kcjenkins

Tom, if he is just himself, I'm sure he will impress the interviewer. Number one rule, though, in any interview, is to start by introducing yourself, a step many young people seem to forget, . and to look them in the eyes the whole time. Looking away when answering questions seems evasive.

You are so right, Atticus. The entire tone of that report bothered me for that very reason.

Praying for you both.

The headline of that article was Tax Avoidance Seen as a Human Rights Violation Interesting concept, huh? In this country we make a clear distinction between Avoidance [legal] and Evasion [illegal]. The report highlights concerns over the “morality” of sophisticated tax planning strategies, in which corporations and wealthy individuals end up paying little or no money in taxes. Among the types of tax behavior seen as potentially abusive are transfer pricing and other cross-border intra-group transactions, the negotiation of tax holidays and incentives, the taxation of natural resources and the use of offshore accounts. “The fact that sophisticated tax planning strategies are technically legal is no longer a justification for their use,” said Yale University professor Thomas Pogge, who chairs the IBA Human Rights Institute Task Force. “The impact of tax abuses, facilitated by secrecy jurisdictions, on global poverty is tremendous. The international community has not only a legal obligation but also a moral duty to ensure that states use the maximum resources available to fulfill the civil, political, economic and social rights of citizens.” The report urges states to implement international standards of transparency and information exchange in tax matters, and businesses to undertake due diligence measures and impact assessment of all operations, including tax planning strategies. Lawyers also need to balance their obligations to defend their clients’ interests with their responsibilities to uphold human rights in their practice, including with respect to tax planning strategies, the report argues. “The legal profession has an important role to play in confronting the negative effects of tax abuses on human rights,” said Sternford Moyo, who co-chairs the IBA Human Rights Institute and is a member of the task force. “Lawyers have a duty to balance their obligation to their client’s interests with their obligations to uphold human rights and the rule of law.” The report also takes note of the role of accountants, quoting one unnamed expert interviewed by the task force who observed, “Those who siphon funds out of developing countries can and should know that they are thereby actively diminishing funds that go to efforts to reduce poverty. And those who facilitate tax abuse (e.g., tax havens, secrecy jurisdictions, and certain lawyers and accountants) can and should know that their activities likewise take funds away from efforts to reduce poverty.” So helping a client keep more of his own earning, by legal tax advice, is increasing poverty? I'm not buying that. You reduce poverty by increasing economic activity. When, for example, a company opens a plant in a poor country to take advantage of lower wages, that creates jobs in the poor country, improving opportunity for those workers to improve their own lives.

The U.S. health care law’s tax penalty for not carrying medical coverage next year may catch millions of Americans off-guard. While the open enrollment period for people to obtain health care through the insurance exchanges runs until March 31, some people may face tax penalties for lack of coverage if they wait until the final days to sign up, Bloomberg BNA reported. However the most the IRS can to as a penalty is withhold your tax refund. They can't garnish your wages or send you to jail. Plans purchased between March 1 and March 15 wouldn’t take effect until April and coverage bought in the final days of March wouldn’t kick in until May. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care requires most Americans have an active health insurance policy by March 31 or pay the higher of 1% of their annual income or $95. “We’ve noticed some interesting chemistry” between these two requirements, said Brian Haile, senior vice president for health policy with Jackson Hewitt Tax Service Inc. Under the ACA, starting Jan. 1, people who have access to affordable coverage and instead remain uninsured for more than three consecutive months will owe the “individual responsibility” tax payment for those months, a Department of Health and Human Services spokeswoman told BNA in an e-mail. That means an uninsured person eligible for the tax credits must have coverage effective by March 1, 2014, to avoid the penalties, Haile said. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that 6 million people will pay the penalty in 2016.

Taxed, you make my point. You used to be friends, but now, knowing that about her, you apparently keep your distance and only see her occasionally, at public events like the reunion dance. That is just what I'd expect, you are uncomfortable with knowing what a phoney she is. If you knew she was also abusing her ill parent, I'm pretty sure you would not be having regular chats with her.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=y83FbFKi7zg

I feel your pain! Have you gone to your Trashcan and tried to recover that file?

I just have to wonder why you actually want to keep her as a friend? She sure does not sound like a nice person, especially since you implied she neglects her ill mother. "Mom is upstairs...alone." The other things are questionable, but that is elder abuse, given the details provided.

Judy said it very well. I'll just add that you should use it when you feel it needed, no one but Eric and mods see it, and whether we agree with you or not, we don't mind looking. We want this group to continue to be a useful tool for our members, and a friendly place for them as well. You help us keep it that way, if you spot a scammer or other problem.

It's always more effective to have the client make the request

generally, you can import as a spreadsheet, then if necessary move columns around, before you import it into the tax program. But most every broker now gives it to you in the right order.

Another bit of joy that comes from rushing a bill through without taking the time to look at all the ramifications of it's consequences. It's going to be a mess to try to explain to clients for sure.

Yes, IF they use them as intended, they actually work pretty well, especially the milage books. That is the big if, of course.

Dome used to just sell paper bookkeeping systems, and several of my clients used them. Especially beauticians. I've never looked at their software tho. Still, even with errors, it's probably better than no books at all, which is probably the realistic alternative. A single individual operating his or her personal service business often does not even bother to try to keep any real organized records. How I DO NOT miss the boot box clients. I know you all know what I mean by that description.

Don't you hate it when you are put in the position of 'defending' a part of the Code that you hate? I just say "its a terrible [or badly written, depending on the section] part of the law, but it's still the law, so we are stuck with it until we can get it changed".

Thanks for the laughs.

Yes, but in my experience, they never get reimbursed for EVERYTHING. Nor do they always get a 1099. So there is usually not a zero n the bottom line. If it truly is a wash, you might just report it in and back out on Line 21, Marco. But a zero Sch C is OK too.

Tom, I sent you a PM.

No, that is really the only answer you can give them. And to those who are debating firing some clients who are PITAs, I offer you this thought.

Probably not. http://www.greatland.com/product/cc054.do?sortby=shortAscend&from=fn If you really only need ONE, Greatland will send you a free sample. http://www.officemax.com/office-supplies/business-forms/tax-forms/1099-forms/product-prod2740370?R=21690760&ssp=true&useSessionResults=false&searchTerm=MTA5OUM=&csRedirectSearchString=1099C&csSearchTag=true&csRedirectSearchResultCount=1 BEST DEAL I'VE FOUND http://www.amazon.com/EGP-IRS-Approved-1099-C-Continuous/dp/B0030GZIMG/ref=sr_1_14?ie=UTF8&qid=1381430419&sr=8-14&keywords=1099C+FORMS

Now Jack, you know you love it. It can be interesting, and keeping it separate works to protect those who don't want to read those posts, while letting those of us who want to discuss such issues a place where the 'typical' political trolls that infest so many sites are not allowed. Since we all have our profession in common, even where we disagree we can do so with a level of respect that should keep the discussion from descending too low.

Even in that forum, we do expect reasonable civility, Taxed. Frankly, saying "J** you are being stupid" serves NO PURPOSE except to insult. So it's inappropriate. I think Eric and Judy will agree with me on that, even though they may not agree with me politically. I often [usually?] disagree with you, but I will not say something just to insult you. Please give everyone that courtesy.