TheBUZZ intended for Saturday is so “chock-a-block” with good stuff so far that Idecided to post a day early!
*Duh? “Was Donald Trump's Announcement A Gigantic, Pointless Waste Of Time Promulgated By A Venal Con Artist?"
Itis hard to think of a bigger arsehole than the Dumpster. Does the fool realize that nobody with anyintelligence takes him seriously?
*Have you taken advantage of my “October Half Price Sale” yet?
*Peter J Reilly agrees with me that the problem with the Tax Code is the faultof the “idiots in Congress” and “steals” my description of the Tax Code in hispost “Same Sex Couples - Registered Domestic Partners - Community Property -What A Mucking Fess” at FORBES.COM.
Idid not create the term “mucking fess”, but I guess I have made it mine inreferring to the Tax Code.
Peteris welcome to “steal” any of my trademark descriptions – which also include “GDextensions” and “dreaded AMT” (and identifying reality tv programs like “TheJersey Shore” and anything with a Kardashian as “steaming piles of excrement”).
Iagree with Peter’s suggestion that we “takeour system of individual filing statuses – Married, Married Filing Separately,Single, Head of Household and chuck it”.
Ina fair and simple Tax Code, as Peter recommends - “There would be only one filing status for an individual. We could call it something really clever likemaybe – Individual.”
*Jason Dinesen begins a new series of posts on the “Small Business Health Insurance Credit — Nice in Theory But Not in Execution” at the DINESEN TAXTIMES.
Thatdescription could apply to a multitude of tax and other items enacted by theidiots in Congress.
Jasonbegins the first post in the series –
“Like a lot of tax credits, the creditavailable to small businesses that provide health insurance is nice in theorybut is horribly executed.”
*Howard Gleckman discusses “The Ten Biggest Differences between the Romney and Obama Tax Plans” at TAX VOX, the blog of the Tax Policy Center.
Oneimportant difference of note where I am concerned –
“Obama has shown little interest inbroad-based tax reform. Romney wants to fundamentally rewrite the revenue code.”
*You’ve got to be kidding! Kay Bellreports on a recent Gallop Poll that suggests “We Think Congress is Doing a Better Job” at DON’T MESS WITH TAXES.
“Gallup says Americans now have the mostpositive view of Congress that they've had in more than a year.
‘Twenty-one percent ofAmericans approve of the job Congress is doing’, reports Gallup on its website.
That's substantiallymore than the 13 percent Congressional approval measured in September,according to Gallup, and the highest rating in any month since May 2011.”
Kayis as shocked as I am, but thinks she knows why –
“The only explanation I can come up with forGallup's results is that the House and Senate have been in recess since Sept.21.”
Shemay have a point. The members ofCongress are idiots – and certainly do a better job when they are not workingthen when they are.
*The results of a recent Tax Foundation study are not surprising - “State and Local Tax Burdens Highest in New York”.
“The Annual State-Local Tax Burden Rankingreport estimates the average total tax burden for residents of each state,including both the in-state taxes they are subject to as well as taxes they payto other states, such as those paid by virtue of working in, traveling to, orbuying products from other states. This method takes the point of view of theindividual taxpayer, counting all taxes they pay, no matter to which state theyare paid.”
Asa point of information, a resident of New York City could have a marginalcombined city-state income tax rate of over 10%, added to a 25% - 35% federalmarginal rate. If the top federal rategoes back to 38%, and you consider the 1.45% Medicare tax, high income individualscould be paying at least half of each additional dollar earned in taxes. Still say the rich do not pay enough taxes?
Itis also no surprise that my former home state of New Jersey is #2 (no punintended – but if the shoe fits . . .). Pennsylvania, where I currently live, is #10 – so my move was a goodone.
RussFox gives a good overview, listing the top and bottom ten, in “Tax Foundation Releases State & Local Tax Burdens” at TAXABLE TALK.
Russends his post with an interesting observation –
“One interesting observation I have is thatalmost all of the low-tax states are ‘Red’ states (they tend to voteRepublican) while almost all of the high-tax states are ‘Blue’ states (theytend to vote Democratic). I suspect that this is not a coincidence.”
*The Tax Foundation also explains “The Economic Impact of High-Earner Tax Hikes”(the highlight is mine) -
“President Obama’s proposal to raise taxes onindividuals earning more than $200,000 wouldslow economic growth and reduce future incomes across the board, accordingto a new analysis by the Tax Foundation. The amount of income that would belost over the next ten years because of higher taxes varies by state, rangingfrom $2 billion in Vermont to as much as $241 billion in California.
‘President Obama’scampaign to raise taxes on high-income earners presents an overly simplisticview of the economy, as if tax increases only affect those people who writechecks to the IRS’, said Tax Foundation chief economist William McBride. ‘Whenhigh income families are hit with additional taxes, they reduce spending ongoods and services and invest less. All of this hurts economic growth over thelong run, resulting in fewer jobs and lower wages.’
In dollar terms, thestates most affected are large, high-income states. California stands to lose$241 billion over ten years as a result of the president’s tax policies,followed by New York at $186 billion, Texas at $131 billion, Florida at $104billion, and Illinois at $74 billion.”
*The CCH daily tax headlines for Wednesday included the item “No Extension of RTRP Examination Deadline, IRS Spokesperson Confirms”.
“In recent weeks, there has been somediscussion at accounting and tax conferences about a possible extension of theDecember 31, 2013, deadline. ‘There are no plans to extend the deadline forcompetency testing’, the IRS spokesperson told CCH.”
AsI point out in my post “There MUST be Grandfathering” at THE TAX PROFESSIONAL –
“There are only about 14½ months left beforethe December 31, 2013 deadline for ‘provisional’ tax return preparers to takeand pass the RTRP competency test. Willthat be enough time for the 325,000+ to do so? To be perfectly honest, I doubt it very much. It may be a logistic impossibility.
So what will happen ifon December 31, 2013, there are still 250,000 or more tax preparers have nottaken the test? Will the IRS put them,many if not most of whom will no doubt be veteran experienced and highlycompetent and ethical tax professionals like me, out of business?”
AsI state in that post – the solution is not to extend the deadline, but toinitiate a grandfathering exemption for veteran preparers.
Ihave written to the new regulation regime “czar” on this issue (click here),but my letter has apparently been totally ignored.
*In addition to writing the ROTH AND COMPANY TAX UPDATE BLOG, with a dailyBUZZ-like Tax Roundup that frequently references my TWTP posts, and speakingout against the IRS preparer regulation regime, CPA Joe Kristan also writes forIOWA BIZ. His latest item there – “Payroll Taxes: Once is Enough” - providessome good advice, which I believe I had highlighted from another source in anearlier BUZZ installment.
“Outsourcing payroll administration is commonfor good reasons, but most taxpayers don't realize how much risk they aretaking when they make that decision. That's why even when you outsource yourpayroll taxes, you should still monitor the provider.
Fortunately, you cando so. Taxpayers enrolled in the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS)can go online and check that their payroll taxes are being remitted by thethird-party payroll service.”
*Over at the online STREET JOURNAL David Wessel gives us “Campaigns Pave the Way for Tax Reform”.
“Like so many presidential campaigns, thisone is criticized for confusing voters more than elucidating issues, forturning more on trivia and debate zingers than on competing policies.
Yet is it possiblethat this campaign has softened the ground for one of those overhauls of thefederal tax code that comes along every 25 years or so?”
Davidbelieves –
“There is more widespread understanding that,in a phrase that deficit-fighters Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson popularized,there is a lot of ‘spending through the tax code’."
Andthat -
“An overhaul of the tax code remains a longshot. But if it actually occurs, the conversation that Simpson-Bowles began in late2010 and that Mitt Romney pursued in 2012 will have made it possible.”
Sothere is some hope!
TTFN
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