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Archive for the ‘Tax Questions’ Category

Question: I need your comments please ! I have a 8 point programme for a Corruptionless India?

1. Every citizen should be provided with a permanant account number
2. Cash transactions should be discouraged by printing money upto the denomination of Rs.100.00 only
3. All transactions above Rs.1000/- to be made through banks with dr/cr card, funds transfer, chq/dd or online payments.
4. All taxes (IT,ST,cess,ED,service tax etc.,) should be dropped. Only transaction tax of 1% on each bank transaction let it be debit or credit to be levied and automatically transferred to treasury a/c. (I think this will be sufficient to replace all the taxes)
5. Banks should maintain one a/c and give uniform interest.
6. If all taxes are dropped, somuch of paper work and filing of returns, maintainance,inspecting and scrutinising will vanish & the people used for this purpose can be utilised to do for more productivily
7. If cash transactions are discouraged, then corruption,black money etc. will fall to nil.
8. budget only for proper expenditure and need not worry abt income.

Answer: the programme is fine and I believe throughout the process, the program can be modified and improvised according to the developments…

But the question is, what will be the force neeeded to execute the program??? the parliament? army??? an institution?? religious leaders??

Local Beat

The Salvation Army, 12 E. First Avenue, Corsicana, has been blessed with fans to combat the heat wave for the elderly, disabled persons, and families who don’t have air-conditioning or a central air conditioning at this time. Please contact Jackie Williams at (903) 874-7131.

Carol Schillios – NCUF 2007 Herb Wegner Award Video

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Question: Why aren’t reward flights earned from frequent flier miles taxable income?

Why aren’t reward flights earned from frequent flier miles taxable income? If someone gives me a free trip to Tahiti, that’s taxable, so how is it different if I accumulate miles through business travel and reimbursed expenses on my credit card and they “reward” me with a free trip to Tahiti?

Answer: Officially they are considered a rebate. Rebates (even as points) are a discount/refund on something you previously bought and aren’t taxable.

Unofficially, they *did* try to tax them.

If you used a ticket you were supposed to get the “price” for the ticket and put it on your tax return. If I use FF miles to get last minute tickets, would I use the full coach price, the first class price if I upgraded or the 3 weeks advance purchase price?

Originally the IRS did declare FF trips taxable on the grounds you didn’t pay for them. Virtually nobody except accountants and IRS employees declared them. Then someone argued the rebate logic and the IRS backed off and said the tickets were only taxable if you earned them from business miles and used them on a personal trip or sold them. (At the same time, governments and companies were tracking the miles and demanding that employees turn the tickets back in.)

The problem was, it’s a pain to track miles and separate business/personal use and actually use them before they expire. So finally the IRS threw up their hands and said, okay, if you SELL them they are still taxable because your basis is zero. (My old company would “buy” them back from you for 1/2 of value and add the money to your W-2 and paycheck. This was a great way to get rid of one ticket on some airline you really didn’t fly much on.)

And to get 20,000 miles, I had to fly at least 40 times. Sundays, late nights, early ams, crowded flights…I earned that million mile card.

Merchants Bancshares, Inc. Announces Record Results

SOUTH BURLINGTON, VT–(Marketwire – July 26, 2010) – Merchants Bancshares, Inc. ( NASDAQ : MBVT ), the parent company of Merchants Bank, today announced net income of $4.59 million and $8.42 million, or diluted earnings per share of $0.74 and $1.37 for the quarter and six months ended June 30, 2010, respectively. This compares with net income of $2.06 million and $4.97 million or diluted …

Cancelled Debt Considerations

Question: Okay, so where do I get my taxes done?

I want to use TurboTax, but I don’t want to have to pay anything, because I know the return I get probably wouldn’t be worth the money and I don’t have (or want) a credit card so online payment would be impossible… whew! … I read TurboTax’s rules and agreements and have heard that if you want to print anything out, you have to pay… which mean’s Turbo Tax isn’t free (those filthy liars). I just want my taxes done free and, um, now, so what’s my best bet?

Answer: turbo tax is free if you have a simple return to file.you don’t need to print anything out if you’re e-filing it will be sent electronically(through the computer)and if you needed to print something out to mail in it would be free.i’m not sure where or who you’re getting this bogus info from.

go to irs.gov and click on free file on the left of the page in green and blue letters then click on “i will choose a company” and turbo tax freedom edition will be a choice you can choose or any of the others listed.

ECONOMY: State going after unpaid taxes from businesses

State tax-compliance experts say they have recovered about $51million in uncollected and under-reported taxes from businessesaround the state —- part of a program to get as much as possibleof the estimated $2 billion annually in unpaid sales taxes and usetaxes, which are collected for out-of-state purchases.

Obama: Raise Taxes, Capital Gains – “For Purposes of Fairness”

Question: It is wise to pay off credit card bills with some of my IRA $ and take the hit on the tax and penalty?

I have some cc debt I would really like to wipe out. Although there is a penalty and I’d need to pay the tax (it’s a conventional IRA, not a ROTH), is it wise to do so? Most of my credit card interest rates are around 12 to 14.99% (I’ve gotten them lowered as much as possible). Thank you…

Answer: no the interest and penalty will not off set the high rate of interest — the only reason you would do this is if you were not putting food on the table!!! just plugging away and get them pay off!!!

How much house can I afford? Calculating your home affordability

Many factors play into the affordability question as well — starting with your credit history and credit score Many factors play into the question of home affordability — starting with your credit history and credit score. Here’s how to calculate what you can afford to buy.

Obama – Our Chinese Credit Card: Bank of China – Buy United States Bonds (Debt), Please!

General Assembly Mulls Cuts In Budget Plans

In an extraordinary hearing before two legislative committees yesterday, House and Senate Republicans laid out their plans to solve Maryland’s fiscal problems. WYPR’s Joel McCord reports.

Special report: 10 reasons why GST should not be hiked