Month: February 2017
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Security upgrade for WordPress hosted small business web site
This week I noticed an apparent attempted brute force attack on this web site with over 10,000 blocked log-in attempts. This caused me to question and re-evaluate my data management plan and Privacy and Security protocols. This review is for my own satisfaction only, these is no indication that any of my systems or data have…
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Why are these 23 Congressmen hiding Trump’s tax return?
Today’s news of the Republican campaign team’s many contacts with Russian government during the hacking of the presidential election combined with the news of a Russian spy ship spotted collecting intelligence off the coast of New Jersey today obviously raises many national security concerns. Congress promises to investigate. A simple starting point would be an…
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Republican attacks against labor unions
Yesterday Pennsylvania labor unions became the latest to suffer a legislative setback Labor unions are under attack. Newly elected Republican governments around the country went to work this past month to weaken the unions exactly as they announced in the campaign season. While labor unions normally support Democratic pro-labor platforms, this year many unions and their…
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My 2017-2018 economic and political forecast
“It’s still the economy, stupid” My fundamental forecasting premise is that the current federal administration’s fate and effectiveness in this divided country ultimately lies in the direction of the economy. Given the basic current macroeconomic factors: high stock market low interest rates high level of entitlements, and the low level of unemployment, I conclude that current…
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Free online tax return preparation offer
I will offer one free online tax filing service per day (subject to limitations) as a promotion of the advantages online remote professional accounting services. In this second week of February 2017 my peer accountants with brick and mortar offices were already reporting tax season work overloads. Meanwhile in my virtual online office I am now caught…
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Pocahontas empowered
Senator Elizabeth Warren solidified her leadership position of the nation’s political opposition force this week. Even the president acknowledged that in one of his insult-hurling tweets “Pocahontas is now the face of your party”. Warren, like me, says that has voted Republican for most of her life before assuming positions of Democratic party leadership. Yet she…
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A holistic approach to small business benefit plans
Tony Novak, CPA financial planner
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Tax refund in less than 4 days
2016 cash refund received from IRS in less than 4 days In one of the fastest transactions I’ve seen, I submitted a 1040A tax return this past Sunday afternoon and the refund was in the taxpayer’s bank account Thursday morning. The key to such a fast refund is to have clear and complete records, no…
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Support for ADP clients
Many of us think of ADP as a payroll company, and for good reason. The company is the market share leader in payroll processing and handles 1 in 6 of all paychecks issued in the United States. But in reality, ADP has transformed into a Human Resources management platform with over 100 specialized applications running…
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IRS refunds dropped sharply
IRS issued surprising data on personal income tax refunds today. The average amount of a refund declined from $3,385 last year to $1,994 this tax season. The reason probably has to do with changes to Earned Income Credit processing. Tax refunds have a significant impact on the consumer goods economy.