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I think some people are confusing Medicare and Medicaid. Medicare is for those who are at least 65 years old or younger if disabled. It is paid for through payroll taxes and retirees' premiums for all parts except A. MEDICAID is free medical insurance for the recipient, paid for by taxpayers in the state (supplemented by a federal contribution, paid for by all taxpayers). This is no different than when taxpayers fund the cost of an indigent elderly person's nursing home stay. If that person gets a windfall or wins the lottery, the taxpayers should rightfully be paid back, no? It is right in a just society for people to pay for the care of someone who has nothing. It is not right for the recipient of this benevolence to hide their assets or balk at the thought of paying back what was given to them when they were in need. This is no different than people who connive to give away their homes, bank accounts, etc. so they will qualify for Medicaid ("free" nursing home care). Their kids get all their assets and we sucker taxpayers pay for their care while those kids live in luxury. In prior generations people saved for their old age and cringed at the thought of public assistance. Now it is thought of as a right. I have no problem paying extra taxes so that people who can't afford medical care can get it. I have a big problem when those people think they have no obligation to pay me back when they are able.

You are driving down the road in your Corvette on a wild, stormy night, when you pass by a bus stop and you see three people waiting for the bus: 1. An old lady who looks as if she is about to die. 2. An old friend who once saved your life. 3. The perfect partner you have been dreaming about. Which one would you choose to offer a ride to, knowing that there could only be one passenger in your car? Think before you continue reading. This is a moral/ethical dilemma that was once actually used as part of a job application. You could pick up the old lady, because she is going to die, and thus you should save her first. Or you could take the old friend because he once saved your life, and this would be the perfect chance to pay him back. However, you may never be able to find your perfect mate again. YOU WON'T BELIEVE THIS..................... The candidate who was hired (out of 200 applicants) had no trouble coming up with his answer. He simply answered: 'I would give the car keys to my old friend and let him take the lady to the hospital. I would stay behind and wait for the bus with the partner of my dreams.' Sometimes, we gain more if we are able to give up our stubborn thought limitations. Never forget to 'Think Outside of the Box.' HOWEVER...., The correct answer is to run the old lady over and put her out of her misery because Obama's health care won't pay for her hospital visit anyway, have sex with the perfect partner on the hood of the car, then drive off with the old friend for a few beers. God, I just love happy endings

Do you like to read a good murder mystery? Not even Law and Order would attempt to capture this mess. This is an unbelievable twist of fate!! At the 1994 annual awards dinner given for Forensic Science, (AAFS) President Dr. Don Harper Mills astounded his audience with the legal Complications of a bizarre death. Here is the story: On March 23, 1994 the medical examiner viewed the body of Ronald Opus and concluded that he died from a shotgun wound to the head. Mr. Opus had jumped from the top of a 10-story building intending to commit suicide. He left a note to the effect indicating his despondency. As he fell past the ninth floor, his life was interrupted by a shotgun blast passing through a window, which killed him instantly. Neither the shooter nor the deceased was aware that a safety net had been installed just below the eighth floor level to protect some building workers and that Ronald Opus would not have been able to complete his suicide the way he had planned. The room on the ninth floor, where the shotgun blast emanated, was occupied by an elderly man and his wife. They were arguing vigorously and he was threatening her with a shotgun! The man was so upset that when he pulled the trigger, he completely missed his wife and the pellets went through the window, striking Mr. Opus. When one intends to kill subject 'A' but kills subject 'B' in the attempt, one is guilty of the murder of subject 'B.' When confronted with the murder charge, the old man and his wife were both adamant, and both said that they thought the shotgun was not loaded.. The old man said it was a long-standing habit to threaten his wife with the unloaded shotgun. He had no intention to murder her. Therefore, the killing of Mr. Opus appeared to be an accident; that is, assuming the gun had been accidentally loaded. The continuing investigation turned up a witness who saw the old couple's son loading the shotgun about 6 weeks prior to the fatal accident. It transpired that the old lady had cut off her son's financial support and the son, knowing the propensity of his father to use the shotgun threateningly, loaded the gun with the expectation that his father would shoot his Mother. Since the loader of the gun was aware of this, he was guilty of the murder even though he didn't actually pull the trigger. The case now becomes one of murder on the part of the son for the death of Ronald Opus. Now for the exquisite twist... Further investigation revealed that the son was, in fact, Ronald Opus. He had become increasingly despondent over the failure of his attempt to engineer his mother's murder. This led him to jump off the 10 story building on March 23rd, only to be killed by a shotgun blast passing through the ninth story window. The son, Ronald Opus, had actually murdered himself. So the medical examiner closed the case as a suicide. A true story from Associated Press.

Merry Christmas ChristmasTrees.pdf

Sure they did. The Republican's kids are out of the parent's house working for a living.

Actually, while Medicaid's recovery policy is weak, it's still more than Medicare's which doesn't exist at all. You are incorrect to say that Medicare "is paid for through payroll taxes and retirees' premiums for all parts except A." Part A (hospital benefits) is paid from current payroll taxes regardless of how much retirees may have paid themselves. Part B (medical benefits) does charge a monthly premium, but by far the greatest share is paid from the general fund. Millionaires have full entitlement to the subsidy. So do you have a big problem when those people think they have no obligation to pay you back when they are able?

Mercury is in retrograde!!

I don't mention in writing that my fees are increasing. If a client asks about the fee before they drop off their stuff, I will mention anything new that pertains to their situation, the increase in CPEs because of changes in the tax law, new forms required as a result of these changes, increased software costs and because of that, I am increasing the fees.

I blame it on sunspots!

I didn't see your post earlier and it's not in the deleted content. Maybe it got sucked into a black hole of cyberspace. It's a great series of pictures, btw.

Personally, I still like this. It's in my client letter: "Fees & charges for basic tax preparation will again increase an average of 6% - 8% this year. Also, some schedules involving more complex tax matters may incur additional charges exceeding the general increase. The type of items most affected are returns reporting rental income, returns reporting multiple transactions involving the sale of stocks or mutual fund investments as noted in the previous paragraph, and returns reporting income from self-employment. I encourage you to ask for an estimate if you have any concerns about what it will cost to complete your return." Then say nothing about the fee increase unless they ask. I find that very few ask. ============================================ There's a principle in sales which applies to many other situations in life - "any time you're explaining, you're backing up." By signaling that you feel a need to explain in advance, you're inviting people to question you. You're turning control of the conversation over to them before they even show any interest in pursuing the matter. It's much better to assume that reasonable people will understand that you need to increase your fees from time-to-time. For those who don't, you need to decide whether they're worth taking the time to explain yourself to them. In some cases, your answer might just be - "that's what I'm charging now for your type of return."

My suggestions: Yes, I got carried away (again) but this may give you some ideas ... -------------------- This year (as in other years) the IRS has imposed new and additional regulations. In order to avoid “potential issues” I will be spending more time doing “due diligence” on every return. This of course is completed along with reviewing all your relevant data to see where we might lesson your tax bill. My fee is based on a combination of my knowledge, ongoing training and review of the various tax laws and regulations, obtaining data from you along with assisting you in knowing what data could be required with your unique and particular circumstances. The knowledge and assistance parts are in addition to the cost of software(almost always increasing unfortunately, just like everything else)so we can fulfill the IRS's requirements on submissions, etc. All the afore mentioned items don't even include the actual tax form preparation time after reviewing your data and finding if there might be legal ways to reduce your federal income tax burden. As you know, from your activities and profession, they require thinking and planning, the actual "doing" is never easy and "getting ready" for the "doing" can be even harder and take more time than the actual "doing". Just as no two people are exactly alike, including identical twins, no two tax returns are the same. It's one of the blessings and curses of being unique and having to meet requirements of the government. As always, so I can continue to be here to assist you with your need and requirements, my fees are set fairly and accordingly. Like you, I'm in it for the "long haul" and I do want to be here for you, now and in the future too.