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Please do not conflate it with Veteran's Day; that holiday in November is for the living. Memorial Day is for those who have died. Friday, May 25, 2018 To: Friends & Supporters From: Gary Bauer Patriot Graves Monday marks Memorial Day, a national observance first known as Decoration Day. The first Memorial Day was observed on May 30, 1868, on the orders of General John Logan, commander of the Grand Army of the Republic. Flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery. Initially meant as a time to remember those who fell during the bloody battles of our brutal Civil War, the holiday's significance has been extended to honor all those who paid the ultimate price for our nation. As they have done every year since 1948, soldiers of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment placed flags at more than 280,000 gravestones at Arlington National Cemetery. They will remain at Arlington National Cemetery throughout the holiday weekend, making sure that the flags remain upright. Unfortunately, over time Memorial Day weekend has become more of an occasion for relaxation than for reflection about our patriots' graves and the values for which they gave "the last full measure of devotion." This weekend I encourage you to do both -- relax and reflect. Have that picnic, hug your kids and have some fun at the beach. But let's also remind ourselves about what happened at Concord Bridge, on the fields of Antietam and the beaches of Normandy, and that it still requires vigilance and courage to preserve liberty today. Explain to your children the price that was paid to stop the evil of fascism and the cancer of Soviet communism. Tell them why there was a Berlin Wall, what happened at Okinawa, at Ground Zero and over the fields of Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Explain to them why we still fight in Afghanistan, and against the existential threat to Western Civilization posed by radical Islamic supremacism. Take a moment this weekend to teach our children and grandchildren to love the things we love, and to honor the things we honor. Finally, let's remind ourselves that liberty is a gift from God and that each generation has paid in flesh and blood to preserve it. As General George Patton said: "It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived."

Abnormal, thanks for taking the time to respond. Your response would not normally need the scrutiny I'm going to give to it but there are broad myths and misconceptions about employee status. If AMT applies, they weren't deducting the 2% items anyway. The statement is true, but AMT does not always apply, and under the new law doesn't quite have the same punch that it did prior to 2018. Part of the reason it loses its punch is because of the eradication of the 2% Plus you can't arbitrarily go to your employer and tell them you want to be a 1099 contractor. You'd be surprised how many of today's employers will gladly rid themselves of employees as long as they get the work done. They not only rid themselves of 40 hours cost plus fringes, but many managements are under pressure to cut labor costs at every opportunity. I do a great deal of work for two former employers whose departure was amicable. The difference is they know they can no longer order me around like I have no alternatives other than putting up with them. And do you really want to give up health insurance. No. This is the strongest factor you present. It is virtually impossible to find health insurance as cheap as that which the employer can provide. That assumes that the employer is not trying to bail out of providing insurance to begin with, as thousands have done so. Unemployment insurance. Yes. The is the weakest factor you present because you are not employed under either scenario. Consulting income virtually eclipses unemployment benefits. I can't give credence to sitting around collecting unemployment or working under the table. 401k match. The key word is "match", and that is a true benefit, and another strong factor. However custodial fees are so high with a 401k that I have seen many of my clients convert large balances to an IRA and then re-enroll in the employers 401k. employers half of Social Security and Medicare? The consultant has to pay both ends of SS/Med, but does so only on the net income after allowable expenses. Allowable expenses for an employee are no longer deductible for anything, but with a consultant they are deductible "above the line." Given sufficient expenses, a taxpayer's net income tax plus self-employment tax is less than would be the case under an employment arrangement. Tax rate decreases and increased credits offset the loss of these deductions in most cases, so at least in that sense, it was a simplification. Besides, there were a lot of made up expenses in the 2% category. I hope as a preparer, I am diligent enough to stop excessive made-up expenses. I have to depend on the taxpayer, but my best estimate is they lost more as a result of the 2% than they were gaining by misrepresentation. Abby Normal - I have been following your many posts for my duration here. I have a great appreciation for your tax knowledge, and the fact that you can even forge a dialogue such as you have above is to your credit as a great analytical thinker. Best regards, "Edsel"

Not really. If AMT applies, they weren't deducting the 2% items anyway. Plus you can't arbitrarily go to your employer and tell them you want to be a 1099 contractor. And do you really want to give up health insurance, unemployment insurance, 401k match, etc. plus pay the employers half of Social Security and Medicare? Tax rate decreases and increased credits offset the loss of these deductions in most cases, so at least in that sense, it was a simplification. Besides, there were a lot of made up expenses in the 2% category.

I have a single parent pilot that I thought was screwed because SALT caused them to lose 7k in deductions and 2% cost them another 9k in deductions, plus they lost 12k in exemptions, so taxable income was 28k higher. Tax did go up by 5k but AMT went down by 6k. So they really just replaced the regular tax with the AMT tax which never allowed either of those deductions. And I suspect many SALT limited clients are in similar situations. And in this case, they also got 4k in child tax credits until the kids get a little older.

The IRS will be issuing regs to prevent states from circumventing the SALT limitation of $10,000. https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/n-18-54.pdf

Emmanuel Episcopal Church Y’all know you want to take a break from Memorial Day festivities to pray for our veterans in the cemetery (immediately following the 10 am service), sing a few hymns for our country and see if the priest uses any other “vulgarity” in her trinity sermon. https://www.facebook.com/william.doubled…/…/2207180385962277 Episcopal Church MemesLike Page · Okay, Episcopalians--to the dictionaries!

NEVER MIND. PROBLEM SOLVED... HOWEVER THE ATX-CUSTOMER SERVICE ISSUE HAS STILL NOT BEEN SOLVED

So true!

Better than a letter saying "huh? where's the 1120? why are you sending this 1120-S?"

More casualties of the 2% category: People with extremely high work-related expenses. It is now better for most of these people to create a proprietorship, and deduct ALL ordinary and necessary expenses. There are some proprietorships which cannot be supported (only one customer, no control over workplace decisions, etc.) but whether or not they can meet the litmus test, there's no question that the math works out better for them. Expect a rash of suddenly-formed consulting proprietorships and LLCs in the next 2-3 years. And then expect the IRS to react by mass employee reclassifications like they did in the late 1990s. I was fortunate to leave the corporate workforce in 2006, with enough large customers to justify a proprietorship. Even better than the tax savings was the end of having to work in the corporate environment. People are very sick of working for managements that require the selling of their souls. Pressure to bail out management for their own screw-ups, pressure to work overtime with a smile for nothing, pressure to hide information embarrassing to your superiors yet but of their own making. And for a job well done, the rewards go to someone else. During my corporate career, I have worked for employers with only a handful of people, and for Fortune 500 companies with workforces of thousands. If you can work for yourself, be your own person, and handle the unique challenges that come with it, your persona will be richly rewarded.

That does it. I'm firing every client who has a hobby.