Taxes

The link between taxation and human rights has always been tenuous. Whatever rights we may have as citizens — or as persons — do not necessarily transpose to our status as taxpayers. Here in the United States, the equal protection clause of the Constitution is a prime example. It was long ago decided the congressional

Share to facebook Share to twitter Share to linkedin The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is warning taxpayers about a Social Security number (SSN) scam currently making the rounds. As part of the scam, thieves may call – often as a “robocall” – and try to get you to call back by claiming that your SSN

Year-End is a great time for Tax-Loss Harvesting. Getty  The goal of tax-loss harvesting to lower your overall taxes. With proactive tax planning, you may be able to lower your taxable income by selling off losing investments. Similarly, you can offset some long term gains by selling investments that may have lost money over the long term. In

Economic Security Planning, Inc. Today’s column addresses potential drawbacks to taking early retirement benefits before switching to spousal, claiming retroactive benefits after 70, finding out if an ex is drawing on a worker’s record, retroactive child-in-care spousal benefits and whether a settlement is taxed by SSA.Larry Kotlikoff is a Professor of Economics at Boston University

Since most young adults are in a very low tax bracket, even 0%, a Roth IRA may be the perfect way to … [+] help your child begin to save and invest for their future. Getty You don’t have to be an adult to begin saving for retirement. Provided the teenager or college student has

According to the Bureau of Prison Inmate Locator, Edward Brown, age 77, has a release date of 7/26/2045 and Elaine Brown, age 78, has a release date of 11/8/2042. Clearly, the sentences that they received in 2009 were virtually life sentences. They had been prosecuted as the result of a months long armed stand off

Have you heard the saying, the rich get richer? It’s more than just a saying. One of the reasons they do is because they have access to programs not available to the average person. 401(k) news headline in center of torn dollar bill Getty One of them is the “$100 million 401(k) plan” that’s popular

No one is a fan of PG&E right now, as Californians face the twin dangers of fires v. blackouts. As PG&E is cutting power again to vast numbers of businesses and consumers in what could be the biggest deliberate blackout ever, the bankrupt utility is drawing even more criticism. Despite the protection of the bankruptcy

Getty There are almost 75 million Baby Boomers—those born between 1946 and 1964—in the U.S. today. Approximately 10,000 of them retire each day. That’s a lot of potential people taking required minimum distributions (RMDs) who may not need them. After age 70 ½, an RMD must be withdrawn from your traditional IRAs and 401(k)s each

NEW YORK, NY – DECEMBER 19: Protestors demonstrate against the 2017 tax bill about to be passed by a … [+] Republican congress on December 19, 2017 on Wall Street in New York City. There were 15 voluntary arrests. (Photo by Andrew Lichtenstein/ Corbis via Getty Images) Corbis via Getty Images With all the problems

NORFOLK, VA – OCTOBER 18: Democratic Presidential Candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) speaks … [+] during a town hall event. (Photo by Zach Gibson/Getty Images) Getty Images Democratic presidential hopeful Elizabeth Warren says she’ll disclose her plan to pay for universal, public health care within the “next few weeks.” But finding the $32 trillion she’ll need

Economic Security Planning, Inc. Today’s column addresses whether dividends and interest are subject to the Social Security earnings test, spousal benefits before retirement benefits, public pensions and restricted applications, retirement benefits before spousal benefits and restating after suspending a retirement benefit. Larry Kotlikoff is a Professor of Economics at Boston University and the founder and

High five to the smart business owner who uses a Solo 401(k) to lower the taxes on their S-Corp. Getty Nobody likes paying more taxes than they need too.  Small business owners are lucky to have many opportunities to keep more of their hard-earned money through expert tax planning.  One of the biggest ways to slash

The robots are coming for the tax planners, but from what I can see, we will probably last longer than the truck drivers. This is my tentative conclusion from poking around with Blue J Legal’s Tax Foresight. I spoke with CEO Ben Alarie about the company and the product. Then he had his team give

Economic Security Planning, Inc. Today’s column address whether to take retroactive benefits at 70, spousal benefits before retirement benefits, divorced spousal benefits with a public pension, when spousal benefits become available and filing early to allow spousal benefits. Larry Kotlikoff is a Professor of Economics at Boston University and the founder and president of Economic

Share to facebook Share to twitter Share to linkedin Trump’s infamous 5th Avenue shooting statement was made in 2016 and was invoked by one of his … [+] lawyers Wednesday. Tom Pennington/Getty Images Topline: As President Trump continues to fight efforts the obtain of his tax returns, a lawyer representing him in court argued that

Share to facebook Share to twitter Share to linkedin “Let someone else fight over this long blood-stained sand,” Trump said. Mark Wilson/Getty Images Topline: Hours after Russian troops advanced further into northern Syria, President Trump announced on Wednesday that he will lift U.S. sanctions on Turkey after the country stopped hostilities and complied with a

Whether they’re handling business or personal finances, a good Certified Public Accountant (CPA) can be worth their weight in gold. Most entrepreneurs don’t start their journey with an in-depth knowledge of how to manage and organize business finances, and almost all of us would welcome expert assistance with our taxes. A good CPA can put

The Tax Foundation’s 2020 State Business Tax Climate Index illustrates the states’ relative business … [+] tax burdens. (See: https://taxfoundation.org/2020-state-business-tax-climate-index/) The Tax Foundation The 27 states with the lightest tax burden on individuals continued to add jobs at double the rate of the 23 states with higher taxes since the federal tax cut was signed

If you live in California, you probably know how aggressive California’s state tax agency can be. In fact, even if you live somewhere else, you might have heard of the Golden State’s aggressive tax rules. Buy a vacation home in California, and stay a little too long? Come into the state and do some work