Friday, April 3, 2020

Reduce taxes: 2019 IRA contributions by July 15


Reduce taxes: IRA contributions made by July 15
Since the filing deadline was extended to July 15, so was the 2019 IRA contribution deadline. We have more time to buy stocks on sale: $6,000 plus $1,000 for those over age 50 means less taxable income; less tax. Since stocks and funds are down 20% or more, we have a great way to add thousands of dollars to our LONG-TERM fund. Remember, only this asset class can beat inflation over time. Inflation can take up to HALF the purchasing power of our retirement dollars in 25 years. You may even increase your Savers Credit—a reduction in the actual tax owed. Another smart move: convert depressed IRA funds to Roth IRA funds. There is no longer any income limitations on Roth IRA conversions. Also this year your income may be lower since you are not forced to take RMDs. With smaller taxable incomes, you can convert more reduced IRA money and pay tax on a lower amount of income. We were able to slip into the 12% bracket from the 22% bracket this year and thus pay less for 2020 income. Also NJ does not tax SS benefits so we even saved on state taxes. A Roth IRA provides tax-FREE income later when taxes go up to pay for this $2 Trillion bailout.

Billionaires push unproven malaria drug that has killed
Job Creators Network is urging Trump to “CUT RED TAPE” and make an anti-malarial drug called hydroxychloroquine available for treating those sickened with the virus even though it has killed healthy people. Scientists have not tested it on virus patients. Despite this Trump endorsed the use of it and people have died. In Arizona, a couple who heard the president tout the drug ingested chloroquine phosphate — a chemical they’d used to treat their koi fish — mistakenly believing it would prevent COVID-19. The man died and his wife was hospitalized, according to NBC News. Several politicians have voiced the view that seniors should be sacrificed in order to get people back to work and save businesses. One thought leader volunteers ‘grandmas’ to die. Now ventilators are too expensive to make/buy Trump decides. In history, panic has caused mistakes that killed people by providing bad ‘cures.’ Because society elites have good health and access to superior medical care, they advocate their solutions for every person without thinking through the ‘collateral damage.’ If ‘back to work’ senior virus carriers handle your ‘Home Depot’ purchases, you are exposed. Trump ignores Italian-style deaths by promoting April 12 as deadline for back-to-work no matter the risk to actual people. Airlines have filed bankruptcies and kept working before. CEOs always got paid their bonuses. Now Trump and his Treasurer can pick the businesses they like to get a bailout.

Bad time to take money from your already depressed account
Under new Care Act, rules on 401(k) loans would also be relaxed, and some retirees would avoid so-called required minimum distribution, or RMD, rules that might have been onerous. One provision in the bill would let investors of any age take as much as $100,000 from retirement accounts this year without paying an early withdrawal penalty. They also could avoid taxes on the withdrawal if the money is put back in the account within three years. If it can’t be returned, taxes could be paid over three years. People diagnosed with the virus are eligible, along with anyone who “experiences adverse financial consequences” as a result of the pandemic, including an inability to find work or child care. Retirement plan sponsors are told to rely on employees’ word that they’re eligible. Taking money from your future is a hard decision. You not only sell shares at the worst time in 20 years but it will take twice as long—maybe another 20 years—to recoup that money. Besides you will lose the compound earnings during that loan time. Better to trade down your car or borrow from your bank. Like the Great Depression, these are the times that try our soils.

How Trump and tax-credit class hit Corona jackpot
The stimulus bill removes limits on the amount of losses that wealthy investors can use to offset taxes, by writing down the gradual depreciation of assets like real estate. Trump, Kushner and friends will have NO income taxes for years. Plus their accountants can go back to previous years and receive tax refunds. We will be paying Trump and friends for their losses. “There's a huge tax giveaway for people like him and his family in the stimulus package," said the nonprofit legal aid group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington in a tweet. So when you pay your taxes in the coming years you should think of all the money you are giving Trump, Kushner and all the real estate ‘developers’ out there. Trump is barred from the bailout, not his companies. They don’t even have to keep their employees on as other businesses have to for their jackpot. "To a certain degree the government is picking winners and losers in the stimulus bill and we will probably see it become even more political," one strategist said.

Are target-date funds the safest place for my retirement funds?
Unless you have millions of dollars or a Wall Street guru with a perfect record, you are safer in TDF than with a person who makes a living handling your money. An advisor, broker, agent, or money manager are those we traditionally look to when the markets crash. Most don’t save us from disaster. You may be a lucky person to have a sales person who sold your stocks before they went down. Only one or two actually predicted and executed a ‘safe’ sell-all strategy. TDF have the explicit strategy of investing for the long term. The good part is they don’t go down as far as some actively traded securities. They also don’t go up like the active traders claim their choices have. About 21% of retirement money is in TDF. 60% of new money went into TDF. Unless you have a crystal ball, there is no safer vehicle for your long term money. It is the simple and correct solution for most people saving for retirement. As Vanguard founder John Bogle said, you can't control the marketbut you can control your investment fees. Paying just 2% a year to your salesperson mean you are giving HALF of your long-term accumulation away. And your salesperson is not always right!
Why did your ETF close and return money to you
72 ETFs with $1.4 billion in assets shut down and returned their money to investors in the first quarter. Many ETFs are really leveraged market-timing active funds which must act quickly to get out of the super-heated loans. Some use derivatives to amplify returns or losses of the securities they track. Since leveraged ETFs are specially created products designed for speculators, individuals who buy or trade them without understanding how they work should be extra cautious. Many leveraged ETFs are not structured like ordinary ETFs. And unless you know your ETF intimately you will get burned in volatile times. These ETF's shares are destined to lose money over time, a reality that is exacerbated by the fact that the portfolio rebalances daily. Due to compounding, leveraged ETFs held over the long term can see strikingly different returns than the fund's target. Because these funds reset each day, you can see significant losses—even if the fund itself appears to be showing a gain. These are a way to gamble without risking the dangers of directly employing margin debt. You can take the long side (bet that it will increase) or the short side (bet that it will decrease) as both have their own respective ticker symbols

This is why rebalancing is not necessary
Markets have corrections, recessions and bad times. Selling and re-buying is not the best LONG-TERM strategy. New research by Campbell Harvey, Duke U, found that “investors need to understand that rote re-balancing is an active investment decision that increases risk. In an up market, you are selling soaring stocks; “all of a sudden your portfolio has done worse than if you had just let it run.” Re-balancing kills compounding. Almost every broker/advisor tells you to sell when your stocks are soaring and buy something else in order to maintain your 60/30/10 or 80/20 asset allocation. Transactions are their life. But Warren Buffett says: We continue to make more money when snoring than when active. Over time your portfolio of 50/50 stocks/bonds will maintain the growth and income you need to provide a sound lifelong return. For example: Vanguard Wellesley Income Fund has provided 9.5% annual returns since 1970. Corrections (rebalancing) were automatic and limited losses. Since 1970, 7 down markets have still produced over 10% for the S&P500. The market is now where it was Jan 2019.

File your taxes for free
TurboTax and other for-profit tax prep firms are due to raise prices soon. If you have your documents, use your favorite software now and file your tax now for refund. The payment, if any, can be in July; the filing should not. Rumors confirmed: filing delayed to July 15. Check your state for deadline. The federal and state filing can cost you nothing at https://apps.irs.gov/app/freeFile/. Another site has no cost or restrictions: https://www.creditkarma.com/tax. And remember you can usually reduce income and thus tax by making a deductible contribution to your IRA. File now for refund: 90 day interest-free extension if you owe. https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/n-20-18.pdf


**********ACCOUNTABILITY**************

Like 1776, this period is a test of democracy—do we really want ‘low-IQMobster?

Mob Boss to MI: ‘Kiss my ass first’


Mob Boss blocks travel in NY, NJ CT except for friends/family’s helicopters
Hungary model tempts Mobster to follow emergency powers to jail media


Rescue checks/direct deposit goes out late April: tax returns or SS bank numbers

Test centers only test those with symptoms: virus will spread by no-symptom carriers
ICE detention centers: are they 21st century death camps? 7,000 immigrant children
Increased car emissions destroy air but pleases oil companies who pay election money

SCAMS/SPINS:


GOP gives Kushner $ millions: waive mortgage repayments on Kushner properties
Trump let the Fed ventilator contract expire: thousands from stockpile don’t work

FL GOP: unnecessary to order stay at home: limited testing so ‘many areas have no positives’


Medicare out of pocket bills have not arrived yet: we are in uncharted territory for big bills.
C-19 insurance scam: pay premium get no coverage; fake policy cancels; fake vaccines
12 C-19 scams to avoid: test kits, solicitations, SS calls, bank calls, toilet paper delivery
Purell caught making unproven claims: FDA letter tells them to prove it.
60,000 died in 2017-18 flu season: 44 million caught & survived: Fauci:100-200K C-19

Mark Lamkin KY caught taking loan from client violates rules
Cash Store TX caught made deceptive representations: “50% off”: fine $1.3 mil not jail.
Check your SPAM inbox: masks, ventilators, all virus equipment you want at 50% off!
Money claims to know when the market hits bottom: Actually they have no clue.

Jobs
We should have bought surveillance-software company’s stock: Big Brother all over us.
Trump channeling Pelosi: infrastructure jobs now solves 2 problems: work, bridge, road

Lose job; lose health care: America needs Medicare for All because if lose job should not lose life.


Who owns your account now?

Hold student loan payments at least till Oct: Employer can pay tax free.
Insurers asked to give waiver on premium due: check state guide non-cancel, etc

Nissan recalling 250,000 2012-17 SUVs, trucks and vans: air bags

Miracle:
NYC hotels open beds for hospital workers/non-C-19 patient: Four Seasons for doctors

New 5 minute test for C-19 approved FDA: make 50,000 machines a day eventually.
$100 Go2Vent ventilators ready to be made but owner wants $100 million for plans.
Miracle: Gun dealers are ‘essential businesses’ NRA tells Trump the election score

NYC doctor: "I’m seeing EMS stretchers lining up down the block …”

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