Taxes Expert Voices Today

3 End of the Year Moves

In “The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio,” a movie that more people should have seen, the lead character (played by Julianne Moore) has a wonderful line. At the end of a particularly awful 24-hours, she says, “I am going to bed. I am tired of this day, I want a new one.” Well, we are all tired of this year. But before we say good riddance to 2008, there are three things you should consider doing. 1.Write an extra mortgage check. If you make your January 2009 mortgage payment this month, you will be able to claim the January interest on your 2008 tax return. (The only down side? You will need to pay January 2010’s mortgage next December as well in order to deduct 12 months of interest during 2009.) More…

3 End of the Year Moves

In “The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio,” a movie that more people should have seen, the lead character (played by Julianne Moore) has a wonderful line. At the end of a particularly awful 24-hours, she says, “I am going to bed. I am tired of this day, I want a new one.” Well, we are all tired of this year. But before we say good riddance to 2008, there are three things you should consider doing. 1.Write an extra mortgage check. If you make your January 2009 mortgage payment this month, you will be able to claim the January interest on your 2008 tax return. (The only down side? You will need to pay January 2010’s mortgage next December as well in order to deduct 12 months of interest during 2009.) More…

Vote

The cliche "if you didn't vote, you can't complain" isn't completely right. This is America. You can complain about just about anything at any time. But you will have a whole lot more credibility, if you voted. Please do. More…

The Game Sure Seems Rigged

Rep. Charles Rangel, who is in charge of Congressional oversight of the U.S. tax code thanks to his position as chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, is scheduled to hold press conference today to, in the words of The Wall Street Journal “respond to questions raised in recent weeks about his compliance with congressional disclosure rules and his tax returns.” Rangel has already said he didn’t report on his taxes more than $75,000 in rental income on a resort villa he owned in the Dominican Republic. And the Journal notes “documents released on Rep. Rangel's behalf also showed he paid no interest for a mortgage used to purchase the beach property.” More…

The Game Sure Seems Rigged

Rep. Charles Rangel, who is in charge of Congressional oversight of the U.S. tax code thanks to his position as chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, is scheduled to hold press conference today to, in the words of The Wall Street Journal “respond to questions raised in recent weeks about his compliance with congressional disclosure rules and his tax returns.” Rangel has already said he didn’t report on his taxes more than $75,000 in rental income on a resort villa he owned in the Dominican Republic. And the Journal notes “documents released on Rep. Rangel's behalf also showed he paid no interest for a mortgage used to purchase the beach property.” More…