The annual Army-Navy game is the only college football matchup I make a point to watch. Go Navy! This year, the COVID-19 pandemic has put such gridiron rivalries in jeopardy. (U.S. Navy photo by Chief Photographer's Mate Johnny Bivera via Wikipedia Commons) The Mid-American Conference (MAC) today became the first Division 1 college football governing body to cancel its fall season because of the COVID-19 pandemic. "There are simply too many unknowns to put our student athletes in these situations. This is simply a miserable decision," MAC commissioner Jon Steinbrecher said. Yes, for the sports fans, schools, players and coaches,... Read more →
Pop Culture
Mickey and Minnie Mouse in Hong Kong Disneyland, which features the internationally iconic Sleeping Beauty Castle. (Photo by PoonKaMing via Wikipedia Commons) Tax offices often are derided for being Mickey Mouse operations. Rhode Island's Office of the General Treasurer actually went there. The Ocean State's financial office late last month issued 176 business tax refund checks that were signed by Mickey Mouse and Walt Disney. Rhode Island's Department of Revenue said the entertainment industry signatures, which went where state treasurer Seth Magaziner and state controller Peter Keenan should have signed, were due to a technical glitch. This should have been... Read more →
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 →
Meanwhile, the rest of us regular taxpayers say thanks for the offer and, as Tax Day 2020 looms, continue to look for ways to keep from paying so much on our nowhere-near-a-million earnings. If you're still working on your tax return instead of jetting off in your private plane to a luxury destination, then you might agree with the latest tax-the-rich plea. You also might need some of the tax-saving tips listed later in this post. With July 15, aka coronavirus Tax Day 2020, looming, millions of taxpayers are scouring their records and the tax laws looking for ways to... 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 →
I admit it. When I make an occasional foray into the coronavirus world, which is a quick trip to my local grocery every 10 days or so to buy milk, I look at the lottery ticket machines. Did you know that the Mega Millions jackpot is $255 million? Powerball is a relatively paltry $77 million, not that I'd turn it down if my numbers came up. And yes, I did buy tickets. Why, ask my more frugal and fiscally conservative readers? Because I'm bored. There's only so much to stream or read or rewatch or reread. The possibility of being... Read more →
First comes love. Then comes marriage. Then come two filing as one When it comes to their taxes. OK, "marriage" and "taxes" in my opening verse don't rhyme, which is why I'm a journalist, not a poet. But since I focus on taxes and today is, so romantics tell me, the most important day of the year for couples, I thought I'd give the marrying of taxes and wedded bliss a try. Here are five love and tax considerations. 1. Marriage date matters Sure you marry for love. But you might want to consider when you formally tie the knot.... 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 →
This numerically notable day is part of the Leap Year, which gives us 24 more hours to devote to our taxes. Bonus huzzah! February 2, 2020. What a day. Super Bowl LIV. International pop star Shakira's birthday, which she'll celebrate performing with J-Lo at halftime of the NFL championship game. Groundhog Day (Phil says early spring). And the real biggie, it's Palindrome Day. This 2nd day of the second month of the year 2020 reads the same front or back when written out fully. 02022020 special features: Palindrome dates aren't that uncommon. It happened, based on how they're written, on... Read more →
Are you having some trouble getting fired up for Super Bowl LIV? I feel ya. It's hard when your team isn't one of the competitors. But as a lifelong Dallas Cowboys fan, I've learned over the last 24 years — yes, that's how long it's been since Them Cowboys were in the National Football League championship game — creative ways to pique my interest in the annual match-up. This year, for example, it's pretty easy to find a reason to watch. Kansas City Chief's star quarterback Patrick Mahomes is not only a native Texan like the hubby and me, but... Read more →
And be ready to pay tax on your winnings Quarterbacks Patrick Mahomes of the Chiefs and Jimmy Garoppolo of the 49ers will lead their teams Sunday, Feb. 2, in Super Bowl LIV. Quarterbacks Patrick Mahomes of the Chiefs and Jimmy Garoppolo of the 49ers will lead their teams Sunday, Feb. 2, in Super Bowl LIV. I've been to Las Vegas. I love that city. But I know nothing about betting. My gambling, aside from a half hour or so at a Sin City slot machine years ago, is losing a few bucks on a lottery ticket every time the Powerball... Read more →
Millions are watching NFL playoffs today. But millions of other esports fans enjoy competitions like this match between Dallas Fuel and New York Excelsior at the Blizzard Arena in Los Angeles last June, the second season of the Overwatch League. Among those also watching esports closely are state tax collectors. (Image by Dallas Fuel via Wikipedia Commons CC BY 3.0) Tonight, we'll know which two National Football League (NFL) teams will be in South Florida next month to play in Super Bowl LIV. While you can never predict who'll win any game — just ask the previously heavily favored Baltimore... Read more →
Detroit police inspecting illegal alcohol distilling equipment found in a clandestine underground brewery during Prohibition. (Photo: National Archives and Records Administration via Wikipedia Commons) Last week was the 100th anniversary of a momentous, and eventually failed, effort by U.S. lawmakers to control public actions. Following ratification of the 18th Amendment in 1919, Congress followed up with the National Prohibition Act, commonly referred to as the Volstead Act. It outlawed the production, distribution and transportation of alcohol. The United States officially went dry on Jan. 17, 1920. Not only did Prohibition, authorized by the 18th Amendment, fail to stop Americans from... 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 →
Brrrrr! is the new Boo! for Halloween 2019. That's true here in Central Texas where we're expecting a high temperature of 55, along with northerly wind gusts making it feel even chillier. Today is forecast to the be Austin's coldest Halloween day in 28 years. I know. This is nothing compared to other parts of the country. An early-season snowstorm will move through the Great Lakes this Halloween, with truly frigid temperatures across much of the Midwest and Northeast. The winter weather system, dubbed Bessie by The Weather Channel, also dropped half a foot of snow to Denver earlier in... Read more →
A candy-seeking skeleton goes trick-or-treating on Halloween. (Photo by Don Scarborough via Wikipedia Commons) OK, that youngster dressed like an Internal Revenue Service auditor might freak you out when you open your door the evening of Oct. 31. I apologize (sorta) for suggesting such a non-traditional Halloween costume in my previous post on how scary our taxes and the agency that collects them can be. But it's not all tax ghouls and goblins this spookiest part of the year. There are some tax treats that are available, too. Here are five tax benefits you might be able to take advantage... Read more →
Halloween is almost here. Are you still looking for a costume? Here's a suggestion. Go as the Internal Revenue Service. On this annual night of frights, Uncle Sam's tax collector offers plenty of scares. Here are four terrifying tax situations to get you in a Halloween mood. Be afraid, but also be prepared, on this Oct. 31 as well as year-round. 1. Audit: There's no need to build up to this scare, which can occur any time of the year. Fear of an IRS audit is one of the biggest tax terrors for most people, even (or maybe especially) those... Read more →
The hubby and I got to see the Astros receive their 2017 MLB championship rings back in April 2018. Our fingers and toes are crossed this week for a repeat of that World Series outcome and another trip to Houston for a second ring ceremony. (Photo by Kay Bell) The 2019 World Series starts tonight and the best pitcher in Major League Baseball right now will be on the mound. The good news for me and other Astros fans is that that righthander, Gerrit Cole, is on our team. The bad news for me and other Astros fans is that... Read more →
Yo ho, all ye salty sea dogs and scalawags. Just a quick reminder on this annual Talk Like a Pirate Day that the Internal Revenue Service wants its cut of your ill-gotten gains, be they pillaged pirate loot or otherwise criminally obtained. Click image to watch the ESPN ad. I know Andrew McCutchen is no longer a Pittsburgh Pirate, but the daring attack the former MLB National League MVP and his crew of sports team buccaneer mascots launched on an ESPN meeting back in 2013 still is one of my favorite television ads. And while Cutch, who's now plays for... 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 →