The August 2009 Consumer Price Index – the main indication of inflation – has a surprise. It’s one that may mean no raises next year if you receive social security, invest in TIPS or if your income is somehow tied to the CPI. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) apparently decided those Cash for Clunkers checks decreased the price of new vehicles. With an estimated 700,000 cars bought under the program, that’s a lot of money not being counted as what Americans spent on cars.
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Rumor has it that Congress will pass a temporary one-year extension of the estate tax before the end of the year. This would continue the estate tax at a 45% maximum rate and a $3.5 million exemption. Otherwise, the tax will be ‘repealed’ in 2010 and then, in 2011, revert to a maximum 55% rate and $1 million exemption. This is a question President Obama was asked in an AARP town hall meeting last week. A Congressional website refutes claims that health care reform will start “us down a treacherous path toward government-encouraged euthanasia”. What’s the truth? This article will help you sort through the facts to find it. You may have heard about a bill that Representative Earl Blumenauer (D. Ore.) introduced on July 15. While it’s formal name is the Water Protection and Reinvestment Act, some prefer to call H.R. 3202 the Toilet Paper Tax. Here are 8 tax tips that will help you start a new business. As you create this new business and run it in the future, keep in mind the first rule of tax law. It is the first thing my tax professor in law school told us on the first day of class. Here’s what he said. “Ladies and gentlemen. Let me tell you the one rule, which if followed, will keep you out of tax trouble. It is this: Pigs may get fat but hogs are slaughtered.” In other words, when it comes to taxes you may be able to get away with being (a little) greedy. Be too greedy, however, and you will not enjoy the results. Earlier we reported the administration’s proposed changes to the estate tax laws. This article delves deeper to look at how proposals offered by the administration and in several Congressional bills, might affect common estate planning tools and techniques. Question. Why do seemingly intelligent people get excited about lousy ideas (especially lousy ideas promoted by sometimes obviously seedy people)? Answer. The urge to get rich is easier to massage than the desire to avoid being poor. We assume we will be the exception to the rule. That’s like a toddler thinking, “I’m going to [...] A little mouse once dreamed of the future. He was a smart little mouse and sought out the elderly mice of his community to benefit from their wisdom. The elderly mice spoke of the past. They pondered the future. They reflected on the friends they had enjoyed during their lives. And remembered the lessons learned – [...] |
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Copyright © 2010 Walter Bristow - All Rights Reserved
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