hours a year), plus extra time outside my W-2 job to help out with our side business.
How much more should I be paying? How much harder should I be working to give my pie away?
I don’t mean to pile on to Rachl Lukis’ butthurt, but Tax Freedom Day is April 23rd.
Somehow…the fact that it’s 3 days earlier this year doesn’t ease the sting of realizing I’m working almost 4 months a year to give my pie away so that others can have some.
If I didn’t have a sense of pride, or a strong work ethic, an insatiable need to succeed or a desire to do more than just get by… I’d quit my job and suckle at the government teat.
But alas, I want to do more with my life than know what was on Dr. Phil today. I better get back to work.
If you haven’t read this yet, do it now!
If it were later than 12:16 p.m. and if I had eaten anything yet today, I would take a double shot of whiskey right now. I might do it anyway because any negative repercussions from that would have to be better than feeling every ounce of pain I’m enduring today.
I am doing my taxes.
And you know what, right this second, I’m NOT proud to be an American. I’m not even proud to be a human being today. I am certainly not enjoying the fact that I share air and a planet with whatever assholes invented and maintain the IRS.
It makes me want to blow shit up. Not people, that would be taking it too far, but definitely shit. Like watermelons and outhouses and maybe even a taco truck.
And it only gets better from there.
Is it possible to have a chick crush in the same way dudes have man crushes? Cause I totally heart Rachl Lukis.