Top frivolous reasons for not paying taxes [USAT]
Aka: tax deniers expressing their freedom from tyrrany!
Nursing home accountant allegedly steals residents' rent money, over $50K [WAFB]
Debra Morris Barrios's scheme wasn't too sophisticated: "Barrios reportedly instructed the resident's family member to leave the payable section of the check blank because she would rubber stamp the check, titled with the name of the nursing home. The report disclosed that afterwards, Barrios wrote her name on the check and deposited it into her personal bank account."
How preparers can cut down on disclosures in financial reports [JofA]
1) Reduce repetition. 2) Focus disclosures. 3) Eliminate outdated or immaterial information.
Congress slow to help IRS tackle problem of incompetent tax preparers [The Hill]
Even slower than usual: "John Koskinen, the IRS commissioner, told lawmakers last week that Congress needed to act to help taxpayers, after a federal court threw out the agency’s plan to license and educate preparers. But that idea’s a tough sell to the GOP lawmakers who have the IRS in their sights after last year’s Tea Party controversy, even though some have sounded open to tougher rules against unscrupulous preparers."
Buyers Find Tax Break on Art: Let It Hang Awhile in Oregon [NYT]
The next time you pick up a Picasso and are facing use taxes, re-route it through Oregon: "Collectors who buy art in one state but live in another can owe thousands, tens of thousands, even millions of dollars in state 'use taxes': taxes often incurred when someone ships an out-of-state purchase home. But if they lend the recently purchased work first to museums like the [Jordan] Schnitzer [Museum of Art], located in a handful of tax-friendly states, the transaction is often tax-free."
Leave the supermodels alone! "It’s sad, because the people who write these things don’t have my bank-account details. I do OK, I earn plenty, but not as much as they say. I’ve already been audited by the IRS because of this list, and, truthfully, whether I’m on this list or not doesn’t interest me.”
Although try to avoid doing this when (s)he is pissed at you. Your parents hated it, your boss will, too.
