Category: News and Politics
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Overview of American Rescue Plan Act of 2021
Background In February 2021 the U.S. Senate, The House of Representatives and the Executive Branch led by the White House took a series of actions designed to address the pandemic recession by allowing a huge proposed economic stimulus bill to move through to approval without relying on Republican party votes. The Democratic Party members of…
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Political support policy for 2021 and 2022
I’ve been an advocate of written policies in aspects of financial management, whether investment policy, expense approval policy, charitable donations and more. This post is about my own political support policy for the next couple of years. I’m probably in the majority of Americans concerned with the actions by a minority of more radical but…
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Safety planning for 2021 post-pandemic: a personal choice
By all accounts, we are not yet halfway through the worst of the COVID pandemic as we soon enter the cold weather season. The most basic point of what we now know is that it spreads easily through the air with prolonged contact. Even indoor ventilation systems pose a significant spread risk. We also know…
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Trump’s three largest tax problems
Donald Trump’s tax problems are obviously of great public interest. This post summarizes the three largest issues as widely reported in popular media1 : 1) IRS audit on partnership losses – The federal government’s tax auditors at the Internal Revenue Service disagree with a tax position taken by Trump that could reportedly increase his income…
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Alarming financial reports leaked
Questions about the leaked reports from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Unit (FinCEN): All parties acknowledge this disclosure places the employees of financial institutions in danger. How badly is this going to deter anyone in the financial industry from complying with the law going forward? If employees in these institutions were following the law in reporting…
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What’s going on in D.C. and how does it affect your South Jersey business?
Yesterday the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce sponsored a discussion program with government policy experts from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce titled “What’s going on in D.C. and how it affects your business?”. If you own a small business in New Jersey (like me) the basic question is likely ‘How bad will it be?’ This…
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Preserving right of claim for 2016 tax returns
The hottest topic in tax planning right now is the protection of right to claim a refund for 2016. It’s likely a hot of hot air about nothing. Beginning on 2016 wealthy people paid additional taxes mandated by the Affordable Care Act. If the Affordable Care Act is deemed unconstitutional, then theoretically the taxes it…
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The fallacy of diversity and inclusion statements
I am pleased to work with a wide range of nonprofit organization managers 1. This includes the executives of churches, synagogues, environmental groups, professional and trade associations. One thing that almost all share is a focus on outreach and recruitment. It’s a core theme for most nonprofits, and I think it is fair to say…
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“More than a Vote” and the long road ahead to the next election
I serve as accountant or treasurer to several nonprofit organizations focused on education and registration of voters. We are more concerned about voter suppression and voter disenfranchisement now than in any earlier time in our lives. That’s why this excerpt published yesterday by writer Heather Cox Wilkinson jumped out at me. “Basketball superstar LeBron James…