kcjenkins

Yep, if we are not going to deport them, and clearly we are not, then set up a WORKABLE guest-worker program so that both the employer and the worker can comply with the law, and the tax system can properly function. And tax preparers do not get put in the position of either refusing their business or knowinly violating some laws in trying to comply with tax laws. If we are doing the payroll work for a business that employs illeagles , we end up in a no win situation. Or if a potental client comes in like the one Bertrans mentions, even if we refuse to do the return we are still closing our eys to a crime. But we have to, since we are not supposed to use knowledge from tax work for any other purpose, right? And most of us don't want to be ICE agents, either.

Well said, Jack. Ari, how many bad guys do you think try to buy guns from licensed dealers, the retailers whom Congress wants to slap with further restrictions on instant verifications for gun sales? One-fourth? Ten percent? Five? Try less than 1 percent. In fact, it’s less than half of 1 percent. Since 1998, there have been 590,070 attempts by convicts — guilty of both felonies and misdemeanors — to buy firearms from gun dealers who must check their criminal past on the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check (NICS) system. That’s out a total of 167,488,942 background checks done on all gun sales for the same period. Both sets of figures come straight from the FBI. Those 590,070 convicts who tried to buy a gun through legitimate means represent a mere .35 percent of all gun-buy attempts from licensed dealers over the past 14 years.

Thanks Joan. I totally agree with you on this. And I know we tend to be on opposite sides on some political issues, but I too think we'd be friends if we lived close. You are on my 'Friend" list here, and when I move to CA I intend to look you up so we can have that coffee and get to know each other better. PS I do think FTM had a few funny posts, especially that one about Update 12.69

http://www.accountingtoday.com/news/IRS-Overlooks-Fraud-Indicators-66386-1.html?ET=webcpa:e6970:61496a:&st=email

OK, Judy, thanks for pointing that out to me, I'd never noticed those numbers. I was just counting my posts, not all the posts. As to your first point, which is a good one, the only way I know to reduce the criminals using guns is to make their use a TRUE aggravating circumstance in sentencing, and also reduce sharply the amount of plea barginning where the criminal carries a gun. And stricly enforce the law against being a felon in possesion. Right now, we see way too many cases where they drop that part of the charges, when they do catch them.

Joel, somehow I screwed up my answer, because you totally missunderstood me. I am happy to have your opinion, I value your opinion, I sure did not mean to suggest otherwise. I just ask that you re-read my answer, because all I was trying to do was explain why I wanted to keep the NT posts in the General Chat forum. To provide the occasional break, or smile. And your position on politicl posts suits me just fine. Indeed, it's exactly what I think should be the way those who don't want them should react. So I apologize for whatever other impression I gave you.

No, he is not, and you know it. I suggest you read Thomas Sowell's column, for an excellent discussion of this very point. http://www.humanevents.com/2013/04/16/sowell-fact-free-crusades/

Excellent reasons, Joel. Reminds me of ATX back in the Willett days.

Sorry, Joel, but I think we occasionally need the mental break that coming across an NT post provides. If we segregated them, we'd seldom get around to reading them when we most need them, in the heat of the busiest times. At least, that is my view of it. It's easy to skip them, after all, if you are not in the mood for them.

Tom, Catherine, Rita, Lion, et al, Thank you for the kind words and thoughts.. You reinforce for me my understanding of what this board is supposed to be. It truly is a COMMUNITY. And a very nice community, on the whole. We help each other, we support each other, we celebrate and share sympathy with each other. So we do not keep just to tax topics, like some boards do. We deliberately decided, at the start of this group, to allow non-tax posts, as long as they are labeled as such, or or so clearly that that it is not necessary, like the Laugh of the Day. And when it comes to political posts, the rule is that they must remain polite, and not personal. I know that some very nice people on this board do not agree with me politically. I still like them very much, because we have a lot of things in common, and we have shared the same frustrations of tax work, etc. And also because of the very 'community' rules, which have let us get to know each other as people as well as tax preparers. When you know a bit more about a person, it usually makes you more tolerant of their positions you don't agree with. At least, that is how it works for me. I'm going to just assume that if Ari and FTM stick around they will mellow out and realize that friends can disagree without being disagreeable. And that this is a great bunch of people, that they will be happy to call friends, if they just give us a chance.

Sorry, FTM, but frankly, no one but you really cares what goes on on the other Board, or what Bobby says. Please give it a rest. I was one of the founders of this board, I've been here since day 1, and never have I seen anyone spend so much time and emotion on ranting about something happening on another board.

I agree with Jainen on this, Marco.

Please vote in this Poll

The Internal Revenue Service is struggling to respond to an onslaught of tax returns filed on April 15, which is delaying acknowledgements to both federal and state returns. “Due to the significant increase in federal and state submissions transmitted on April 15th, the length of time to create federal acknowledgments and make them available for retrieval is taking longer than expected,” the IRS said in an email to tax professionals Tuesday evening. “The IRS is closely monitoring the acknowledgment rates and is working to close the gap as a top priority.” The IRS added that the majority of state tax returns are linked to the acceptance of the federal return, so the length of time it takes to make the state return available for state retrieval has also increased. It asked tax professionals not to re-transmit any tax returns if they have not yet received an acknowledgment. “As the federal backlog decreases, the state submissions will then be ready for state pickup,” said the IRS. “In the interim, please do not retransmit any submissions awaiting acknowledgment if the IRS has issued a receipt. We thank you again for your patience and support.” The IRS is working its way through the backlog. Anecdotally, Intuit sent back an acknowledgment Tuesday afternoon that the IRS had accepted a tax return that had been filed close to midnight on April 15 with TurboTax.

A former Internal Revenue Service agent-turned-tax preparer has been sentenced to nearly 24 years in prison for defrauding his tax clients out of more than $11 million and then hiring a hit man to kill them to prevent them from testifying about the theft. http://www.accountingtoday.com/news/Former-IRS-Agent-Sentenced-Plot-Murder-Tax-Clients-66373-1.html?ET=webcpa:e6964:61496a:&st=email

This is just a friendly reminder that the Senate will begin voting on gun control tomorrow. And I don't know what 'my #9 post' means? As this is the 8th post of mine in this thread? Believe me, I have had a hard time resisting posting about abortion, given the Gosnell trial.

Findings from a study conducted by the National Taxpayer Advocate, an internal IRS office, suggest that the tax collection agency has determined small businesses to be the most likely tax scammers, raising the propensity that they will be most heavily targeted for audits. http://personalliberty.com/2013/04/16/irs-likely-to-target-small-businesses-in-key-regions-for-audits/

That is wonderful news. Blood donors are often the number one thing that is lacking during a mass trauma event. Prayers will continue, of course.

No, Ari, Lanza used a semi-automatic rifle, no automatic rifle can be legally purchased. And even those proposing enhancement of background checks admit that it would have had no effect on him, as he stole the weapon, not bought it. While I hate what he did as much as anyone, any sane person anyway, the truth is that you can not stop insane people from doing insane things by passing another law. Are you now going to ask for a law against pressure cookers? I'd suggest before you totally buy the idea that getting rid of guns would make us safer, you study the actual results when Australia actually did it. http://www.lexrex.com/articles/australia.htm http://gunwatch.blogspot.com/2013/02/gun-confiscation-in-australia-not-shown.html As for this post being on here, it is clearly marked Non Tax and also the topic name makes it clear, I believe, that if you don't want to read about such things, you can skip it. But given that the national media tends to ignore many of the things like the stories I posted, where law-abiding citizens are being attacked for merely having legal weapons, I feel it makes sense to bring those stories to a larger audience I totally respect your right to ignore them that is why I made the topic clear what this thread was about. I just reserve my right to speak out about things that concern me, as long as they are properly labeled. After all, mass shootings are extremely rare events. They were even rarer before the modern era of gun regulation and mass media. To take away everyone's ability to protect themselves, in an attempt to prevent events such as Newtown, makes no sense to me at all. Perhaps the fact that I live in the country, where calling the cops would mean at best a response in 25-30 minutes, makes me more sensitive to this. Yes, there have been home invasions near me, in the last year, and in both cases the homeowners were tied up and beaten, and then killed. I do not want to have my ability to defend myself limited by some politicians who have armed guards whenever they travel out in public as well as while they are working. [in the rare cases where they actually work.] I'm not a trained marksman, although I have taken some firearms training, so I want to know I have enough shots that I can take on several thugs without running out of ammo. If you don't want that, that is fine with me.. It is your choice. But it's not your right to take away my rights.