Month: October 2014
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Unhelpful vs. antagonistic government actions against Money Island
Untangling the bureaucratic mess that hampers Sandy recovery is undoubtedly a complicated task. A number of well-intentioned people continue to work on the issue bet we’ve not seen any results here at the tiny community of Money Island NJ. From a pragmatic perspective we can break down the problems we face at Money Island into two…
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reading notes from “How Google Works”
2014 by Eric Schmidt and Jonathan Rosenberg I picked up this book in the first month after it was published and conditioned by other things Google, was expecting big things. After setting that high expectation the book fell short. I made a handful of notes that hit a chord: new terms: tenurocrats and HiPPOs (highest paid…
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50-something and not saving for retirement? There are plenty of us
A Wells Fargo report printed in the LA Times says 41% of people in their 50s are not saving for retirement in any 401(k), IRA or similar vehicle. At age 54, I’m squarely in the middle of this demographic and served as an example of the results. Over the last two years I’ve had to…
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How I inadvertently contributed to incorrect tax treatment of HRAs
Imagine that you are a mechanic and someone walks into your shop and asks you to put wings on his Honda Civic. You might say, “That’s silly, Civic’s don’t fly” and dismiss the request. Then three more owners walk in with the same question. You think about it some more and say “Well, it might look…
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Post-Sandy Government Shame List
In the two years since Sandy, I have found myself on the front line of an unfortunate number of unjustifiable actions taken by government against my small business clients and neighbors in the bayshore region of South Jersey. This list compiles ten of the most terrible government actions taken in the two years since Sandy. New…
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Investment custodian vs. broker/dealer (revisited)
Years ago I wrote a short Q&A format newspaper column, reproduced here, on the topic of an investment broker/dealer vs. custodian. The topic continues to receive attention today and I presume that the underlying consumer question focuses on safety of investment holdings. Recent inquiries caused me to wonder whether there is an easier and perhaps more…
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New CPA Office Makes a Value Offer for 2014 Tax Preparation
I am pleased to announce the launch my tax return preparation practice for the 2014 tax season. I am prepared with the most advanced software, qualified support staff and ready to handle electronic filing for all types of individual and small business tax returns anywhere in the U.S. In order to reduce the risk that…
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Small businesses wrestle with Form 941 Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax Return
IRS Form 941 Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax Return is, almost by definition, one of the most often-encountered sources of tax trouble for small businesses. This is the tax form that reconciles the amount of wage tax that has been sent (or is now being sent) with the employer’s liability for collecting and submitting these funds.…
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Non-permitted contingent fees and commissions for CPAs
Over the past month two of my web sites have received a growing numbers of visitors from Google and Bing search queries requesting examples of non-permitted contingent fees for CPAs. It appears that they come from multiple sources but I can not explain the sudden public interest. The reason, I suppose, is that I’ve written about two…