The tax code is over 60,000 pages long. No wonder there’s a little confusion as to what’s taxable, who is most likely to get audited, and what you can claim as a deduction.
Taxes
Plausible? The Government Wants You in Debt
Do government policies make it much easier to be a spender rather than a saver?
Cheapskate Wisdom from … Jon Corzine
“Let’s face it: Everyone’s property taxes are too damn high.”
Got Tax Questions? There’s a 29% Chance You Won’t Get Answers from the IRS
Average wait time to talk with IRS via its 800 number: 12 minutes. Percentage of callers the IRS actually expects to answer this tax season: 71. And believe it or not, this is a big improvement from 2008, when barely over half (52.8%) of phone calls from taxpayers were answered.
Two-thirds of Folks Who Received Stimulus Checks Never Spent Them
Remember the 2008 stimulus checks that President Bush OK’d, hoping the recipients would spend the money and give the economy a boost? Most people just put the money in the bank.
Cheapskate Wisdom from … an Economist in the Reagan Administration
“We have to start paying our bills eventually.”
What the X-Men, Old Pantyhose, and Pregnancy Tests Have in Common
Use each of them in the right way, and you’ll find yourself in a better financial situation. In theory, that is.
Should Pet Expenses Be Tax Deductible?
A Congressman from Michigan introduced a bill that would give pet owners a tax break on veterinary care and other expenses.
The Plain English Campaign: Waging War Against Gobbledygook
Why are government documents and the fine print in bank agreements and credit card offers littered with undecipherable phrases like “collateral debt obligations” and “sector-specific benchmarking” and “amorphous challenges”? Perhaps because the organizations creating these ugly phrases are purposefully trying to confuse consumers and taxpayers.
Senior News: If You’re Going to Die, It Pays to Do So in 2010
Due to an odd loophole in the so-called death tax, the highest tax rate assessed to a deceased person’s estate goes from 45% this year to 0% next year, then up to 55% in 2011. The takeaway is: If you’re super rich and want to pass along that wealth to your kids and not the government, do your best to kick the bucket in 2010.
Fast Food Burgers Go Big: 1/3 Pounders, 900 Calories, $4 and Up
Where’s the beef? If you have to ask, you haven’t been to a fast food establishment recently.
Will Adding a Soda Tax Wind Up Saving Taxpayers Some Money?
Nobody likes taxes, least of all me. But what the much-discussed idea of taxing sugary soft drinks boils down to is this: Does it make more sense to pay up when you buy Dr. Pepper, or when we all pay the doctors’ bills and rising health insurance premiums related to guzzling way too much Dr. Pepper?