Lee B

My ATX Sales Representative just called me and said he was authorized to offer me a 10 % discount if I renewed today. I will wait to January. He told me that their top priority was to fix the Server Retry issue.

I would just add a new asset called "kitchen improvements" and I believe the standard life for residential rentals would apply.

FRANKLIN, Tenn. (AP) — Hospital operator Community Health Systems said a cyberattack took information on more than 4 million patients from its computer network earlier this year. The Franklin, Tennessee, company said Monday that no medical or credit card records were taken in the attack, which may have happened in April and June. But Community said the attack did bypass its security systems to take patient names, addresses, birthdates, and phone and Social Security numbers. The hospital operator said it believes the attack came from a group in China that used sophisticated malware and technology to get the information. Community Health has since removed the malware from its system and finalized "other remediation efforts" to prevent future attacks. A spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a request from The Associated Press seeking comment on the attacks. The information that was taken came from patients who were referred to or received care from doctors tied to the company over the past five years. Community Health Systems Inc. is notifying patients affected by the attack and offering them identity theft protection services. The company owns, leases or operates 206 hospitals in 29 states.

NEW YORK (AP) — A data breach at Supervalu may have impacted as many as 200 of its grocery and liquor stores and potentially affected retail chains recently sold by the company in two dozen states. The announcement lengthens the list of retailers that have had security walls breached in recent months, including Target, P.F. Chang's and even the thrift store operations of Goodwill Industries International Inc. Hackers accessed a network that processes Supervalu transactions, with account numbers, expiration dates, card holder names and other information possibly stolen, the company said. Those systems are still being used by the stores sold off by Supervalu last year for $3.3 billion, potentially opening up customer data at those stores as well. The breach occurred between June 22 and July 17, according to Supervalu, which said it took immediate steps to secure that portion of its network. The cards from which data may have been stolen were used at 180 Supervalu stores and liquor stores run under the Cub Foods, Farm Fresh, Hornbacher's, Shop 'n Save and Shoppers Food & Pharmacy names. Data may also have been stolen from 29 franchised Cub Foods stores and liquor stores. Those stores in North Dakota, Minnesota, Illinois, Virginia, North Carolina, Maryland and Missouri. But Supervalu said that a related criminal intrusion occurred at the chain stores it sold to Cerebus Capital Management LP in March 2013, stores that Supervalu continues to supply with information technology services. Those stores include Albertsons, Acme, Jewel-Osco, Shaw's and Star Market — and related Osco and Sav-on in-store pharmacies in two dozen states. Cerebus affiliate AB Acquisition said that it's working closely with Supervalu to evaluate the scope of the potential breach. Supervalu has yet to determine if any cardholder data was actually stolen and said Friday that there's no evidence of any customer data being misused. Information about the breach was released out of "an abundance of caution," the company said. The company believes that the intrusion has been contained and it said it is confident that people can safely use credit and debit cards at its stores. Supervalu and AB Acquisitions are offering customers whose cards may have been affected a year of consumer identity protection services via AllClear ID. Supervalu has also created a call center to help answer customer questions about the data breach and the identity protection services being offered. The call center can be reached at (855) 731-6018. Customers may also visit Supervalu's website under the Consumer Security Advisory section to get more information about the data breach and the identity protection services. There are efforts underway to make credit and debit cards more secure following a rash of security breaches in recent months.

The IRS has announced that taxpayers can no longer apply for Employer ID Numbers (EINs) by telephone. Taxpayers must either apply online from the "Employer ID Numbers (EINs) Application" at https://sa.www4.irs.gov/modiein/individual/index.jsp, or by filling out and faxing or mailing Form SS-4, Application for Employer Identification Number. See the Form SS-4 instructions for detail

Even the answers to simple questions can be deceptive. The new client will say yes or say, "Yeah I did that," when they really didn't understand your question.

Surprise, Surprise ! Big banks and wealthy investors are accused of benefiting from a tax credit program that is supposed to help poor communities, according to a new Senate report. The report, from Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., describes how millions of dollars in New Markets Tax Credits are being diverted to benefit billionaires, major banks, Hollywood producers and fast food chains. The program is supposed to spur new markets in struggling communities, but Coburn said it is instead subsidizing companies and corporations that have little need of taxpayer assistance, providing financing for projects such as a sculpture in the desert, a vintage car museum, and pet care centers. In at least one case, a project supported with a New Markets Tax Credit is threatening to bankrupt an entire town and eliminate jobs, including the entire police department. “The New Market Tax Credit is a reverse Robin Hood scheme paid for with the taxes collected from working Americans to provide payouts to big banks and corporations in the hope that those it took the money from might benefit,” Coburn said in a statement Monday. “When government picks winners and losers, the losers usually end up being taxpayers. Washington should reduce federal taxes on working Americans and all business owners who create jobs by eliminating tax earmarks, loopholes and giveaways like the New Markets Tax Credit.” The New Markets Tax Credit program was expected to steer private financing into low-income communities to help create jobs. Yet, virtually every neighborhood, from Beverly Hills to the Hamptons, could qualify for the program, Coburn noted. “As a result of the definition of qualified low-income communities, virtually all of the country’s census tracts [neighborhoods and communities] are potentially eligible for the NMTC,” according to a report from the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. While some of the projects are well intended, such as health clinics, Coburn acknowledged, it is difficult to measure if the tax credits are helping those who are seeking a hand up or simply subsidizing banks, corporations and others companies that are already succeeding. The tax credit is intended to benefit the poor but is instead benefiting big banks and other private investors that claim more than $1 billion in NMTC annually. These include JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America, Goldman Sachs and Wells Fargo, among others. The program duplicates over 100 other federal economic development efforts. There are at least 23 community development tax expenditures costing taxpayers over $10 billion annually and 80 overlapping discretionary programs costing $6.5 billion annually, 28 of which are specifically designed to spur growth in new markets. Because of this redundancy, many projects and corporations are double-dipping on taxpayers—receiving multiple federal subsidies through other grant programs and tax giveaways. In addition, it is unclear which of these best meets the overlapping goals, or if any of them spur more economic growth than policies encouraging private investments that do not spend taxpayer money. A separate Government Accountability Office report that was issued Monday was also critical of the New Markets Tax Credit program, revealing that fees charged by Community Development Entities reduced the amount of assistance provided to low-income community projects by $619 million (7.1 percent) from 2011 to 2012. A majority of NMTC-financed projects used more than one source of public funding, even though the purpose of the tax credit is to leverage private investment. The GAO found that 62 percent of NMTC projects received other public funding from 2010 to 2010. One-third of NMTC projects received other federal funding, while 21 percent of NMTC projects received funding from multiple other government programs. In many cases, investors were able to claim the tax credit on the equity provided by the other public sources. The NMTC has subsidized wealthy investors in nearly 4,000 projects, including car washes, bowling allies, parking lots and breweries, according to Coburn’s report. Many of these are not a federal priority—such as an ice skating rink and a car museum—while others help corporations with little need of taxpayer handouts, including food and beverage chains such as Subway, IHOP and Starbucks. One of the program’s projects is threatening to bankrupt the city of Desert Hot Springs, Calif., where the cost to maintain the wellness center established with NMTC support has prompted across-the-board salary cuts and city officials are even considering elimination of the police department. Tens of thousands of dollars intended for the financially challenged clinic were spent to create a sculpture in the desert. In another project in an area of Atlanta where condominiums sell for millions of dollars, NMTCs are being used to expand the world’s largest aquarium, according to Coburn’s report. “With ticket prices costing nearly $65 for a 15 minute show, the real beneficiaries are SunTrust Bank, Wells Fargo and the Emmy-award winning producers and Hollywood ensemble hired to develop the show, and of course the dolphins who live in the larger aquarium

A little background: Oregon was the first state to license tax preparers in 1973. It's a two step process, first you must past a test to become a Licensed Tax Preparer and then after two years of experience under a Licensed Tax Consultant, you can take a more comprehensive test (very similar to the EA Exam) to become a Licensed Tax Consultant. (Note: CPAs and Attorneys are exempt from these rules.) In Oregon almost all EAs have gone thru this process before becoming EAs. Over 20 years ago when I became an EA, I also held an active CPA license so I was given a LTC license and was not subject to the other requirements. Where the conflict arises is when someone with an EA license moves into the state and wants to start preparing tax returns. Oregon's Tax Board is saying, you can't. This conflict has been intensifying over the last several years resulting in an official statement from the Oregon Society of Enrolled Agents as follows: "The Board of Directors of ORSEA feels that: The Oregon Board of Tax Practitioners has broken the law. Not accidentally, but with full knowledge. In January of 2013, the Board issued Rule 800-020-0015 (5), requiring enrolled agents to have 360 hours of work experience during 2 of the prior 5 years to become a Licensed Tax Consultant. The rule has the effect of prohibiting an Enrolled Agent with less than 360 hours from working under a Licensed Tax Consultant to gain the experience required; effectively shutting the door on using the Enrolled Agent License to begin a career in Oregon. They knew they broke the law when they passed the rule. Oregon Revised Statues explicitly state: "the board shall license as a tax consultant any person who is, on the date of the application for a tax consultants license, enrolled to practice before the Internal Revenue Service pursuant to 31 C.F.R. part 10 if the person has passed to the satisfaction of the board an examination covering Oregon personal income tax law" ORS 673.637. Knowing they broke the law they tried to cover themselves by submitting a bill (HB2214) attempting to change the law after the fact. The legislature rejected the amendment, calling it a "solution without a problem." According to the minutes of the May 2013 OBTP meeting "The Board members would like to retain the 360 hour requirement regardless of the absence of the requirement in the statutes." They broke the law and they knew it! They even wrote it in their minutes! The Tax board wasn't in the least bit interested in following the law since they did not even respond to our attorney's request to explain their legal reasoning (if any) they had for passing the rule. We as an organization have asked the Oregon Court of Appeals to invalidate the rule. The only purpose of the rule is to prevent new EAs and semi-retired EAs from working. There has never been a documented case where an unsupervised EA with less than 360 hours of experience has harmed anyone. The OBTP director admitted this in testimony in front of the legislature. The Rule is illegal. The board knows this"

I posted this article from Forbes, because I thought it was interesting. It doesn't mean that I agree with everything it says or that I endorse what says. If we only posted things from primary source documents only, there would be a lot fewer posts and a lot less to discuss.

Good article in Forbes: FAIR Tax Abolishes IRS - Then What? Follow Comments I’m always annoyed when I hears somebody arguing that if we made some tweaks in the tax system, we could abolish the IRS. Then we come to the FAIR tax, which actually explains, in detail, how its enactment allows for the abolition of the IRS. FairTax.org has quite a bit of information about the various aspects of the program, I’d suggest that you take a good look at it. It is probably worth studying. Here is the nutshell version of the Fair Tax Plan: Description unavailable (Photo credit: TheodoreWLee) The FairTax Plan is a comprehensive proposal that replaces all federal income and payroll based taxes with an integrated approach including a progressive national retail sales tax, a prebate to ensure no American pays federal taxes on spending up to the poverty level, dollar-for-dollar federal revenue replacement, and, through companion legislation, the repeal of the 16th Amendment. This nonpartisan legislation (HR 25 / S 122) abolishes all federal personal and corporate income taxes, gift, estate, capital gains, alternative minimum, Social Security, Medicare, and self-employment taxes and replaces them with one simple, visible, federal retail sales tax – administered primarily by existing state sales tax authorities. The IRS is disbanded and defunded. The FairTax taxes us only on what we choose to spend on new goods or services, not on what we earn. The FairTax is a fair, efficient, transparent, and intelligent solution to the frustration and inequity of our current tax system. But You Still Need To Collect It They’ve got that covered. The collection of the national sales tax will be handed off to the states, which will be paid a percentage. Most states already know how to collect sales taxes. So the abolition of the IRS is accomplished by substantially ramping up 50+ revenue departments (Besides the states, you have DC, the territories, and maybe some of the 500+ sovereign Indian nations). So when you hear that enacting the FAIR tax will save all that money we are spending on the IRS, it is not really happening. In an article available on the site Tax Administration and Collection Costs: The FairTax vs. The Existing Federal Tax System, the authors estimate that it will cost the states $9.66 billion to collect the Fair Tax and there will be a net federal savings of $9.38 billion. So there is actually a small increase in the government tax administration. The big savings projected are in the private sector compliance costs, which they estimate as being reduced by over $340 billion. Progressive? The proponents claim that the “prebate” concept makes the Fair Tax progressive. The “prebate” would be a monthly check on the amount of tax that would be paid by someone spending a poverty level income. They peg that at just over $11,490 per adult and $4,020 per child. So a single person who went through the proper registration would get a check for $220 monthly based on 2013 numbers. The check goes up by $77 per child. So all those Tax Court cases about who gets the exemption, child credit and head of household status – now we can have them about who gets the kid’s prebate. That makes the tax progressive when it comes to consumption (at least overtly), but it is highly regressive when using income as a measure. Superficially, this system is Thomas Piketty on steroids. Most people spend most, if not more than their income, so among them, thanks to the prebate, the tax is progressive. Different story for the 1% who can invest most of their income. As a percentage of income, the amount they pay in sales tax will be much, much lower. There is another odd quirk that adds a touch of regressivity to the Fair Tax. The social security tax will be repealed, but the wage reporting and benefit calculations will remain in place (although, there are hints that there might be other things in the works). Let’s imagine two guys, call them Joe and Harry. They each spend $80,000 per year, so they pay the same in sales tax. Joe makes $80,000 per year and Harry makes $90,000. Harry saves the other $10,000 for his retirement. Harry will also have a higher social security payout than Joe. It is worth noting that the progressive income tax and the estate tax were put into place in response to Gilded Age inequality, when the government was funded mainly by consumption taxes. Simpler? Of course, the Fair Tax is simpler than the current income tax, but it would probably be easier to prune the bells and whistles from the income tax, if you can forgive a mixed metaphor, than to pass the Fair Tax. With an income tax, though, there remains a core complexity- What expenditures are being made to produce income, making them deductible in arriving at income? That core complexity remains in the Fair Tax. Vendors of all types collect the 23% on everything they sell, goods, services and rentals. They pay the tax on everything they buy, but then take a credit for the things that were used in the business. OK. So will the moderately sociopathic who own businesses ever buy anything that they don’t take credit for? Here is what the proponents have to say about that issue So all the litigation that we have about deductible business expenses will remain relevant with the Fair Tax. Only the audits will not be conducted by one agency. There will be fifty or more with a possible race to the bottom in terms of how aggressive they are in order to make their states more business friendly. Also, as registered sellers, they are subject to the possibility of being audited by the state. During such an audit, they will have to produce the invoices for all the “business purchases” that they did not pay sales tax on and will have to be able to show that they were bona fide business expenses. If they cannot prove this, then they will have to pay the taxes that should have been paid when the items were purchased, plus interest and penalties. The probability of being audited will be much greater than it is under the current system with its over 140 million tax filers. Under the FairTax, there will be less than 20 million businesses that will be filing sales tax returns and thus subject to the possibility of being audited. Thus, the probability of tax cheats getting caught will be much greater than it is today, making tax evasion riskier than it is today. Additionally, while the FairTax has much stronger taxpayer rights than does the current tax system, the FairTax legislation provides for a number of fines and penalties for noncompliance. It also authorizes a mechanism for reporting tax cheats and obtaining a reward. Finally, one of the things that makes the Fair Tax simple is its comprehensiveness. All final consumption by everybody is subject to the tax. The income tax would be vastly simpler if Congress did not use it as the Swiss Army Knife of social policy using income tax credits and deductions to encourage various things, like research and historic preservation. What will stop them from doing this with a national sales tax? Gee, I could afford to pay $100 for that life-saving drug, but I can’t afford $123. Let’s exempt prescription drugs, but not birth control, unless its needed for some other condition – on and on and on. And In The End? Most of the l the cases that I read would still be matters of controversy under the Fair Tax. Who’s kid is this? Is that really a business expense? You flat out did not pay, so we are taking your stuff. With fifty plus different revenue departments doing the enforcement, how likely is it to be consistent across the country? Fifty plus revenue departments implementing a federal tax is a recipe for massive inconsistencies. Eventually, after horror stories about the aggressive New York and California auditors and the way too easygoing ones in Alaska, it will occur to somebody, that collecting federal taxes consistently across the country probably requires federal employees. Somebody feeling nostalgic might propose calling the resulting agency the IRS, but that probably will not happen.

I saw a black helicopter over my house last night !

Under the Affordable Care Act, there are two unique reporting requirements. The first is the individual mandate reporting requirement under Section 6055 of the Code. The second is the “pay or play” reporting requirement under Section 6056. Many employers have been wondering about how onerous these reporting requirements may be and while not finalized, the IRS did release draft forms that will apply to these requirements. There have not been any instructions issued (although they are expected in August) and they are not final and probably will not be until sometime later this year. But for now, they provide some insight into what information employers will have to collect. Under Section 6055, health insurers and employers sponsoring self-funded group health plans must annually report to the IRS and participants whether the group health plan coverage constitutes minimum essential coverage under Health Care Reform. The IRS forms used for Section 6055 reporting will vary depending on whether the reporting entity is an employer or an insurer. Large employers that sponsor self-insured plans will report on IRS Forms 1095-C and 1094-C (transmittal form), completing both sections of Form 1095-C, under a combined reporting approach, to report the information required under Section 6055 and Section 6056, discussed below. Entities that are not reporting as large employers (for example, health insurers and sponsors of multiemployer plans) will report on IRS Forms 1095-B and 1094-B (transmittal form). Under Section 6056, employers have to demonstrate they have satisfied the obligation to offer coverage to employees under the “pay or play” rules. To report this, employers are going to use Form 1095-C, with Form 1094-C as the transmittal. Note that even though they don’t have to comply until 2016, mid-size employers (between 50 and 99 full-time employees) are still required to comply with the reporting requirements if the mid-size employer sponsors a self-funded group health plan. See related story: IRS releases draft forms for ObamaCare Now remember that these forms are drafts and the instructions are not written yet. Certainly we hope that the instructions will provide an even clearer understanding of how and when to report and who gets copies. But for now, employers should take a look at these drafts just to get a feel for what information they will have to provide and develop a system for making sure that information is collected in a timely manne

I agree, I do payroll processing and for all my clients use decimals. This should be 8.88 Hours. Not aware of any cite. Plus in your example you have reduced their time by 8 minutes. If you were rounding, you would have round up to 9 Hours.

Click on the following link for an interesting article: http://money.cnn.com/2014/06/25/pf/debt-of-an-ex-spouse/index.html?iid=SF_PF_River

New York suspends tax preparers – for not filing taxes New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s office has suspended 40 tax preparers, including one at practitioners H&R Block, for failing to file their state income tax returns in 2011 and 2012. State tax commissioner Thomas H. Mattox commented: “It’s this simple: If you don’t file your own taxes, you shouldn’t be allowed to file returns for other New Yorkers”. All have the right to challenge the penalties

Kentucky gives nod to Noah’s Ark tax break A Kentucky state tourism board has given preliminary approval for an $18m package of tax breaks for a proposed full-scale replica of the Ark built by Noah, as described in the Book of Genesis. Construction is scheduled to begin later this year, with the attraction opening by summer 2016

Defense Employees and Contractors with Security Clearances Owe $730 Million in Taxes by MICHAEL COHN Approximately 83,000 employees and contractors who work for the Department of Defense, and are eligible for a security clearance, owe more than $730 million in unpaid federal taxes, according to a new government report It's an epidemic !

As I understand it, Innocent Spouse relates to understated tax due to erroneous information that only the other spouse was aware Injured Spouse is when a potential refund on a joint return is seized and applied to the other spouses debts i.e., Past Due Income Tax, Child Support, Student Loan, Overpaid Unemployment Benefits. In this case, you didn't say whether or not there was an understatement of tax due to erroneous information. If the correct tax returns were filed originally, you probably don't have any relief available.

This discussion has turned more than a little wacky. The structure that Phillip is trying to follow is a legitimate way of doing business, one that I have encountered before, which actually does work. Whether I or you would use this structure is not the point. Phillip is just trying to get some feedback. I'm fine with posting that its not something you would do. But when posts go into "attack mode", it's doesn't contribute anything to the discussion. Unless you are' trying to discourage people that don't think the way you do from posting here ???

It is legitimate business model that is out there, which I have personally encountered before.

Not aware of any family plans, but you can make a limited number of e book loans. Also, they just released a so called unlimited plan for about $10 per month with a number of restrictions: 1. Can only keep 10 books at a time 2. If you want an 11th book, you have to delete one of your old books. 3. Some publishers and some bestsellers not included with the plan.

Pay based on a percentage of the gross fee. That way you won't be penalized for someone who is very accurate but slower. You still have to keep track of their hours and pay at least minimum wage. If you have someone who is very fast but makes more mistakes, then they won't receive any additional compensation for fixing the mistakes.

I copied this post from the ATX Board: Re the IRS is screwing up lately comment...yesterday I had a 1120S rejected saying the return did not match the indicator for the EIN. This was the 3rd year I e filed this client and the past 2 years were accepted. I called pract hotline and was asked if I filed an extension and I said yes and then the IRS tells me that they have been experiencing a computer problem where an S extension was filed the computer deletes the S Election indicator so even though this S return has been accepted for the last 2 years I need to manually file this return AND include a copy of the 2553 along with timely proof of filing! This after being told when I first called that my wait time was between 15 and 30 minutes only to be on hold for 66 minutes. I hope they get this fixed soon because I still have some S Corps on extension !

As that famous philosopher, Gomer Pyle said, "Surprise, Surprise"

Since the majority of taxpayers are unable to itemize, "monetary" charitable contributions should be an adjustment to gross income, instead of an itemized deduction.