Inc. magazine has published a list of tips on how to get your home business tax documentation in order right now, so next year’s tax filing will be trouble free. Sure, this isn’t the most exciting staycation idea ever, but on the other hand anything you can do at home you can do in your underwear with a six pack of beer. I should really become a motivational speaker. [More]
taxes
California Welfare Recipients Spending Millions At Casinos
By 6.25.10
Following an L.A. Times report that revealed the California welfare debit card program allows benefits recipients to withdraw cash at ATMs at casinos, state officials disclosed that over $1.8 million in taxpayer cash had been withdrawn on the gaming floors of casinos in just the last eight months. [More]
Should Restaurant Workers Pay Tax On Free Meals?
By 6.24.10
I believe I mentioned in Monday’s Mr. Softee post that I’d toiled for four summers as a soft-serve technician for the Dairy Queen. The hours were horrid, the pay was insulting, but the Blizzards were free — or at least one per 8-hour shift was free. Now, a politician in Michigan wants to rid food-service employees throughout his state of the benefit of free lunches. [More]
1,300 Prison Inmates Received $9 Million In Home Buyer Tax Credit
By 6.23.10
As always happens when the government puts tons of cash up for grabs, scam-happy people will line up to take advantage of it. And a new report says that nearly 10% of the 15,000 folks caught scamming the government for the recent home buyer tax credit were doing it from behind bars. [More]
NY State Approves $4.35/Pack Tax On Cigarettes
By 6.22.10
As we reported over the weekend, the NY State Legislature was considering a proposal to increase the state’s already high $2.75/pack tax on cigarettes by $1.60. And last night, the ayes had it over the coughing and hacking nos, making New York the most expensive place to smoke in the U.S. [More]
New York Proposes Nation's Highest Cigarette Taxes
By 6.19.10
Cigarettes may cost more than $10 per pack in New York under the state’s latest plan to close a $9 billion budget gap. In New York City, the tax alone on a pack of cigarettes would rise to $5.85. And cigarettes aren’t the only carcinogens set for a tax bump under the proposal. [More]
High-Volume Sellers On eBay, Craigslist Can Look Forward To New Tax Form For 2011
By 6.2.10
If you tend to move a lot of merchandise on eBay or Craigslist, you should know that the IRS wants a share of those earnings. If in 2011 you sell more than $20,000 worth of goods and have more than 200 transactions, then come early 2012 you’ll receive a shiny new flavor of 1099 form called a 1099-K, and you’ll have to pay up. If you’re an infrequent seller, where your eBay or Craigslist transactions more closely resemble a garage sale than a virtual storefront (and especially if you sell items at a loss), you probably don’t have to worry. [More]
Actually, You're Paying The Lowest Amount Of Taxes In 60 Years
By 5.11.10
It may not feel like it, but it turns out that you are paying really low taxes right now, the lowest in 60 years, in fact, according to a new analysis of Federal data. [More]
Death And Taxes 2011: Gobsmacking Visual Of Where All Your Tax Dollars Go
By 5.4.10
Death and Taxes 2011 is here! Jess Bachman is famed for his annual poster where he spends two months researching and creating a visual representation of where your taxes go. The result is a stunning six-foot poster that boggles the mind. Now in it’s 4th year, the poster has over 500 departments, agencies, programs, and whatever else the government can spend money on. “It is still the single most open and accessable record of government spending ever created,” says its creator. After the jump, here is this year’s version in full! [More]
States Seek Sales Taxes On Haircuts, Balloon Rides
By 5.1.10
As states across America take a look at their budgets, some are getting creative with sales taxes in an effort to increase their revenue by slapping a tax on some interesting items and services. CNNMoney checked out what’s going down all over America, from magician taxes to hot air balloon ride tariffs.
Tax off the top: In Michigan and Nebraska, legislators are considering extending the state sales tax to person grooming services like getting a trim, because they can be seen as a luxury item.
Krusty the Clown tax: Maine wants to make money off of children! A bill proposing a 5% state tax on entertainment like comedians, clowns, jugglers, ventriloquists, petting zoos, paintball and even haunted hay rides is up to be voted on this summer, and would go into effect in January 2011.
Balloon Boy tax: Hot air balloon rides don’t come cheap, and in Kentucky they could be even pricier: Lawmakers there want to get their hands on $350 to $400 million a year by taxing high-end services like limousine such as limousine and hot air balloon rides, golf green fees, private landscaping, armored car services and professional laundry services. Because these are things rich people use, so, tax’em! [More]
What To Do If You Didn't File Your Taxes
By 4.26.10
So you couldn’t pay your taxes and you opted not to file them, or an extension, at all. Don’t sit around worrying about when the IRS will catch on and come after you; file them as soon as possible, writes consumer reporter Iris Taylor, so that you can set up a repayment plan and move on with your life. The sooner you do this, the sooner you can pay them off (you can take up to 5 years to pay them), and the less you’ll end up paying in penalties and fees over the long run. [More]
Amazon Sues North Carolina, Says It Won't Divulge Customer Names
By 4.20.10
North Carolina’s tax collectors want to find out which of the state’s residents have bought untaxed goods from Amazon over the past seven years, so they visited Amazon’s HQ in Seattle and demanded the retailer turn over its records. When Amazon said no, the state threatened to sue. What it got instead was a preemptive lawsuit from Amazon that “says the demand violates the privacy and First Amendment rights of Amazon’s customers.” [More]
TurboTax Charged Me $60 For Not-So-Free Free Online Taxes
By 4.16.10
DaBears says TurboTax’s free online tax prep ended up sticking him with hidden fees totaling $60. He writes: [More]
NY State Worker Takes Friday Off For 17 Years Before Getting Caught
By 4.15.10
The New York Post says that a state worker in charge of running a corrections department food facility took Fridays off… for 17 years. Now they’re going after him for $230,000 worth of Friday pay, as well as other “ill-gotten” gains. [More]
Tax Tips: What to Do If You're Late
By 4.15.10
It has finally arrived — April 15 — Tax Day.
Today is the deadline for filing your 2009 federal and state income tax returns. The envelopes must be postmarked by midnight tonight.
Have You Filed Your Income Taxes Yet?
By 4.14.10
In case you hadn’t looked at the calendar in a few days, here’s a reminder that tomorrow is April 15 — better known as the day you are supposed to have filed your federal and state income tax returns (unless you live in some flood-ravaged areas, that is). So we want to get a feel for how many of you have waited until the last minute. [More]
Tips For Those Filing Their Taxes At The Buzzer
By 4.14.10
If you’re going all Duke-Butler with your income taxes this year, Kiplinger’s Mary Beth Franklin has some tips you might find helpful. Here they are, posted with permission: [More]
Tax Tips: IRA Contribution Deadline
By 4.14.10
Did you claim a deduction for an IRA contribution on your 2009 Form 1040? Or were you planning to make a non-deductible contribution to a traditional or Roth IRA for 2009 but haven’t done so yet? If the answer is yes, you better make sure your contribution is in the bank or in the mail. [More]
