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Desperate Company Sears Teams with Desperate Company H&R Block to Offer Desperate People Free Tax Prep Services

Posted on by Caleb Newquist

Okay so maybe Sears isn't "desperate" but they did announce 100+ would be closed this year and maybe H&R Block isn't "desperate" but they no longer offer refund anticipation loans. Couple that with the news that Jackson Hewitt has 2,800 tax prep kiosks in Walmart stores, one might conclude that the brain trusts at Sears and H&R Block are in need of some good ideas:

Retail giant Sears is partnering with H&R Block this tax season, offering free federal 1040EZ tax filing online and in stores through Feb. 29. The two companies have created a Web page, www.Sears.com/hrblock, where consumers can prepare and file federal and state tax returns online. They can also visit H&R Block offices in more than 500 Sears stores nationwide to file their taxes.

I don't know about you all, but the thought of sitting in a H&R Block at your local Sears is not a pleasant one. That is unless Bob Vila, the handy hipster, was assisting you. 

Sears Teams with H&R Block on Free Tax Prep [AT]

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Luckily for Nicolas Cage, Ghost Rider 2 Is In Development

raising.arizona.073007.jpgToday in getting-sued-by-your-ex-but-my-name-isn’t-Steven Cohen news, Nicolas Cage is now being sued by his ex-girlfriend, Christina Fulton for $13 mil.
She’s claiming that Ghost Rider and his accountant, Samuel Levin (no relation), were really not very fucking good with the money and now she owes $1 million to the IRS annnnnd she has $250,000 in credit card debt annnnnd she lost her house.
If that’s not enough, Cage and Levin already don’t think too much of each other as they’ve been suing/countersuing each other over whether Cage sucks more at spending money ($1.6 million comic book collection) or Levin at managing it (risky real estate investments).
Good luck lady. The ex-Mrs. C’s chances seem better.
Nicolas Cage’s Ex Sues Him and His Former Accountant [Web CPA]

ATR to Senators: Sign the Close Big Oil Tax Loopholes Act of 2011 at Your Own Peril

Free market Norseman Grover Norquist sent a letter to “Senators” today, urging them to vote against the cleverly titled Close Big Oil Tax Loopholes Act of 2011. And for anyone that has signed the Taxpayer Protection Pledge, let it be known that you’ll be in direct violation of said pledge if you also sign the CBOTLA2011. This means you can expect ATR hellfire – in the form of sternly-worded letters – to rain upon you. If you think they’re bullshiting, just ask Tom Coburn what happens with you mess with the (Viking) horns.

From GN’s latest correspondence:

Voting for the Close Big Oil Tax Loopholes Act of 2011 is a violation of the Taxpayer Protection Pledge. Senate Democrats advocating for this legislation predicate their arguments on three false suppositions:

1. Taxing oil companies will bring down the price of gas
2. Washington needs more money
3. Oil and natural gas producers are the recipients of government subsidies

None of these presumptions are true.

Coinciding with the recent rise in gas prices were Democrat calls to raise taxes on America’s oil and natural gas producers—some of this country’s finest job creators. This line of reasoning is illogical. Raising the cost of producing crude oil will necessarily raise the price of gasoline.

As many Americans now understand, this country doesn’t have a revenue problem, we have a spending problem. Democrats are defaming oil and natural gas companies—with stunts like last week’s Senate Finance hearing—because they see these successful businesses as a way to fund a bloated federal government. President Obama’s Party has demonstrated no interest in seriously reducing spending.

So if you want to be associated with that, Senators (and I suspect The Gipper would be very disappointed), go ahead and sign CBOTLA2011. But you’re on notice.

Senate Energy Tax Hike Vote is a Taxpayer Protection Pledge Violation [ATR]

Gird Your Loins, Unscrupulous Tax Preparers

The IRS is on you like white on rice.

The Internal Revenue Service is taking steps to stop tax preparers with criminal tax convictions or permanent injunctions from preparing tax returns. This is just one of several recent moves to improve the quality and oversight of the tax preparation industry.

More than 700,000 tax preparers nationwide have registered with the IRS and obtained Preparer Tax Identification Numbers (PTINs). This nine-digit number must be used by paid tax return preparers on all returns or claims for refund. Paid preparers must renew their PTINs annually to legally prepare tax returns.

“We owe it to all taxpayers and the many honest tax return preparers to remove the relatively small number of bad actors from the tax preparation industry,” said Doug Shulman, IRS Commissioner. “Just one unscrupulous tax return preparer can cause a lot of financial damage to both taxpayers and the tax system.”

Nineteen ne’er-do-wells have already gotten word that they’ll be stripped of their PTINs for unseemly behavior of some kind or another. Best get that CPA so you don’t have to mess with the whole thing…until you the IRS lumps them in too.

IRS Begins Enforcement of New Return Preparer Rules [IRS]