Ask TaxMama Issue 461 - IRS Improves Online Payments

2008-06-13 by

Happy Friday the 13th

Dear Family,

Is it Friday already? How did it get here so fast?

And the 13th no less! Some of us think that’s a really lucky day!
Certainly those folks in Guantanmo think this is a lucky time,
with the US Supreme Court voting in favor of their human rights.
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080612/COL10/80612059

Goodness, Bush had a bad week as Dennis Kucinich introduced a resolution to impeach him in the House of Representatives. One journalist says “The House voted 251 to 166 to send it to the House Judiciary Committee, effectively killing the effort because it is unlikely to undergo hearings before President Bush leaves office.
http://www.voanews.com/english/2008-06-11-voa59.cfm
Hmmmm….it would be interesting to see if the Judiciary Committee is able to act on this with the speedy consideration it deserves (one way or the other), rather than playing politics with the resolution. Kucinich brought up some rather relevant issues about the lies the Bush administration fed the Legislature, the Press and the American people to persuade us that it was imperative that we go into Iraq. Without that misinformation, our soldiers wouldn’t be dying there – and the Iraqi people would still have running water, operating schools, a creepy, but firm balance between the various Muslim denominations – and only a few Iraqis would be brutalized by Sadaam Hussein and his co-horts – instead of the few muslims we’re brutalizing in Cuba – to protect our freedoms.

Gee, I didn’t know I was going to say all that.
Uh oh…I’ll bet a bunch of you are going to be really angry with me and unsubscribe in a huff – without even being direct enough to speak your mind and answer me. I’m sorry. But all of the above is sad, but true.

This week’s Job Advice is rather common-sensical – don’t search
for an executive job where kids and middle managers dwell.
Articles that TheLadders members received this week included tips on how to prepare an executive-level resume, a video about dealing with executive recruiters, and information about telecommuting.
http://www.taxquips.com/index.php?cat=JobAdviceoftheWeek

Today’s Money Funnies puts time and wealth into perspective.
http://taxquips.com/index.php?cat=MoneyFunnies

Remember, we can really use your jokes – especially clean
humor relating to tax or money issues.

TaxQuips this week opens one woman’s eyes – and gives her a reason to amend several years worth of tax returns when she learns her nephew qualifies as her dependent – and may even qualify her for head of household, even though he’s not a student. TaxMama does some pre-marital counseling, and we discuss working under the table, and splitting up a sibling-owned property.
http://taxquips.com/index.php?cat=TaxQuips

IRS News reports IRS healthy improvements to the online installment agreement system. You’re going to like that! And there’s a reminder that if you have bank and financial accounts outside the US you have until June 30th to report them.
http://taxquips.com/index.php?cat=IRSNews

Remember to join me next week at this Intuit Webinar:
“How long do I have to keep my records? And what do I have to keep?” Join me on Wednesday June 18th at 1:00 pm PDT for a webinar on that very topic. It won’t cost you a dime – and you can ask your questions about your own specific situation. Sign up here.

As always, we love your feedback, opinions and ideas.
You are what makes all this fun – and interesting!

Please use the Comments link online.
http://taxquips.com/index.php?id=871

Hugs from your favorite TaxNerd,

Eva Rosenberg, EA

Your TaxMama is watching…out for you.

www.TaxMama.com
www.TaxQuips.com
www.IRSExam.com
www.TaxNerd.net
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TAX CALENDAR 2008
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06.16.2008 2nd 2008 Estimated Payment – all entities Due

06.16.2008 Personal Tax Returns Due for US Taxpayers overseas

06.16.2008 or File extensions for US Taxpayers overseas Form 4868

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SPECIAL GIFTS FROM TAXMAMA – FREE – REALLY!
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Since it’s summer, and you’re probably going to be traveling with your family, consider getting matching T-shirts and/or hats.

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Ask TaxMama
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IRS News
Nifty updates to online payment agreements and reminder about deadline to report foreign accounts
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All Comments RSS

  1. Ron Says:

    wow, your version of the truth is interesting. where do you get your information? Congress had the same intelligence that the president had and came to the same conclusion.

    have you spoken with any soldiers who've served in Iraq? are you aware of the good that we're doing over there and the improvements in utilities, schools, etc. since the Sadaam regime?

    I'm certainly not saying everyone should agree with the war. But the concept of establishing a democratic-like foothold in the extremist Muslim, terrorist-laden middle east, is valid and is exactly what we're trying to do.

  2. SHIRLEY Says:

    What you say to be the "truth" is only what YOU believe. You should keep politics out of your wonderful TaxMama site.

  3. Lu Says:

    I think you're entitled to say whatever you'd like, TaxMama! After all, it's YOUR site!! :)

    All kidding aside, our soldiers have fought for over 200 years to maintain our freedoms, including the right to a fair trial. The Supreme Court simply reinforced those freedoms yesterday.

    Conservative, progressive, Libertarian, whatever, we should all be grateful for their brave stance on this controversial issue. After all, isn't it their job to protect the rights of the minority over the tyranny of the majority?

  4. marvin baker Says:

    I'll probably take flak for this, but i am a 12 yr veteran, and although i don't agree with a lot of what Ann Coulter says, she does make some points in this article, enjoy

    Wednesday, June 11, 2008
    Bush's America: 100% Al-Qaeda Free Since 2001
    By Ann Coulter

    In a conversation recently, I mentioned as an aside what a great president George Bush has been and my friend was surprised. I was surprised that he was surprised.

    I generally don't write columns about the manifestly obvious, but, yes, the man responsible for keeping Americans safe from another terrorist attack on American soil for nearly seven years now will go down in history as one of America's greatest presidents.

    Produce one person who believed, on Sept. 12, 2001, that there would not be another attack for seven years, and I'll consider downgrading Bush from "Great" to "Really Good."

    Merely taking out Saddam Hussein and his winsome sons Uday and Qusay (Hussein family slogan: "We're the Rape Room People!") constitutes a greater humanitarian accomplishment than anything Bill Clinton ever did—and I'm including remembering Monica's name on the sixth sexual encounter.

    But unlike liberals, who are so anxious to send American troops to Rwanda or Darfur, Republicans oppose deploying U.S. troops for purely humanitarian purposes. We invaded Iraq to protect America.

    It is unquestionable that Bush has made this country safe by keeping Islamic lunatics pinned down fighting our troops in Iraq. In the past few years, our brave troops have killed more than 20,000 al-Qaida and other Islamic militants in Iraq alone. That's 20,000 terrorists who will never board a plane headed for JFK—or a landmark building, for that matter.

    We are, in fact, fighting them over there so we don't have to fight them at, say, the corner of 72nd and Columbus in Manhattan—the mere mention of which never fails to enrage liberals, which is why you should say it as often as possible.

    The Iraq war has been a stunning success. The Iraqi army is "standing up" (as they say), fat Muqtada al-Sadr—the Dr. Phil of Islamofascist radicalism—has waddled off in retreat to Iran, and Sadr City and Basra are no longer war zones. Our servicemen must be baffled by the constant nay-saying coming from their own country.

    The Iraqis have a democracy—a miracle on the order of flush toilets in that godforsaken region of the world. Despite its newness, Iraq's democracy appears to be no more dysfunctional than one that would condemn a man who has kept the nation safe for seven years while deifying a man who has accomplished absolutely nothing in his entire life except to give speeches about "change."

    (Guess what Bill Clinton's campaign theme was in 1992? You are wrong if you guessed: "bringing dignity back to the White House." It was "change." In January 1992, James Carville told Steve Daley of The Chicago Tribune that it had gotten to the point that the press was complaining about Clinton's "constant talk of change.")

    Monthly casualties in Iraq now come in slightly lower than a weekend with Anna Nicole Smith. According to a CNN report last week, for the entire month of May, there were only 19 troop deaths in Iraq. (Last year, five people on average were shot every day in Chicago.) With Iraqi deaths at an all-time low, Iraq is safer than Detroit—although the Middle Eastern food is still better in Detroit.

    Al-Qaida is virtually destroyed, surprising even the CIA. Two weeks ago, The Washington Post reported: "Less than a year after his agency warned of new threats from a resurgent al-Qaida, CIA Director Michael V. Hayden now portrays the terrorist movement as essentially defeated in Iraq and Saudi Arabia and on the defensive throughout much of the rest of the world, including in its presumed haven along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border."

    It's almost as if there's been some sort of "surge" going on, as strange as that sounds.

    Just this week, The New York Times reported that al-Qaida and other terrorist groups in Southeast Asia have all but disappeared, starved of money and support. The U.S. and Australia have been working closely with the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia, sending them counterterrorism equipment and personnel.

    But no one notices when 9/11 doesn't happen. Indeed, if we had somehow stopped the 9/11 attack, we'd all be watching Mohammed Atta being interviewed on MSNBC, explaining his lawsuit against the Bush administration. Maureen Dowd would be writing columns describing Khalid Sheik Mohammed as a "wannabe" terrorist being treated like Genghis Khan by an excitable Bush administration.

    We begin to forget what it was like to turn on the TV, see a tornado, a car chase or another Pamela Anderson marriage and think: Good—another day without a terrorist attack.

    But liberals have only blind hatred for Bush—and for those brute American interrogators who do not supply extra helpings of bearnaise sauce to the little darlings at Guantanamo with sufficient alacrity.

    The sheer repetition of lies about Bush is wearing people down. There is not a liberal in this country worthy of kissing Bush's rear end, but the weakest members of the herd run from Bush. Compared to the lickspittles denying and attacking him, Bush is a moral giant—if that's not damning with faint praise. John McCain should be so lucky as to be running for Bush's third term. Then he might have a chance.

  5. Debbie Says:

    I've always looked forward to receiving your emails and learning from you.

    Today I was disappointed to see that you've used this very useful tool to espouse your political views.

    Whether I agree with your views or not, I'd love to see this site remain one of learning and help. JMHO

    Debbie


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