Consumerist
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taxes
10 Ways to Lower Your 2009 Taxes
With less than two months left in the year, it's time to start considering year-end money moves to reduce your 2009 tax burden. To help spur some ideas, MSN Money has ten suggestions as follows: More » -
personal finance
Quicken Online To Be Shut Down Next Year, Accounts Merged With Mint
When news broke back in September that Intuit, the company behind Quicken, was buying personal finance website Mint, everyone wondered how the two services would co-exist. The worst case scenario was that Mint would be absorbed somehow into Intuit's in-house competitor, Quicken Online. Thankfully, it looks like the opposite will happen. More » -
real estate
$8000 Credit For New Homebuyers Might Get Extended
Washington is working on getting the up-to-$8000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers due to expire in November extended, and perhaps even expanded to current homeowners buying a new house. [AP] (Photo: sflovestory) -
fat tax
Should We Tax Junk Food?
Should America tax junk food? Should we add a "fat tax" to the list of sin taxes? When most Americans eat fast food at least once a week, could we tax junk and subsidize healthy foods in the name of public health? Paul Michael of Wisebread thinks that it makes financial sense. More » -
books
"So Sue Me, Jackass!" Provides Random Legal Advice In Humor Book Format
Here's a new book that focuses on those random questions people always have about how the law pertains to everyday activities. You know, things like starting your own online porn site, burying a pet, or selling your ex-boyfriend's things on eBay. More » -
crisis averted
Philadelphia's Public Libraries Not Closing After All
Lovers of books, free Internet access, and community gathering spaces, rejoice. The Philadelphia Free Library will not be closing on October 2nd, as previously threatened. More » -
sugar water
Coke CEO: Soda Taxes Are Communist Conspiracy To Sap Our Precious Bodily Fluids
Coca-Cola CEO Muhtar Kent has lashed out at a proposed federal tax on soda as "outrageous" and something akin to the policies that landed former Communist regimes in the dustbin of history. "I have never seen it work where a government tells people what to eat and what to drink," he said. "If it worked, the Soviet Union would still be around." More » -
know when to fold
Recession Hits Casinos, Hurting State Tax Revenues
States that put it all on double zero and let it ride may start wishing they'd listened to Ace Rothstein, and walked out instead of choosing to take the money — and the hammer. The casino industry — once considered recession-proof — is starting to feel the pinch of the current downturn. The New York Times reports that some of the biggest gambling havens, including Nevada, New Jersey and Illinois, have seen massive drops in gambling-related tax revenues. New Jersey's take was down $62 million, Nevada dropped $122 million, and Illinois spun and lost $166 million in tax revenues. More » -
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tax credits
Four Stimulus Benefits That Will Expire Soon
Kiplinger lists four ways you can still get some cash back from the government, although you'd better get a move on if you want to qualify. Included are a first-time home buyer's credit that goes away November 30th, a new car tax credit, a COBRA premium subsidy for people laid off, and a slight unemployment payment benefit.
"Take Advantage of These Stimulus Breaks Soon" [Kiplinger]
(Photo: miss karen) -
busted
UBS Rats Out Thousands Of Potential Tax Evaders To The IRS
Bad news for tax evaders! UBS has reached an agreement with the IRS to turn over the names of 4,450 "U.S. account holders as part of a U.S.-Swiss tax-evasion settlement and investigation that could produce a total 10,000 account identities," says the WSJ. More » -
money
Save Money by Shopping on Tax Holidays
How would you like to save 4% to 7% on many of your back-to-school purchases? Or maybe you aren't a student but have some fall clothing shopping to do and would like those savings yourself. Or you're been putting off that computer purchase for a few months. Well, with the tax holidays many states are offering, now may be your time to pounce and buy, buy, buy. More » -
recession watch
Homeless? If You Can Prove There's A Relative Who'll Take You In, NYC Will Pay Your Way
NYC wants to have less homeless people — even if that means buying them a one way ticket out of town. The NYT says that the Bloomberg administration has paid for 550 homeless people to leave the city — including flying people to "Paris ($6,332), Orlando ($858.40), Johannesburg ($2,550.70), or most frequently, San Juan ($484.20)." More » -
bounty hunting
Updated: Bounty Hunters Are No Longer Coming After You For Back Taxes
The IRS had been placing bounties on the heads of deadbeat taxpayers for the past few years, giving debt collection agencies a 25 percent cut of delinquent debts they rounded up. But since March, the IRS is no longer supporting the program. Thanks to Samuel for pointing out the announcement. More » -
commenting
Justice Department Takes Aim At Mean Commenters
Attention mean commenters: watch what you say or the Justice Department will hunt you down. Seriously! The U.S. Attorney in Nevada subpoenaed the Las Vegas Review-Journal to reveal the identities of two anonymous commenters whose statements could be read as mildly threatening to jurors involved in a tax case, if you've never read internet comments before. More » -
amazon
No More Amazon Referrals For North Carolina Residents
This morning, Amazon e-mailed all North Carolina residents who are part of its Associates program to notify them that their accounts will be terminated in the next few weeks. More » -
taxes
Congress Considers Partially Removing Tax Exemption On Employer Provided Health Benefits
Would you be willing to pay more in taxes in order to fund a more equitable health care program for the nation's uninsured? From MSNBC:
More »While details of such an approach are still sketchy, it would likely involve employees paying tax on a percentage of their employer-provided health benefits. So if Congress decided that all such premiums in excess of $11,000 for family plans would be taxable income, and your company paid premiums worth $16,000 for your coverage, you'd have to pay taxes on $5,000.
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money
Personal Finance Roundup
How To Tell If You Should Buy an American Car [MSN Money] "Here's how to decide whether to go domestic."
Oops, I Screwed Up! How to File an Amended Return [Smart Money] "Here's what you need to know [to amend a tax return.]"
Amazon's 25 Software Bestsellers - And Their Free Equivalents [The Simple Dollar] "For most of these pieces of software, there are free equivalents that do almost the same task."
Face the numbers with personal financial "stress test" [Dallas Morning News] "Consumers should put themselves through a stress test to determine if their personal finances could withstand a job loss, a serious illness or any other unexpected event that would challenge their finances."
America's Most Surprising Six-Figure Jobs [Yahoo Finance] "Our list of surprising six-figure jobs."
— FREE MONEY FINANCE (Photo: frankieleon) -
recession watch
First-Time Home Buyers: Use $8k Tax Credit For Down Payments Or Closing Costs?
BusinessWeek has an interesting article about a little known program that will allow first-time home buyers (technically, those who have not owned a home in three years) to use the 8k tax credit to offset down payments or closing costs. More »
taxes
New York, 4:07 AM
Sun Nov 8
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