Author: Tony Novak
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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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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.
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Update on 2017 tax reform
There is no easy button for tax reform. Republicans tax reform plans have changed since my last report on tax reform about six weeks ago. The Republican Senate agenda that was based on using the reconciliation process instead of needing 60 votes in the Senate, the republicans only need a simple majority of 51 votes for…
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Review of ‘The Road to Little Dribbling: More Notes from a Small Island’
Today I finished reading “The Road to Little Dribbling: More Notes from a Small Island” by Bill Bryson. This is still one of the first 10 books I’ve read in electronic format that I’ve come to enjoy while on the treadmill. I’ve read most of Bryson’s work and regard him as one of the brightest…
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We help with Turbotax returns
Self-preparers have an easy option for professional support! For many years I’ve promoted the concept that most people should be able to file their own tax return without outside help. In cases where the taxes are based on salaried income, investment income and other well-documented sources, it makes sense to file your own taxes online and…
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What the fiduciary rule means to us
Update on February 8, 2017: District Court in Texas upheld the fiduciary rule in this 81 page ruling in a case brought by the financial services industry groups. The court ruling seems to praise the new rule. Except in the unlikely event of very fast action by the Department of Labor it appears that the fiduciary…
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Propaganda today
“The point of modern propaganda isn’t only to misinform or push an agenda. It is to exhaust your critical thinking, to annihilate truth.” – Russian dissident and chess grand-master Garry Kasparov “Make America Great Again” belies the overwhelming data that suggests growing old gracefully is our nation’s best option. “America First” is equally unsupported by positive…
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Buyer beware (again) in financial services
I regret that we dialed back the clock and returned to a “buyer beware” marketplace of financial services after President Trump yesterday unhinged the fiduciary rule for financial advisers. This move shouldn’t come as a surprise; it is a favor for Wall Street firms who depend on naive financial consumers for their profits. Trump has demonstrated…