Smokers everywhere complain about taxes tacked on to cigarettes, but those in some states have far more reason to complain than others. An unscientific but seemingly thorough spot check found that New Yorkers have to fork over $11.90 for a pack of Marlboro Reds, while West Virginians need only part with $4.74. [More]
taxes
NY Court: Lap Dances Not Exempt From Sales Tax
By 6.10.11
The owners of a strip club in New York state have spent the last half decade arguing that they do not owe $125,000 in sales tax on cover charges and lap dances because the dirty dances fall under the tax exempt category of “dramatic or musical art performance.” Alas, the NY State Supreme Court Appellate Division disagrees. [More]
Taxes On Car Sharing Eclipse Sales Tax Rates
By 6.9.11
Car-sharing services are a great way to save on all the expenses of owning a car while still getting to use it for short trips. But they would save you even more money if they weren’t being taxed at sometimes more than double than the going sales tax rate. That’s because many states are taxing car-sharing services just like they were rental cars, a new study comparing taxes on car-sharing services across the nation shows. [More]
GM CEO Thinks $1 Increase In Gas Price Would Do Us All Some Good
By 6.7.11
General Motors CEO Dan Akerson believes in educating the consumer. That’s why, rather than GM being compelled by Washington to make more fuel efficient cars that might cost us more to purchase, he thinks the drivers of America need to learn a lesson in frugality by being forced to pay more money at the pump. [More]
Pennsylvanians Still Paying Tax To Rebuild Town Flooded In 1936
By 6.7.11
It’s been 122 years since Johnstown, PA, was nearly wiped off the face of the planet by a flood that killed more than 2,000 people. And it’s been 75 years since even more damage was done to the down by the St. Patrick’s Day flood of 1936, spurring the commonwealth to enact a tax on alcohol sales to help rebuild the town. Luckily, that tax was only needed for a few years, so it’s obviously long since been repealed… right? [More]
Be Aware Of The Pitfalls Of Self-Employment
By 4.23.11
Just as cubicle drones envy their freelancer friends who make their own hours and seemingly take vacations at will, self-employed folks sometimes long for the regular paycheck and built-in benefits of a day job. [More]
Polls: Most Americans Think Rich Folk Aren't Paying Enough Taxes
By 4.22.11
While the absolute wealthiest Americans are now paying less federal income tax than they were two decades ago, two new polls show that most people support raising taxes on those earning over $250,000 a year. [More]
Texas Man Loses 78% Of Tax Refund After Winning Free Donut Coupons At Houston Astros Game
By 4.19.11
Just about everyone likes winning stuff — especially free food and definitely free donuts. But a man in Texas claims that the stack of free donut coupons he scored as a prize at a Houston Astros game caused his federal tax refund to disappear almost as quickly as that team’s hopes of making the World Series. [More]
The Insanely Wealthy Keep Finding Ways To Pay Even Less Income Tax
By 4.18.11
You probably don’t get to have one the 400 highest adjusted gross incomes in the U.S. without having a clever accountant — and probably an entire law firm — at your disposal. So it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that the folks who have attained that level of wealth are paying less income tax these days than they were in the early ’90s. [More]
Why Form 1040X Can Be Your Best Friend
By 4.17.11
If you’ve waited until the last possible moment to do your taxes, there’s probably a better chance that you’ll rush through the process and make an error. An error you’ll only realize you’ve made just after you’ve clicked on the e-file button or after the mailman has spirited your return off to Mount Doom. [More]
Check Your "Tax Receipt" To See Where Your Money Is Going
By 4.15.11
Here’s one receipt you might want to have checked… Even though today isn’t offically “Tax Day” (that’s been moved to April 18 this year), the White House has gotten into the spirit with its online “Federal Tax Receipt” calculator that intends to show you where your tax money is being spent. [More]
11 Legal Ways To Pay No Taxes. No Bunker Required.
By 4.11.11
It’s tax time, so you’re probably wondering, man, do I really have to give the government so much of my money? If you’re rich, the answer is no! Step 1: Be a millionaire. Step 2: Hire a flashy accountant. Step 3: Have them use one of these 11 completely legal ways the wealthy use to avoid paying taxes. One of them, which Bloomberg Businessweek calls “The Friendly Partner,” allows for a property to be sold without any capital-gains tax at all. [More]
California May Go After Online Shoppers For Unpaid Taxes
By 3.22.11
While most of the country don’t pay sales tax to online retailers like Amazon, most customers are still supposed to pay those taxes to the state. No one does, of course, which is why the California State Board of Equalization is looking into the prospect of going after residents who have made more than $5,000 in online purchases in the hope of getting paid. [More]
Forgiven Credit Card Debt Over $600 Is Taxable Income
By 3.14.11
Did you negotiate a debt settlement in 2010 on your credit card? If the amount you knocked off is more than $600, LowCards notes, the IRS considers it income and you’ll have to pay tax on it. Sorry Charlie, you’re not out of the woods yet. [More]
States Trying To Make Amazon Collect Sales Tax
By 3.14.11
Budget deficits across the country are leading states to put the pressure on Amazon.com to start collecting sales tax. But guess what? It doesn’t want to! Because really, who likes taxes? [More]
Connecticut Governor Wants Coupon Users To Pay Tax On Full Price Of Purchase
By 2.28.11
Got a coupon for 30% a Blu-Ray player? If the Connecticut governor gets his way, you’d still be paying sales tax on that player’s full price. [More]
No Taxation On My Syrupy Sweet Carbonation
By 2.25.11
So annoying when syrupy sweet Large Sips cost more because they might make you fat! In Colorado, soda lovers are trying to repeal a tax on soft drinks. [More]
Brooklyn Smoker Grows Own Tobacco To Avoid Cigarette Taxes
By 2.25.11
Frustrated by the tax-fueled rising costs of cigarettes, a Brooklyn woman has developed a private tobacco garden to feed her addiction frugally. She buys her seeds for $2 online and plants her tobacco along with roses and geraniums in her back yard. She expects to yield a total of 45 cartons of cigarettes from crops planted in 2009 and last year, saving her $5,000 from what she’d pay at retail. [More]
