by Leif Jensen | Feb 8, 2023 | Rant |
Ransomware occurs when hazardous software is downloaded on your computer, phone or server and executed. Typically you have only three options available to you: Pay the ransom Restore from a back-up Start fresh The first option may not always work, it depends on the...
by Leif Jensen | Feb 7, 2023 | Rant |
During a cyber security webinar, one of the recent popular blackmail threats was discussed, pornography blackmail. This is a trojan attack, where illicit child pornography is added to your computer or turning on your camera on when you are on a pornography site and...
by Leif Jensen | Feb 6, 2023 | Rant |
I have family and friends who are constantly on their phones. They use these devices for most aspects of their lives. I tend to use mine as a phone. I know I am a dinosaur. I was watching a webinar and the presenter went through how to uncover e-mail phishing on a...
by Leif Jensen | Feb 1, 2023 | Rant |
I was talking to a client recently; their e-mail system was compromised, and I believe that the hackers were still lurking in the system. They had hired a new employee who received a text from the owner within the first week requesting that he go out and buy a bunch...
by Leif Jensen | Jan 31, 2023 | General |
By law, all taxpayers have fundamental rights when they’re interacting with the IRS. It’s important that all taxpayers know and understand their rights. The Taxpayer Bill of Rights presents these rights in 10 categories. For full official details about...
by Leif Jensen | Jan 30, 2023 | Taxes |
The SECURE Act significantly reduced the benefit of the stretch IRA by requiring most beneficiaries to distribute the entire inherited IRA over 10 years. For most beneficiaries, the Act does not specify any rate at which distributions must be taken, only that the...
by Leif Jensen | Jan 25, 2023 | Money Management, Taxes |
In determining whether converting a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA benefits a particular taxpayer’s situation, many additional factors must be weighed. These include the following. The taxpayer’s present income tax rate versus the rate expected during retirement — If...
by Leif Jensen | Jan 24, 2023 | Taxes |
If a taxpayer has made nondeductible contributions to traditional IRAs in past years, the distribution of those amounts is not subject to taxation, either on the taxpayer’s return or on their heirs’ returns. If a distribution is made from an IRA that consists of...
by Leif Jensen | Jan 23, 2023 | Taxes |
Form W-4V is relatively short, with few fields to complete, apart from showing the individual’s name, address, social security number, and claim or identification number. It gives the individual the option to start or stop withholding from social security or similar...
by Leif Jensen | Jan 18, 2023 | Taxes |
Before the government enacted the Social Security Amendments of 1983, social security income was not taxable. The legislation’s enactment created the need to withhold federal income tax. Form W-4V, (Voluntary Withholding Request), allows benefit recipients to have...
by Leif Jensen | Jan 17, 2023 | General |
We all know that the US built up their military in 1940 and with our allies won WWII. That is now history. But in 1936 the US military was minuscule and outdated and ill prepared for war, while war ravages Europe and Asia (Japan invaded China in 1931). Our ill...
by Leif Jensen | Jan 11, 2023 | Rant |
Have you ever wondered about the world population? I obviously have. There are 8 billion people worldwide. The 7 largest counties populations are broken down below: China 1,452B India 1.417B USA 338M Indonesia 276M...
by Leif Jensen | Jan 10, 2023 | Rant |
In the most recent data, I could find. From riveting romance novels to the latest political science theories, the U.S. book industry plays a massive role in education, entertainment, and more. The U.S. book industry made $25.93 billion in revenue in 2020 Including...
by Leif Jensen | Jan 9, 2023 | Rant |
I was brought up in a world that did not trust China. In 1989 the Chinese military attacked students and protestors in Tiananmen Square protests and massacred many with tanks and rifles, killing 218 civilians (official number) or up to 800, by other estimates. Today,...
by Leif Jensen | Jan 4, 2023 | General |
I remember a 100 years ago when I was a kid plastic blow molded holiday decorations were everywhere. Houses had lots of them, some more than others. It seemed like stores always had huge quantities and options. Each year we put our blow mold snowman on our stoop in...
by Leif Jensen | Jan 3, 2023 | General |
I always had a rough idea on the differences between trademarks and copyrights, Copyrights primarily protect the rights of people who create literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other intellectual works (like history tests, and software code). Trademarks...
by Leif Jensen | Dec 14, 2022 | Rant |
The first thing I think of when immigrants are mentioned, are field hands harvesting crops slowly by hand. I know a stereotype. We are aware that many industries depend on immigrants, granted in many cases to fill low-skill positions; immigrants account for roughly a...
by Leif Jensen | Dec 13, 2022 | Taxes |
The IRS has a Free File program which began in the mid-1980s, it lets individual taxpayers with adjusted gross incomes of $73,000 or less use free commercial tax software to prepare and e-file their returns. No state returns. Its usage is anemic. Only about 3% of...
by Leif Jensen | Dec 12, 2022 | Taxes |
Filers who report health premium credits are juicy audit targets. I have a client who graduated college and started his career, his return was audited because he got insurance coverage under his parent’s exchange policy. But he had no premium coverage listed on his...
by Leif Jensen | Dec 7, 2022 | Rant |
Surprise (again)! The IRS still has a large batch of unprocessed Forms 941-X; approximately 199,000 of them as of Sept. 21. I assisted with increasing the pile by the addition of two more earlier in October. Many of these quarterly payroll tax returns were filed by...
