Does the IRS owe you money?
The IRS has $1
billion in unclaimed refunds for the 2011 tax year that will soon become
the property of the U.S.
government if taxpayers don't come forward to claim them. Roughly 1 million
households that didn't file a 2011 tax return are owed that money. You can
check your refund from this year at https://sa.www4.irs.gov/irfof/lang/en/irfofgetstatus.jsp.
To check if IRS owes from previous years, find copy of your IRS (return)
transcript: http://www.irs.gov/Individuals/Get-Transcript.
If you did not file to get your federal tax withholding back, file with an
IRS-approved preparer: http://www.freetaxusa.com/file_2011_income_tax_return.jsp
If you owe money and don’t file: What
happens when you don’t file
Are you going to jail for perjury on your tax return?
Perjury mistake on signed return? 5 years jail time for you;
for banks, a tax-deduction!
The U.S.
Trustee struck a $50 million deal over charges JPMorganChase ‘robo-signed’
mortgage documents to numerous bankruptcy courts. The bank must pay
more than 25,000 homeowners in the remedial deal. As a result, there
appears to be no restriction on the bank’s ability to write off the
entire amount on its taxes. The robo-signing in question involved bank
employees who affixed electronic signatures–under penalties of perjury–without
reviewing the accuracy of the notices.
“corporations
are people my friend” except when they do bad things. Then they use the Nuremberg
Defense and have us pay part of their fine.
Combatants pay no tax
IRS excludes military pay from gross federal income tax for
the period members are deployed in a combat zone. Members can contribute
tax-free combat pay to either a Roth IRA or a thrift savings plan. Roth IRA
gains are forever Tax-FREE. Military personnel do not have to include
nontaxable pay to earn EITC—a refundable credit—so this entitles them to a
larger credit. Exclude any gain on sale of home no matter length of residence. Other
benefits in detail: http://www.irs.gov/Individuals/Military
TurboTax gives buyers a pain in the turbo
TurboTax Deluxe, the
top selling desktop tax preparation software program, gives a surprise. Turbo
has stripped the program of key functionality to easily report income from
investments, self-employment, and rents. You must “upgrade” to more expensive
versions. Turbo has halted state filings due to security problems also. Less
well-known products may be a better value. Try IRS-approved programs: http://apps.irs.gov/app/freeFile/jsp/index.jsp?ck.
I have used FreeTaxUSA for 4 years: http://www.freetaxusa.com/freefile/supported_forms.jsp
Warren Buffett’s latest investment ($72 B)
advice for us
Active trading, attempts to “time” market movements, inadequate diversification, the payment of high and unnecessary fees to managers and advisors, and the
use of borrowed money can destroy
the decent returns that a lifelong owner of equities would otherwise enjoy.
Indeed, borrowed money has no place in the investor’s tool
kit: Anything can happen anytime in markets.
And no advisor, economist or TV commentator — and definitely not Charlie
nor I — can tell you when chaos will occur. Market forecasters will fill
your ear but will never fill your wallet.”
Tax refund to savings or investments?
54.9% of millennials expecting a tax refund this year plan
to deposit the refunds into their savings accounts, according to the National
Retail Federation. The average refund is over $3,000. If you buy a stock market
fund with $3,000 every year, compounding can make you a millionaire. Patience
and time is all it takes.
Don’t give up
anything except old-age poverty.
GOP best crazies of last 200 years
Half
the Senators give aid and comfort to the country we are negotiating nuclear war
with. Iran says
the move showed "disintegration" in U.S.
Our Constitution
is clear—II, --the President “shall have power, by and with the advice and
consent of the Senate, to make treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators
present concur.” In a democracy, if you don’t like the law, change it, don’t
destroy the structure. When Reagan
sold arms to Iran to get money for Contras, did Dems torpedo agreement on
arms?
Can GOP change Constitution? Are they just anarchists?
GOP crazies
Here is how the future
GOP president will solve problems: Tricks, payoffs,
lies, legal double talk, obfuscation, and all the other things politicians do.
Lower tax for the rich and sock it to the middle: Ranking
No 1 worst property tax states, New Jersey ,
with average-priced
home
tax bill of $16,000,
defaulted
on liabilities, low
job growth, likes
the perks.
Gov Walker promised improved job rate and dismissed
lower-wages criticism. The GOP experiment in KS has not gone well. Gov Brownback’s
cuts to a number of state taxes in 2012 failed to boost the economy like he had
hoped, triggering a backlash when the huge budget shortfall that resulted
forced major decreases in government services. His state’s credit rating was
lowered, and Brownback nearly lost his job in the November elections.
GOP counting on voter suppression in 2016—soon only white
landowners?
More states
are following the GOP success in PA in 2012. GOP chair Gleason
says he cut Obama’s vote by 5% there. States may be returning to the time
of white
landowner only laws using clever techniques of exclusion like requiring a US
passport or paid property tax bill. The Supremes
have gutted the voting rights provisions and there may be more. Meanwhile not
one states attorney has found a voter fraud pattern in their state—31
in 1 billion ballots nationwide!
Just say NO when your broker/advisor says RE-BALANCE
New research from Duke’s Harvey
says sell/buy every quarter may hurt your long-term prospects for retirement. 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. John Bogle, Vanguard, does not: “I
see no circumstance under which rebalancing through an adviser charging 1%
could possibly add value.”
Use Warren Buffett’s alternatives: http://www.amazon.com/Dont-Re-balance-Your-Portfolio-Research/dp/1508802386
SAFEST used cars under $9K
CR says older is better—problems have been solved:
Chevrolet Malibu
(2009-2012, 4-cyl.): Starting at $8,125
Ford Fusion
(2010-2012, 4-cyl. and hybrid): Starting at $8,325
Hyundai Sonata
(2006-2014, 4-cyl., non-turbo): Starting at $5,450
Kia Soul
(2010-2011): Starting at $8,925
Toyota RAV4
(2004-2012, 4-cyl.): Starting at $5,590
I bought a ’05 Sonata for $4,955 with 105K in 2011; still
works well at 125K miles.
Obama to help students pay debt
Student loans cost over 6% per year while banks pay 0% rate.
Obama will change procedures for
paying income-adjusted installments easier. 7 million borrowers are currently
in default for loans totaling $98.1 billion. Money is easier to get than a job.
Are you losing your health benefits?
Rising costs and risk of liability have prompted many of employers
to “adjust” their offerings to retirees and employees. The number of employers
offering retiree medical benefits have “definitely
dwindled from where it was 20 years ago,” says Cara Jareb, Towers Watson.
Now, more employers, like Hilton,
are moving to private exchanges to save. Eventually, the US
will adopt the least costly system—single payer.
Buy only what you need: http://www.amazon.com/Health-Insurance-ONLY-right-policy/dp/1480125083
And you think you can trust them to keep their word?
Two-thirds of Americans say they would be willing to give
up salary increases in exchange for guaranteed
retirement income, according to a new survey by the National Institute on
Retirement Security. As corporations continue to freeze or eliminate defined
benefit plans, American workers may be getting increasingly concerned about
their financial security in retirement and looking for guaranteed income
options.
America is going back to the pre-WWII time when workers had
no unions, scabs took their jobs for less wages—No pensions/health care paid by
employers. Wealthy people and large combines controlled elections. There was no
government regulation of pollution, food, work, bridges, etc. Citizens were at
the mercy of large employers. If you disagreed and were famous, you were called
before the McCarthy
committee and blacklisted. If you were not famous, you were dismissed and
ostracized.
SCAMS Why are
we still
paying $700 Billion a year for WWII
deployments? That is 27
cents of each dollar in taxes—the largest part of our money—and we aren’t
even at war. We could pay off our debts and fix our schools, roads and
bridges!
We are paying for 164,253 of our active-duty armed personnel
to be in 150 countries around the world. We have about 50,000 in Japan Germany
Are we preparing for WWII again? There are 1,208,083[1] armed
personnel in the United States .
Our taxes pay for about HALF of the WORLD’s military expenditures
every year. We have wasted $398.6 billion
so far on the F-35 program—they can’t
fly safely.
We just can’t afford to pay for everyone else’s defenses
anymore.
Japan, Germany and S.
Korea can pay for their own defenses.
The War
on Terror requires SEALS’ attacks on top terrorists at their homes. Iraq
proved converting a nation to Western-style republic doesn’t work. Our trained
troops ran away.
Daylight Saving Time, who needs it?
It was Germany
which, in April, 1916, first started moving clocks forward by an hour, to conserve
energy during the World War I. Does it
really save on electric?
Banker Antonio Weiss, got a $21 million bonus by his Wall
Street bosses to go to work as a bank regulator. Obama then nominates him for a
high position in the U.S. Treasury Department and he takes it. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew left Citigroup in
2008 and made somewhere between $250,000 and $500,000 in early stock payouts. Smallberg,
head of watchdog group, authored a report last year that found a number of major
corporations financially reward employees who go into government regulation.
Can Americans beat the robocallers?
Who protects the President from the Secret Service?
Two senior Secret Service agents -- one of whom is a top
member of President Obama's protective detail -- reportedly drove a government
car into White House security barricades after drinking at a late-night party
last week.
Are they drunk because Congress
may cut their salaries in the Homeland’s budget fight?
IAN
41 Watchung Plaza, B242
973.746.2014
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