Palm Sunday, a Marblehead Lighthouse filler photo and taxes

| March 24, 2024

Today, Sunday March 24, 2024 is Palm Sunday … the Sunday before Easter. For Christians around the world, it commemorates the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. On this day, a cheering crowd greeted Jesus along the road, spreading their garments and palm branches before Him. For us today, it is time to get our […]

What do state sales taxes look like nationwide? #map

| February 17, 2024

As an entrepreneur who has owned a business that sells in several Ohio counties and collects sales taxes (all counties are different), I do monitor the steady sales tax percentage increase over the decades of doing business. It is also interesting to know how managing a business in Ohio compares to other states (click map […]

Taxes? 💰 Go (Historical) Figure!

| January 28, 2024

An email newsletter from the Tax Foundation offered up a few interesting tax oriented tidbits. Lady Godiva As the story goes, Lady Godiva famously rode a horse through Coventry, Warwickshire . . . in the nude. But why did this 11th-century noblewoman choose to do such a thing? Taxes. Lady Godiva pleaded with her husband, […]

Ogling the 2024 IRS Federal Income Tax Tables (2023’s too)

| December 29, 2023

The IRS has set the new tax brackets to adjust for inflation beginning in January 2024. The update is to shift higher by 5.4%, but for 2023 taxes that most of us will be filing before April 15 and saw even more “bracket creep” due to the previously year’s inflation.   Here are the changes […]

The TaxFoundation and “An Introduction to the History of Taxes”

| December 26, 2023

Have you ever wondered about taxes … and how many (or how much) is too little or too much? If so, here’s a short YouTube clip from the TaxFoundation:

How is the U.S. National Debt looking 13 years later?

| September 30, 2023

Thirteen years ago I blogged on the US National Debt spiraling out of control (the US National Debt was $13.5 Trillion in September of 2013) … who knew we wouldn’t even remotely take this exponentially increasing monstrosity seriously? Now we’re $33 TRILLION in debt, running huge deficits, and adding to the national debt even faster […]

Our granddaughters are heading back to school and smiling!

| August 23, 2023

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Is the Debt Ceiling debate really our biggest problem?

| May 27, 2023

Once again, politicians are taking our US SPENDING and BORROWING problem right to the wire. Everyone knows that eventually politicians will just raise the debt ceiling and borrow more. The Republicans want spending cuts and the Democrats want a “clean increase” so as to be able to pay promised liabilities (previous spending) and we all […]

How Does Your State Rank on Individual Income Taxes?

| May 3, 2023

Taxes are often on my mind … especially when reminded by an email update from the Tax Foundation. This week was both a depressing one (Ohio #41) and an interesting one due to the number of states and cities trying hard to reduce the burden of bloated government on their residents. I would nice if […]

With ridiculously old IT, where is the IRS spending most of their new $80 BILLION dollar taxpayer funded windfall?

| April 18, 2023

Yup … ENFORCEMENT. … hundreds of IRS applications have been around for at least 25 years and dozens that have been in existence for more than 50. There were also pieces of software running 15 updates behind the current version. Fifteen! That’s like using a new iPhone with the iOS from the original iPhone …  […]

Inflation and the 2023 tax year Federal tax bracket

| October 23, 2022

The Federal tax brackets are adjusted each year by the IRS based on inflation numbers in an attempt to stop “bracket creep.” This prices have soared as in September 2022 consumer prices were up 8.2% compared to 2021. It is likely most Americans have not seen that kind of wage increase which means their buying […]

Do state/city/local taxes impact interstate migration?

| October 18, 2022

As a former GOP VP hopeful would say, “You betcha.” In catching up on my Tax Foundation reading, one of their recent emails highlighted what internationally we have seen in off and onshoring is that businesses go to where they are treated best. It most often has to do with a companies lowest cost of […]

Where do you WANT vs where SHOULD you live in retirement?

| July 10, 2022

While I personally have not worked the numbers, a May 2022 Barron’s Advisor column on retirement offered an enlightening look on “where” to live; it can be eye-opening! Low income taxes aren’t everything. Many retirees who live in states with high taxes are eager to move to states with no income taxes, says Rhian Horgan, […]

Bummer, we didn’t plan a winter or spring break this year

| March 20, 2022

Photo from February 2013 in Delray Beach while visiting Brenda’s parents For years … well decades really … we have been fortunate enough to escape winter in February or sometimes March or April and head to sunny or warmer climates for a week. Often it was to visit either Brenda’s or my parents who would […]

Tech Friday: Surprised at the recent increase in blog traffic

| December 10, 2021

The surprise increase in blog traffic corresponded to my taking a few more security measures such as locking down more of the personal content to only logged in readers … but I’m not sure that had anything to do with increasing earnings? Still, I noticed upward change (more than doubling) of Google Adsense earnings and […]

TRILLIONs more in spending? IRS tracking at the $600 level? Where are the sensible leaders in our Federal government?

| October 9, 2021

If you think about it, the IRS will probably need far more than another $80 BILLION tax dollars to hire enough agents to track and follow up on every American who has a bank account or transaction over $600? A major component of President Joe Biden’s plan to raise revenue to pay for his trillions […]

Tech Friday: Driving, tracking, privacy, gasoline/diesel taxes, or a VMT tax to support our roads and bridges infrastructure

| June 25, 2021

Currently, we attempt to pay for infrastructure by taxing drivers at the pump when they fill their cars and trucks with gasoline and diesel fuel … but vehicles are becoming more efficient while the cost of infrastructure and maintenance continues to goes up. In other words, there isn’t enough money being collected. The politicians answer […]

Wishing it away. Unfortunately the 3-mo delayed Tax Day is today

| July 15, 2020

The pandemic delayed April 15th Tax Day for Americans’ 2019 taxes is now upon us and for those who have not filed, you have until 11:59 tonight to do it … unless you request an extension until October 15th. We can try to wish it away like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, but as […]

The new SECURE Act requires rethinking retirement planning

| January 26, 2020

graphic credit – Enza Financial There was an excellent podcast on Charles Schwab‘s WashingtonWise Investor (link) last week with Mike Townsend and Dan Stein that summarized the 2020 changes for those planning their retirement – hopefully everybody. Most of the new changes made by Congress last year in the SECURE Act are based on Americans […]

How does marriage impact the taxes you pay?

| September 18, 2019

Does Your State Have a Marriage Tax Penalty? It isn’t always easy to decipher the tax impact of marriage on taxes, but the Tax Foundation summarized the tax code “marriage penalty” and offers an overview map. YMMV. Under a progressive, graduated-rate income tax system, tax rates increase as a taxpayer’s marginal income increases. A marriage […]

The challenges of pursing the American Dream – a discussion

| June 21, 2019

Taylor is my millennial antagonist when it comes to discussing politics, investing and both government and personal finances. We both enjoy debating, so it’s cool most of the time. He is also a product of his generation just as I am of mine. We view the role and expanse of government differently when it comes […]

Ohio gas taxes and a book by Kristin Tate – How Do I Tax Thee?

| March 7, 2019

I do miss browsing in bookstores … something our family would regularly do Sunday after church … and something my daughter and I would do “in the good ol’ days” when I would visit her in college. I suppose there are still a few bookstores around to enjoy, but nowadays I read what is recommended […]

Perhaps you should get a wireless phone plan in Oregon?

| February 7, 2019

The 2018 wireless phone Tax Foundation report came out in December 2018 and although we may have seen income tax rates drop, wireless phone plans continue to be ripe for the taxman’s pickings. It is shocking to see such a wide rate structure from all the different states (map above) but that doesn’t tell the […]

Shrimp are small, yet regulations and tax incentives can be big

| January 13, 2019

With incentives, South Dakota and Minnesota compete for tiny trū Shrimp and its promise of indoor shrimp farms. A company named trū Shrimp Co. had planned to break ground this spring in Luverne, Minn., on a $330 million to $360 million indoor shrimp farm. It aims to produce 8 million pounds of shrimp a year […]

Politicians of all stripes love spending someone else’s money

| January 12, 2019

There is one thing that is consistent in Washington DC … politicians and bureaucrats love spending other people’s money. It doesn’t matter whether they are a Democrats or a Republicans …  socialists or capitalists … politicians all want someone else to pay for their ideas. The current top two politicians in the news are newly […]

Closing in on a GOP Tax Plan vote – all signs point to Tuesday

| December 18, 2017

While waiting for the predicted Tuesday vote on the GOP Tax Plan that has been anticipated ALL year, it is looking like it might actually get done in 2017. It has not been easy or as simple as many of us wanted “Tax Reform,” but the corporate tax cut will make the U.S. more competitive […]

Financial Friday: Income tax simplification #taxcuts #taxreform

| November 3, 2017

On Thursday, the long awaited Republican tax reform plan finally saw the light of day after most political and financial watchers haggled over the unknown details most of this year. President Trump has made tax reform and cuts as his centerpiece agenda as essential to growing the economy and stimulating job and wage growth for […]

So what is your plan for social security and retirement?

| October 7, 2017

A friend of mine is receiving his first social security check this month and so I’ve been doing some reading on the subject (it is a long way off yet for me … just in case readers had me already over-the-hill!) One of the biggest concerns for those nearing retirement and doing calculations is that […]

Which corporations stand to benefit the most with a 20% tax rate?

| October 4, 2017

A little bit of research highlights which of the Dow 30 companies benefit from corporate tax reform and which one are currently better at working the existing complex tax code. Company Ticker Median effective income-tax rate – past five reported quarters UnitedHealth Group Inc. US:UNH 40% Home Depot Inc. US:HD 36% Verizon Communications Inc. US:VZ […]

A quick look at the new Trump Admin tax reform plan

| September 28, 2017

President Trump will roll out his administration’s tax reform plan on Wednesday, seeking reductions in both the corporate and individual income tax rates, while doubling the standard deduction. The plan would cut corporate taxes from 35% to 20%, while dropping the top individual tax bracket from 39.6% to 35% and collapsing the current seven brackets […]

Is the government sector overpaid or private sector underpaid?

| August 3, 2017

Just one more irritation as to how politicians spend tax dollars … and line their own pockets. For the past couple of decades, the private sector has been struggling … particularly the blue collar worker and mid to lower management employees. Pensions are non-existent, benefits eliminated and health care for the private sector a nightmare!  […]

It seems inevitable gasoline and diesel taxes will go up

| June 13, 2017

There was a time when I thought I could count on Republicans who now control the House of Representatives, Senate and Whitehouse in Washington DC to reduce taxes — how naïve of me. The latest going around is how "gasoline and diesel taxes haven’t been increase in years and how they need to go up […]

Pressure eases on Federal Reserve to continue rate hikes

| May 1, 2017

The rate of U.S. inflation for March was slower than expected just one month after hitting a five-year peak. The number reflects lower gasoline and consumer goods prices, including automobiles. Thiis could ease pressure on the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates, even though central banks have telegraphed increases this year. The U.S. economy is […]

What deduction will you lose in Trump tax plan?

| April 26, 2017

CNBC posted a simple chart in their article looking at #taxreform, cuts and simplification as to what deductions might be eliminated.

Investors sure do love to hear about tax reform and tax cuts

| April 26, 2017

What a start to the week for the stock market! There is optimism that something "will" get done with taxes, unlike #RepealAndReplace legislation. The news is that President Donald Trump will be unveiling his proposal to cut corporate taxes on US companies’ foreign profits and slash the top tax rate has investors in the "buy" […]

A three day reprieve on Tax Day, but …

| April 18, 2017

… the IRS bite feels just the same.

It is time to get serious about working on and filing taxes

| April 2, 2017

The beginning of April is one of my least favorite times of the year … tax time … but for a couple reasons, next year should be better. This is the last FULL year to file for MomH and her trust return. We should see lower tax rates for 2017 (if retroactive?) Republicans are advocating to simplify […]

So much for economical tax preparation software this year

| March 26, 2017

Two years ago, Intuit’s Turbo Tax software tried their "money grab" in attempted to strong-arming their long-time and new customers into paying substantial more to use their software to file their 2014 taxes. The CEO took to the Internet and made an apology and stepped up to Intuit’s greedy "mistake." One would think that competitors […]

Federal Income Taxes – what changes are in store for 2017?

| February 16, 2017

Unless you’ve had your head in the sand pile, you know that there is a shake-up happening in Washington DC since the election of President Donald Trump and his taking office less than 1 month ago. Much of the economic optimism seen by new records on Wall Street, job incentives and both interest rates and […]

Investing to and past DOW 20,000 under a President Trump

| December 23, 2016

We still have a week of trading before closing the books on 2016, but those last few DJIA psychological points to 20,000 have proven evasive. Thursday’s 23 point decline, after the steady climb since the election, has a few gurus thinking the Trump Rally may be ahead of itself?  Some are looking at current corporate […]

Everybody thinks they are an economist … including me!

| October 16, 2016

I love simplicity … so when tossing around political footballs, I generally join the team that at least "attempts" to simplify government and taxes. I’m not naïve enough to believe it will ever happen or even work well, but after filing personal (for friends and family), organizations and business taxes for years, it would sure […]

Sensible economic thinking from business CEO Andy Puzder

| August 11, 2016

There are people who have the ability to communicate and can make "simple-sense" of the usually complicated economic issues facing our country. I’d like to believe that IF enough voters are willing to digest the three minutes of conversation below, that they would be less inclined to "dis" a business oriented pro-growth policy that is […]

Talking taxes, politics and old #TBT high school reunion pages

| April 7, 2016

Here’s a personal "what I’m doing" post after spending an evening with my son Taylor finishing up his taxes. We of course used this excuse to have dinner together too. I think we have both always enjoyed our time together, but the older (and more mature) he gets, the more I really do enjoy talking […]

Crude Oil paralleling the stock market and world economies

| March 23, 2016

Looking at the Finviz chart of the wild second half of 2015 slide for crude oil, one would think we Americans would be cheering since we love driving big cars. Unfortunately lower crude prices (and prices at the pump) are also indicators of a struggling domestic and world economy. U.S. companies need strong international economies […]

Counties in Ohio continue to stealthily raise Sales Taxes

| July 27, 2015

Small business owners who regularly collect sales tax on their goods and services might not be quite as enamored with the “economic rebound” being boasted about in Ohio. While I do support Gov John Kasich and realized he does not have direct impact on counties needing to find more tax revenue, the tax shifting in […]

Top 20% of Earners Pay 84% of Income Tax #WSJ

| May 8, 2015

The bigger the federal government grows and the longer the tenticles reach into business and personal lives, the slower our country grows. What will it take for Americans to recognize that our country grows and lifts every citizen when the ambitious and innovative are not thwarted by Uncle Sam at every turn?  Besides limiting the […]

Jobs and improving wages depend on corporate tax reform

| February 24, 2015

CEO Steven Mollenkopf spoke with Maria Bartiromo on Sunday Morning Futures this past weekend about his company Qualcomm Inc. ($70.94 -0.58 -0.81%) and dealing with taxes and low interest rates impact his business decision making. About taxes, Mollenkopf commented that the high current U.S. corporate tax rates (graph below) encourage investment and job creation overseas […]

The Intuit Turbotax fiasco for 2014 tax preparation software

| February 14, 2015

There was no love lost from customers of Intuit’s Turbo Tax software, and like many, I quickly looked to their competitors when I saw Intuit’s “money grab” in January 2015. Although the company responded with an apology and offered a $25 rebate to those who eventually figured out they needed to upgrade their Deluxe edition […]

Wondering if the stock market and DOW will keep climbing?

| June 6, 2014

While closing the first full week of June on a rather high note (all time high!), the financial markets and Dow Jones Industrial Average pushed ever closer to 17K — DJIA closed at 16,923.77 up 87.66 (0.52%). I’m probably not the only one wondering how companies can keep performing when consumers have fewer dollars leftover […]

If you hate paying taxes, move to Wyoming or Alaska

| March 23, 2014

Wallethub compared how average families from each state when it comes to paying taxes … how does your state look? According to their color coded map, the brighter red your state, the more you pay; conversely, the greener your state, the lower your taxes, and brown puts you somewhere in the middle. If you hate […]

Are we doing what we need to stimulate growth and create jobs?

| February 4, 2014

If business growth is the medicine for job creation and a healthy economy … how does the U.S., or more specifically, each state, encourage business growth and incentivize expansion? Companies need to have an attractive tax climate in order to put capital at risk (or at less competitive), although it is not the only criteria […]

Our Federal Government: more waste, fraud and abuse

| August 26, 2013

Wasteful government spending is nothing new, nor is the corruption and abuse by companies and recipients siphoning off our hard earned tax dollars. What is new is a much bigger federal government and the addition of bunches of new programs and the seeming disregard for responsible oversight that comes with a “bigger government.” It is […]

The tax man cometh looking for more dollars …

| July 22, 2013

The tax man in the form of the Internet online giant Amazon.com has warned advised me that they will begin to collect Ohio sales tax for Amazon Web Services. This is probably appropriate as too many tax dollars are lost to online out of state vendors, but paying more taxes is still hard to swallow. […]

Monday is April 15th TAX day. I wish it wasn’t so.

| April 15, 2013

I had the best of intentions to update my blog regarding the special "wedding weekend," but between clean-up, wrap-up, rest-up and spending the weekend with family (Brenda‘s parents staying with us) … AND of all things an April 15th TAX day Monday, I’m wiped out.  I’m way behind on the pleasurable post detailing my daughter’s […]

The answer to our spending problem is to “broaden the base”

| January 16, 2013

It is becoming increasingly clear the the answer the federal government’s excessive spending is to “broaden the base” … but before the attacks from Democrats begin, let me clarify my reasoning (highlighted below) and explain. The current debate in Washington DC is whether to address the deficit (and mounting debt) by raising taxes on the […]

Who should pay more in taxes and what should be cut?

| December 11, 2012

Those of us watching the “dance” in Washington DC over the looming taxes and possible spending cuts closing in on every American can make one’s head spin. What we all know is that our government spends too much and seems unable to even come close to balancing their budget or coming up with a plan […]

How Costco is planning for the expected tax increase …

| November 30, 2012

Playing the tax game as a big business or 1%-er investor must be a challenging problem to have? [sarcasm] Here’s a Wall Street Journal op-ed commenting on Costco’s recent “early” dividend announcement. Uncertainly in the tax code, along with the credits, deductions and complexity, slows economic growth, deters job creation and demonstrates that the more […]

With tax uncertainty, how do we plan for retirement?

| February 22, 2012

The tax season is upon us and many take this opportunity to take account of our retirement strategy (at least those who are thinking ahead). Years ago … in the days of the company pension, confidence in Social Security and Medicare and the assumption that one would retire at 65 after a lifetime career with […]

What does it really take to create jobs in America?

| February 4, 2012

Fred Smith, CEO of Fedex, spoke on Thursday this past week and simplified his thoughts on turning around the economy and creating jobs. He supplied a chart which doesn’t necessarily clear up the “chicken or the egg” discussion associated with which comes first, but his chart does show that capital investment and private sector employment […]

Rick Santelli of CNBC on taxes and Congress

| November 22, 2011

Even if you’re not a CNBC watcher or someone who focuses on the financial markets each day, you may have heard of Rick Santelli and his rant in 2009 during the peak of the U.S. financial bailouts. I included the clip in a post which many believed may have spurred the Tea Party movement (some […]

Desultory - des-uhl-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee

  1. lacking in consistency, constancy, or visible order, disconnected; fitful: desultory conversation.
  2. digressing from or unconnected with the main subject; random: a desultory remark.
My Desultory Blog