by Leif Jensen | Oct 4, 2021 | Taxes |
The most recent IRS statistics are out and the analysis is in, who are paying our taxes? At least from 2018… IRS statistics from 2018 show that the top 1% of taxpayers (more than $540,000 in income) paid 40.1% of all individual income taxes; the top 5% (about...
by Leif Jensen | Sep 29, 2021 | Uncategorized |
Blockchain is a term you will be hearing more and more of if you haven’t already. The blockchain is bitcoin’s historical ledger of all transactions which is publicly viewable at all times by anyone, so that there can’t be any under-the-table cash transactions. This is...
by Leif Jensen | Sep 28, 2021 | Investing, Money Management, Taxes |
President Biden wants to increase the tax on dividends. I find this a bit shortsighted; since he apparently has never invested in the stock market throughout his life (can this be true?) The value of those dividends is then an unknown entity. Not all have federal...
by Leif Jensen | Sep 27, 2021 | Rant |
Since a client insisted I get a FOID card and since my son was in the military, I have become aware of a subculture within my client base and family. They are gun enthusiasts. I have been encouraged to get my Conceal Carry License from the Illinois State Police....
by Leif Jensen | Sep 22, 2021 | Rant |
I have to admit I was surprised to find that there are no parole hearings in Illinois. There is no place for the victims or family to make their pleas and pitches, to keep the incarcerated in prison. I am aware of a case where the prisoner perjured themselves...
by Leif Jensen | Sep 21, 2021 | Rant |
The Illinois Prison system has a program to get prisoners back into the work force once released; it is their work release program. Work release is a program in which non-violent offenders are allowed to maintain a full or part-time job in the community but spend the...
by Leif Jensen | Sep 20, 2021 | Taxes |
Many taxpayers have tried to assert a reasonable-cause defense to avoid a tax penalty. In doing so, they have to prove their position was based on a reasonable cause and they acted in good faith. They must show that they exercised the same care that a reasonably...
by Leif Jensen | Sep 15, 2021 | Taxes |
When I stumbled across this little bit of history I could do anything but think “tax and spend”. In April 1942, when we had only been at war for 5 months or less, President Roosevelt proposed a top individual tax rate of 100%, declaring that amid “grave national...
by Leif Jensen | Sep 14, 2021 | Banking |
Money laundering is the process of changing large amounts of money obtained from crimes, such as drug trafficking, into origination from a legitimate source. So with that in mind traditional currency poses problems of its own for investigators. Bank notes are...
by Leif Jensen | Sep 13, 2021 | Rant |
“Most career criminals were losers, lazy men and women who lacked impulse control and who sometimes got lucky. Criminal Masterminds were for tv and books. Movies to probably” -Reed Farrel Coleman – Hangman’s Sonnet I struggle with the validity of this...
by Leif Jensen | Sep 9, 2021 | Economy, General |
Bike prices shot up 10% to 15% last year, as the COVID-19 pandemic helped boost many homebound Americans’ appetite for outdoor recreation. Anything to get out of the house and not into a store to look for toilet paper. Industry watchers are expecting similar price...
by Leif Jensen | Sep 8, 2021 | Rant |
I have written in the past of my enjoyment of Terry O’Reilly’s podcasts “Under the Influence” and “Age of Persuasion”. One Under the Influence podcast dealt with the shape of the packaging where he quoted: “Fast Company Magazine cites University of Toronto research,...
by Leif Jensen | Sep 7, 2021 | Running a Business |
Shoddy recordkeeping costs a tax preparer a large chunk of money. She can’t deduct her vehicle expenses, even though she used her personal car in her business. She claimed she drove 34,560 miles for business during the year, and she took the standard mileage...
by Leif Jensen | Sep 1, 2021 | Expense reduction |
In the past I have worked with a client who ran up huge credit cards bills every year. They then used their dwindling federal refunds to pay off their credit card balances. I went on to explain that they were accruing 20%+ interest on their balances and the IRS was...
by Leif Jensen | Aug 31, 2021 | Running a Business |
I have a client where I deal with the manager and not the owner. It is my understanding that the manager will eventually take over as owner, but after a number of years it had not happened just yet. The PPP forgiveness was a problem. The owner applied for the loans...
by Leif Jensen | Aug 30, 2021 | Taxes |
While on hold with the IRS, have you wondered why it is so hard and taking so long to reach a live person at IRS by phone? One reason is the historic number of callers. During the 2021 filing season, the IRS received 85.1 million calls on its toll-free 1040 phone...
by Leif Jensen | Aug 25, 2021 | Taxes |
Are you one the unfortunates still waiting for your tax refund on your timely filed 2019 or 2020 return? You are not alone there are millions of others are in the same boat, not that this makes you feel any better. As of June 25, IRS had a backlog of 16.7 million 2019...
by Leif Jensen | Aug 24, 2021 | General |
You have been asked by one of your children to co-sign a note; either for a car, apartment or house. Where do you stand from a legal perspective? Ownership of property. Unfortunately, being a co-signer doesn’t give you rights to the property, car or other security...
by Leif Jensen | Aug 23, 2021 | Rant |
We the United States are failing by every measure in public education. According to one study; federal, state, and local governments spend $720.9 billion, or $14,840 per pupil, to fund K-12 public education. This gets the US to 26th in Total scores, looking at...
by Leif Jensen | Aug 18, 2021 | Taxes |
Are you considering making an offer to settle your federal tax debt at less than what you owe? There are two payment options: Lump sum cash, which requires 20% of the total offer amount to be paid up front, with the remaining balance to be paid in five or fewer...
