JohnH

So here I drop in to see what's happening on the ATX Forum and a corny joke pops out at me....

Please go back to page 1 of Common Sense 101 and re-read in its entirety. You're badly misunderstanding the content.

Very simple if you apply even a rudimentary understanding of the facts. Your last statement tells me you don't know the difference between verbal equivalence and moral equivalence. I can do my research and choose which corporations I invest in. If I still make a mistake and buy Monsanto, I can sell my shares and choose someone to manage my investment elsewhere. None of that applies with the US government. Monsanto can't force me to invest in their enterprise - the US government can and does. Monsanto can't use the power of the state to seize my earnings, waste what they wish, and give much of the rest to others whom they believe are "more deserving'. Incidentally, I have a moral obligation to help others, but by attempting to make that decision for me, the government robs me of the ability to be a good steward of the resources I have available. There are certain jobs only government can do well. It has an obligation to do them and we should pay taxes to support them. Social engineering does not fall into that category. Any more questions, or do you need to pull out your Economics 101 book so we can have an intelligent discussion about this?

Shareholder money is voluntarily invested in the company. Taxpayer money is confiscated from hard-working citizens by the power of the state. Even if there were any equivalence in the two types of waste, there's a huge difference between the two for anyone who cares enough to think through it.

Weight loss - yes! Reminds me when I was sitting in a meeting beside a guy who kept pulling something out of his pocket and munching on it. It had an odd smell, and when I asked him about it he said he's on the "Purina" diet. He explained that he carries bite-size bits of dog food with him and snacks on it. So far he's lost 30 lbs. I asked if he'd had any problems and he said 'Nothing other than the few days I spent in the hospital." Shocked, I asked if it had created some sort of digestive blockage. He replied, "Oh no, that wasn't the problem at all. I was walking down the street and spotted a really nice-looking blonde Laborador Retriever across the street. I couldn't resist the urge to run over and give her a sniff. I was so distracted I never saw the car that hit me. It put me in the hospital for a week, but I'm doing fine now."

Good advice. I also found that preparing a return on one screen while running a relevant tutorial from Drake's web site on another screen was very helpful in getting up to speed. Dual monitors facilitate this, or just running the tutorial on a laptop or tablet will work equally well. (I mention this only because someone on another forum responded that they can't do this because they don't have dual monitors)

While preparing a client's 2012 return in Drake, I noticed a variance from ATX 2011 which made me stop and double-check. The client is an active member in an operating LLC which elected to be taxed as a partnership. On the K-1, there was an amount listed under "Other Deductions - Box 13, Item M", which is qualifying self-employed health insurance. In ATX 2011, the amount of self-employed health insurance is properly listed on line 29 as an adjustment to AGI. But upon checking the figures, I discovered that the same figure was also transferred to Schedule A, line 1. The net result is that the deduction was taken twice. In my client's case, the net effect isn't great because 7.5% of their AGI wipes out most, but not all, of the Schedule A amount. I will be amending their return because the "most but not all" still requires an amended return. It may be that I made an entry somewhere in ATX which caused this double entry. I certainly should have caught it with a more careful review. But I just wanted to post this just in case anyone else has potentially has this problem. And I'd like to know if I did something wrong (other than just relying upon the software to get it right). Lesson learned - again.

Rich: Now there's a novel concept. Are you saying you are in business to earn a profit? Maybe you think that taking the risks of running your own business warrants more than simply earning wages? Wonder how prices would compare among tax preparers if more people adopted your radical ideas. H-m-m-m...

Wonder how many of those addresses were prisons. ?? I'm betting the NC Central Prison in Raleigh was where the 2,408 NC refunds went.

“The art of taxation consists in so plucking the goose as to obtain the largest possible amount of feathers with the smallest possible amount of hissing” ... Jean Baptiste Colbert (French Economist and Minister of Finance under King Louis XIV of France. 1619-1683)

And on the other side of the equation we have greedy cynics who are perfectly willing to use the power of the state to forcibly take what one person has earned and give it to another whom they deem more deserving, thereby buying their votes in the process. Looks like there's plenty of greed to go around on all sides.

Don't most countries have those sorts of provisions? After all, a visa is permission to visit the country for a limited period of time. I think it's reasonable for the guest to prove that he/she intends to return to their country of origin.

Interesting difference. And it makes sense. I just prefer Basmati because of its nutty flavor. But I doubt the stuff at the big boxes would qualify as unadulterated - probably still good, but not full-flavored. Dry and fluffy rice can still be eaten with sauces, you just have to eat it Indian style - no utensils. Spin a portion about the size of a golf ball in the edge of the sauce with your fingers & thumb, slightly pressing it together until it becomes "clumpy". Then pick up the ball, flip it into your mouth, and enjoy..

One excellent way to make good rice with unique flavor is to be sure and use authentic, unadulterated Basmati rice. (Indian cuisine, not Chinese though)

Pretty hard these days for me to justify traveling to a seminar site and sitting all day in a class which is usually paced to the learning abilities and skill level of the lowest-qualified participants, with rest breaks and lunch scheduled at times which may not necessarily be when I'm ready to rest my brain and body. Group seminars must be planned and paced in that manner because they need to appeal to the lowest common denominator in order to meet their enrollment targets. Cookie cutter education is as archaic as buggy rides. Both will get you to your destination, you'll learn something along the way, and the scenery may be even nice, but they're anything but efficient. I think it's much more efficient to complete CE online at my own pace, which will be faster than some and slower that others. Of course, I still have the responsibility to evaluate whether the online education has accomplished anything in terms of advancing my knowledge. And that usually isn't known for sure until after the course is completed, regardless of whether it's online or in person.

I'm wondering if ATX will make you sign a confidentiality agreement as a condition of being a Beta tester, thus locking you down and preventing you from discussing the program while you are testing it.

So if someone walked into your office, beat you up, took all your money, and left you for dead, you wouldn't call them a criminal until they were convicted in a court of law? Maybe you would just refer to that person as a misbehaver, so as not to be offensive? And if it happened they had also bypassed our borders to get into the country, would they just be an undocumented misbehaver?

Thanks for that bit of wisdom and common sense in your definitions KC. On our last trip to India my wife's passport went missing. We had to spend an entire day visiting the police, US Consulate, and India immigration. We were described as aliens, foreigners, non-Indians, and maybe a few other terms in the various reports and paperwork generated. We didn't take offense at any of it, though, because even though she was truly an undocumented person, we were not in the country illegally. I think that is the key difference.

Oh please...

I think you have to take the bank documentation at its face value. After all, that's what they are sending to the IRS and it's what the AUR system will be looking for. So if the 1099-R says 2011, then you'll need to amend 2011. The bank should pay your fee for that as well, but to paraphrase what Jack said, - "good luck with that one."

I'm sure some people think that way, but how someone interprets the term doesn't change the real meaning of the term. Perhaps it's better to use the proper terminology and educate people to what it means rather than to try and massage the language and rob it of its true meaning.. I even heard a guy on NPR straining so hard to be politically correct recently that he kept referring to illegal aliens as "undocumented citizens". He knew "undocumented workers" is getting a bad rap because there are many non-working illegal aliens in this country as well. So he had the presence of mind to avoid the stupid description and move on to one even more stupid. Can't get much more absurd than that, IMO. People also refer to all Hispanics (or Latinos) (or Hispano-Latinos) as Mexicans, even though many of them come from Guatemala, Honduras, Colombia, etc. Probably need a little education there as well. But there's one good side to all this. If I ever decide to rob a bank, I'm going to try and convince the judge that I was just making an "undocumented withdrawall" in a sincere attempt to get ahead. Think that will fly?

I agree that "illegal alien" is definitely politically incorrect. But it is not factually incorrect.

I freely admit to being an Apple cheerleader. Having said that, the ZAGG is a good old keyboard.

It is almost impossible to take lenthy notes using the iPad screen keyboard. IMO the only way to efficiently takes notes with the iPad is to use a bluetooth keyboard. I prefer the ZAGG Pro bluetooth keyboard. It converts the iPad to something resembling a laptop for those rare times when you need to operate in that mode and makes a great stand for viewing. Plus, it doubles as a very durable hard protective case. Cost is about $130 or less, depending upon the discount you get.

I can't imagine doing business without my cell phone and iPad. (and a cheap wifi enabled Galaxy tablet when I need to use flash player). External power boosters are the equivalent of a battery - actually better than an internal battery. Personally I take advantage of all the tehcnology available to make me more productive and efficient. We are selling our expertise and time. For me it's a simple matter of greater efficiency translating time savings, translating into higher income. I think that's the reason for being in business in the first place. But, to each his own...