Image courtesy SimpsonsWorld via Giphy.com Do you remember your first phone number? I'm talking about the one when you were a kid. The one you parents made you memorize in case you needed to call home for any reason. For younger folks, that's not a problem. But when you reach a certain age, not that I'm confessing to any chronologically specific range, those early memories tend to fade. Despite that natural process, some of us still remember our childhood phone numbers. You'll have to trust me on my numerical recall. I'm leery enough of hackers, con artists and other assorted... Read more →
Film Movies
Got enough coffee to get you through your taxes this final weekend before the July 15 due date? We're finally here. It's the last weekend before our 2019 tax returns are due on Wednesday, July 15. If you're one of the millions of filers who hasn't done your taxes yet, you've got three options: Panic, Get organized now, or Ask the IRS for more time. Your choice depends upon exactly where you are right now in the filing process. (Of course, panic could be a viable option for each of us at any time during tax season, especially if we... Read more →
This U.S. Department of Justice mug shot of Al Capone was taken four months before his tax eviction conviction on Oct. 17, 1931. It's 89 years, later and Scarface still gets our attention, most recently in a movie about his later days. If there's one tiny sliver of silver lining in coronavirus self-isolation, it's that I feel a bit better about shelling out money for added television features. During our stay-home time, the hubby and I are taking advantage of premium cable, as well as the multiple streaming platforms to which we subscribe. Right now, my viewing tastes are winning.... Read more →
The shift would highlight the protective agency's more investigative activities. Plus, a look at the Secret Service's evolution and movies featuring its agents to help you pass time in coronavirus self-isolation. Secret Service agent Allen Taylor following former First Lady Michelle Obama in a less formal setting. Obama discusses her protective coverage in Netflix's now-streaming "Becoming" documentary. (Photo: Netflix) The Secret Service could be heading home. The federal law enforcement agency known mostly for its agents who protect the president, the White House occupant's family and other U.S. elected leaders and visiting foreign dignitaries is part of the Department of... Read more →
We definitely are no longer living in normal tax or other times. (Images from Young Frankenstein) April has always been a serious month for taxpayers. April 15 has been Tax Day for 65 years and since most of the millions of at-the-deadline filers tend to owe Uncle Sam, they're not very happy. This year, though, there is an even more solemn reason for no April fooling around. Things, tax and otherwise, have gotten very serious as the United States and the world fight the deadly coronavirus pandemic. On the tax front, new laws have been written and old ones adjusted... Read more →
Newark On Reddit via Twitter The Academy Awards is tonight and although I'm a big film fan, I'll probably skip it. The early awards shows have already spoiled it for me. Sorry, ABC. If Antonio Banderas somehow takes the Oscars statuette from Joaquin Phoenix, which is what I'd love to see, then I'll catch the replay on YouTube tomorrow. Some folks in New Jersey, however, will be closely watching this year's ceremony and pulling for the "Joker" actor. The street where Phoenix's disturbed Arthur Fleck character gets jumped early in the movie is in Newark. Tax breaks, of course, played... Read more →
Taxpayers got their first experience with new filing forms with last year's 2018 returns. There are more changes to the 1040 for 2019 taxes, too, but the revisions actually could be helpful. Tax season is about to start in a less than two weeks. Jan. 27, in case you forgot. Many of us are already working on our 2019 returns, either by working with a tax preparer or filling out our forms on our own. Doing taxes has never been a fun job for most folks. But filing under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) has made that job... Read more →
Topher Grace is known by millions of fans as television's Eric Forman. But when he's not acting, he also has a side gig. Side hustles aren't just for struggling wage slaves. From the "what I learned today" files, I literally learned today that actor Topher Grace has a side gig doing projects for Disney. Yes, the man who was Eric Forman in That '70s Show, and a buddy put together, as a lark, a consolidated trailer of all the Star Wars movies. Their unsanctioned YouTube post got a gazillion hits. OK, around 2 million from all the various postings. But... Read more →
Happy Thanksgiving. This annual gathering of family and friends is supposed to be a happy time of reconnecting. Nowadays, though, that takes some work. So to help you enjoy this Turkey Day instead of dread it or worse, here are some tips. Some are even tax-related. Acknowledge your differences: Clashes between family members have been going on since humans appeared on this planet. Unfortunately, over-sized expectations during holidays tend to make them worse. Old arguments — be they political, emotional or otherwise — often resurface. Recognize this and be ready. You aren't going to change your relatives or the issues... Read more →
These ghostly trick-or-treating dogs are more cuddly than scary. But ghost tax preparers can be terrifying. Don't let one haunt you. There's one thing that scares the Internal Revenue Service and taxpayers alike. Tax scams. One such ploy that popped up during the summer is making rounds again this Halloween season in a new, shall we say, costume. It's the one where the calling crook pretends to be from the Social Security Administration. "In the latest twist on a scam related to Social Security numbers, scammers claim to be able to suspend or cancel the victim's SSN. It's yet another... Read more →
Darth Maul apparently — spoiler alert — was killed in The Phantom Menace, but later showed up in subsequent Star Wars productions. His persistence is akin phantom investment transactions that are created simply to lower multinational companies' tax bills. (Photo via Lucasfilm) What I consider the real Star Wars trilogy came out when I was in college. That's why I've not bothered to see any of the subsequent sequel/prequel movies. But they came to mind last week when the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the University of Copenhagen released a new study on the growth of so-called phantom capital and... Read more →
It's Friday the 13th and a full moon will rise late tonight. Werewolves and Friday the 13th. Scared yet? Take a breath. Depending on where you live, and how superstitious you are, tonight might not be so bad. The Farmers' Almanac says folks in the Pacific, Central and Mountain time zones will get to gaze on the full moon before midnight this Friday, Sept. 13. However, if you live in the Eastern time zone, the moon won't be full until 12:33 a.m. on the less spooky Saturday, Sept. 14. Micro Harvest moon: Plus, it won't be a very big full... Read more →
"Dead Again" was a fun thriller, but the concept isn't amusing if the IRS is holding your tax refund for the second time in two years because it still thinks you're deceased. Death and taxes are inevitable, but that's not the eventual convergence yet for one woman. Shakira Evans of Philadelphia, however, is having trouble convincing the Internal Revenue Service of that. Worse, it's the second consecutive year that the 22-year-old mother of two has had to fight for her tax refund from the IRS, which still thinks she's dead. Dead again: Evans went through this same thing last year,... Read more →
//Kara's Party Ideas If you don't have to work on this post-July 4th Friday, then you're probably spending the day recovering from your patriotic and fireworks-laden celebrations. Some folks also are resting up from their birthday partying. Yep, I'm talking about those folks born on the Fourth of July. Famous 4th birthday celebrants: Several celebrities share this early July birth date. People magazine published a slide show and those from that presentation that caught my eye include: Eva Marie Saint, the Academy Award winning actress immortalized in On the Waterfront, which was directed by Elia Kazan and also showcased real-life... Read more →
Killmonger and crew steal a Wakandan vibranium ax in 2018's "Black Panther." This scene was filmed in Atlanta's High Museum of Art. (Watch full museum heist scene at YouTube) If you spend part of this long Memorial Day weekend watching a movie or two, chances are good that it was made in a particular place thanks to tax breaks. Movie makers have been getting tax incentives, at both the federal and state levels, for decades. The practice, however, is controversial. Supporters see the films, traditional television shows, streaming productions, commercials and even video games made in some part within their... Read more →
Armie Hammer and Felicity Jones as Martin and Ruth Bader Ginsburg in the movie "On the Basis of Sex." (Photo courtesy Focus Features) The U.S. Tax Court has gotten some unexpected attention of late for two very different reasons. The fun reason is the movie "On the Basis of Sex." The film is based on a real-life gender discrimination case involving caregiver tax deductions claimed by a man. He is represented by a young and future Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and her tax litigator husband Martin Ginsburg. The Ginsburgs won the Tax Court case and the rest is... Read more →
Hey, Uncle Sam, one of the funniest actresses out there is not feeling very cheerful right now and it's your fault. Tiffany Haddish is looking for a little gratitude from your tax collector. In a recent Instagram video, the award-winning star of the just-released "Night School" asked the Internal Revenue Service why, even though she pays her taxes "on time every year all the time," she never gets any thanks for her efforts. She doesn't let her state tax officials, the California State Franchise Tax Board, off the hook either for their similar lack of tax love. Shout outs all... Read more →
Click image to watch the Mos Eisley cantina scene, in which these musicians provide the catchy background tune, from the 1977 Star Wars movie that launched the sci-fi film franchise. Merry May 4th. Yes, this is another goofy, made-up holiday, but one that's dear to sci-fi fans (and punsters), particularly those devoted to Star Wars. The film franchise's iconic "May the force be with you" greeting is celebrated each year on the similar sounding "May the Fourth be with you." As a long-time sci-fi fan and a college student who waited in a long line to see the 1977 debut... Read more →
It's been years since U.S. Post Office branches in Austin have stayed open for Tax Day. I suspect that's the case across much of the United States. Most of us e-file our 1040s. Through April 6, the Internal Revenue Service had received almost 96 million electronically filed returns. It's expecting millions more electronically delivered returns as we rush to make today's filing deadline. So the mail service isn't swamped like in olden days when some offices had special pre-midnight festivities for taxpayers to drop off their returns. This shift means that if you're still committed to mailing a paper Form... Read more →
Will you be watching the Academy Awards this Sunday, March 4? You might want to since, depending on where you live, you helped pay for some of the Oscar-nominated movies. New Yorkers have the most at stake, both financially and in connection with the gold statuettes. New York budgets $420 million for its film-tax-credit program. The Empire State's film production tax credit offers reimbursement of up to 40 percent on most production costs depending on what part of the state a movie is shot. It also reward TV programs, like the Big Apple-based "The Tonight Show" with Jimmy Fallon, that... Read more →