The Tax Questions Blog

Archive for March, 2009

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

Question: How much will I have to pay in taxes next year?

I'm getting a stipend of $6000 this summer that I have to declare as taxable income. How much will the taxes be on this?

Answer: No matter what, you get a standard deduction of $5700. That means the first $5700 you make is completely tax free.

If someone else (probably your parents) can legally claim you on their taxes, you'll pay 10% on the remaining $300 or about $30 total in federal income taxes.

If nobody else can claim you as a dependent on their taxes, then you'll also get the personal exemption, which allows you to make an additional $3650 tax free. if this is the case you'd pay no federal taxes at all.

Note, the first answer is correct, but the numbers they used were from 2008. I have provided info based on the 2009 numbers as they currently stand. However congress can still technically change the 2009 numbers at this point.

How the University Works: Higher Education and the Low-Wage Nation (Cultural Front) $19.82 As much as we think we know about the modern university, very little has been said about what it's like to work there. Instead of the high-wage, high-profit world of knowledge work, most campus employees—including the vast majority of faculty—really work in the low-wage, low-profit sphere of the service economy. Tenure-track positions are at an all-time low, with adjuncts and graduate students...

Paying for Graduate School Without Going Broke, 2005 Edition (Graduate School Admissions Guides) $17.00 Getting into graduate school and keeping up with your studies is hard enough without worrying about the enormous tab you’re building up as you go. The Princeton Review knows graduate school–and financing graduate school–and Paying for Graduate School Without Going Broke has all the tips and strategies you will need to make the most of the resources available to you.Insider Strategies for Max...

Finding the Money: The Complete Guide to Financial Aid for Students, Actors, Musicians and Artists $34.77 This is a one-stop resource for people who want to finance their education or career. Classic, indispensable advice for college students and their parents and also for actors, musicians and other artists! The whole process of applying for loans, scholarships, grants, fellowships, tuition waivers and other forms of financial aid is clearly laid out. The book gives tips on finding sources of funds,...

How to save for your kid's college

Your child's age, along with whether you're rich, poor or in between, will help determine how you should put aside money for school (and how much).

Question: I've submitted form 15G for 2 FD a/c but my income for '07-'08 is above non-taxable limit. What shud I do?

Since I ve submitted form 15G, no form 16A or anything has been issued by bank to say interest earned or tax liability for the same.
How do I pay tax for this. Should I submit 15G for next financial year even if my total annual income is above non- taxable limit.

Answer: Dear sir,

As per the provison one should not give form 15G if his or her income is above taxable limit after deduction of Chapter -Vi.

IN case of Financial year 2007-08 if no tax is dedcuted from your interest income and your net taxable income (after dedcution of chapter VI) is above 1,10,000/- Please calculate your tax liability and deposit by filling of Challan 280.

Taxable or Non Taxable Income Guide 2013 (Tax Bible Series) You can receive income in the form of money, property, or services. This publication discusses many kinds of income and explains whether they are taxable or nontaxable. It includes discussions on employee wages and fringe benefits, and income from bartering, partnerships, S corporations, and royalties. It also includes information on disability pensions, life insurance proceeds, and welfare and ot...

Non-taxable incomes; a book of important information for investors $18.99 This book was originally published prior to 1923, and represents a reproduction of an important historical work, maintaining the same format as the original work. While some publishers have opted to apply OCR (optical character recognition) technology to the process, we believe this leads to sub-optimal results (frequent typographical errors, strange...

Running QuickBooks in Nonprofits: 2nd Edition: The Only Comprehensive Guide for Nonprofits Using QuickBooks $20.04 Updated to include additional topics and to cover all versions of the software, this guide provides the most vital information on using QuickBooks to track financial data in nonprofit organizations. Management of donors, grants, and pledges, and topics such as allocating expenses to programs, handling donor restrictions, and generating the reports needed for donors and tax returns are covered in d...

Keyera Facilities Income Fund Announces January 2010 Distribution

Keyera Facilities Income Fund announced today a cash distribution for January 2010 of 15.0 cents per unit. The distribution will be payable on February 16, 2010 to unitholders of record on January 22, 2010.

Alex Jones Tv {Sunday Edition} 5/8:Pelosi "Buy a $15,000 Policy or Go to Jail"

Question: Why is AIG being allowed to pay 165 million in bonuses considering the Tax Payers Aid they were given?

Obiously these aren't performance bonuses are they?

Answer: Because the Bush Administration refused to put restrictions on how they could use the money when they gave it to them last year.

And they're soul-less, unethical, greedy people.

The Lenovo Affair: The Growth of China's Computer Giant and Its Takeover of IBM-PC $14.00 Lenovo is a global leader in the PC market, employing more than 19,000 people worldwide.  Its landmark takeover of IBM’s PC division in May 2005 was a major step for the company and a huge boost for Chinese industry.  The deal proved to the world that Chinese companies are not only competitive in the domestic markets but can also compete at a global level.Lenovo was founded in 1984 by 11 engin...

Media Convergence (Issues in Cultural and Media Studies) $17.99 "With Media Convergence, Tim Dwyer has given us a bold restatement of the political economy approach for a 21st century media environment where traditional industry silos are collapsing, and where media users are increasingly engaged with the production and distribution of media and not simply its consumption. The book displays considerable attention to institutional detail and comparative analysi...

So Long a Life $18.86 So Long a Life is a business novel that has the action of a thriller. A large biotech company that is developing a life extension drug is the target of a takeover by an unscrupulous financier & a wall street investment banker-s Mergers and Acquisitions head is called in to assist. He finds himself in an immediate conflict of interest when he falls in love with the scientist daughter of the target ...

Paris trading team feels heat of new banking tax

A week after France announced plans to clamp down on traders' bonuses, a specialist Paris trading firm was already working out ways to cope with the new legislation.

British Bank Bonus Tax

Living Together: A Legal Guide for Unmarried Couples $21.00 Living together out of wedlock can mean anything, especially in court -- unlike married couples, most unmarried couples don't automatically inherit or receive protection under the law. Consequently, you must document everything from property ownership and children to wills and other estate plans.An essential resource for any unmarried couple, Living Together explains:. the legality of living toget...

CFP Certification Exam Flashcard Review Book: Estate Planning (2nd Edition) $3.71 *** UPDATED FOR 2013*** CFP Certification Exam Flashcard Review Book: Estate Planning provides bound flashcards to help you prepare for the CFP Certification Exam. Inside this innovative flashcard book you will find exam topics featured on the front of each page, with detailed explanations and analysis located on the back. The convenient bound design means you no longer need to ca...

Living Together: A Legal Guide for Unmarried Couples $13.49 Living together out of wedlock can mean anything, especially in court -- unlike married couples, most unmarried couples don't automatically inherit or receive protection under the law. Consequently, you must document everything from property ownership and children to wills and other estate plans. An essential resource for any unmarried couple, Living Together explains: the legality of living toge...

Taxpayers Prevail on Use of Fixed Dollar Formula Valuation Clauses

Taxpayers have prevailed in two cases where the amount given to a charity was to be determined by reference to asset values as finally determined for estate or gift tax purposes.

Bogutz & Gordon - Gift Tax Returns

By Andrew B. Wachler and Amy K. Fehn, Wachler & Associates, P.C.

The Federal False Claims Act (FCA) has long been a key weapon in the government's arsenal to fight health care fraud and abuse. With the passage of the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act of 2009 (FERA), the government will have an even easier time making a case against health care providers accused of defrauding federal health care programs.

One way that FERA expands the scope of the FCA is by removing the "presentment requirement." Under the previous version of the FCA, a person or entity would be exposed to potential liability only if the allegedly false claim was specifically presented to government. FERA expands the scope of the FCA to claims presented to an agent or contractor acting on behalf of the government. Language was also added to the definition of "claim" to include "requests or demands for money or property where the government has paid or will pay any portion of the money, regardless of whether the government actually has title to the property at the time of the request or demand." These revisions will ensure that the FCA can be used to prosecute false claims submitted to state Medicaid programs, as well as to contractors such as Medicare Advantage Plans.

Another significant amendment to the FCA removes language that was interpreted by the Supreme Court as requiring the government to prove that a defendant had "specific intent" to defraud the government. Now liability under the FCA may exist as long as the false record or statement is "material to" a false or fraudulent claim. Material is defined broadly as "having a natural tendency to influence, or be capable of influencing, the payment or receipt of money or property."

Perhaps the most significant change that will impact health care providers is the change to the "reverse" false claims provision, i.e., that section of the FCA that extends liability to funds retained, as opposed to false claims submitted, by a person or entity that does not have a right to such funds. FERA eliminates the requirement of an affirmative act of concealment and extends liability to an individual who "knowingly and improperly avoids or decreases an obligation to pay or transmit money or property to the Government." FERA also adds a definition of "obligation", which is very broadly defined as "an established duty, whether or not fixed, arising from an express or implied contractual, grantor-grantee, or licensor-licensee relationship, from a fee-based or similar relationship, from statute or regulation, or from the retention of any overpayment." To avoid liability under the FCA, healthcare providers and their counsel should carefully analyze statutory and regulatory provisions in which an "obligation" could arise. For example, a technical violation of the Stark regulations could be construed as an "obligation" to return payments to the government. Decisions related to repayment of government funds are difficult and should always involve a fact specific analysis and judgment of experienced healthcare counsel.

Because the FCA defines "knowingly" as including "deliberate ignorance" and "reckless disregard", an effective compliance plan provides significant protection for providers. However, difficult decisions can arise when compliance activities uncover billing problems that may have been taking place for some time, especially in light of the new broad definition of "obligation". While we have always recommended that providers conduct compliance audits prospectively, and, at a minimum, retain counsel in order to protect compliance activities through the attorney client and/or work product privilege, the FERA amendments make this decision more important than ever.

FERA also includes several amendments that will make it easier for qui tam, i.e., "whistleblower" lawsuits to proceed. Specifically, FERA expands "whistleblower" protection to government contractors and agents and expands the statute of limitations with regard to government intervention in qui tam lawsuits by allowing the government's complaint to "relate back" to the "whistleblower's" filing.

In addition, FERA gives the federal government greater flexibility in the discovery process, by allowing the Attorney General to delegate its authority to issue Civil Investigative Demands ("CIDs") to other officials. This will make it easier for federal officials to conduct discovery such as depositions, interrogatories and requests for production. Also, this information can now be shared with "whistleblowers" making it easier to cure defects in the whistleblower's complaint.

Although most of the amendments to the FCA apply prospectively, the elimination of the "intent" requirement is an exception. Specifically, the amendments that require a false record or statement to be "material to a false or fraudulent claim" will apply retroactively to all claims pending as of June 7, 2008.

The FERA amendments make it easier for the federal government to prosecute health care providers and entities who violate the FCA. To minimize risk, healthcare providers must be aware of their obligations with regard to all healthcare related statutes and regulations and must have an effective compliance plan in place that will enhance compliance and promptly identify overpayment obligations.

False Claims Act & Qui Tam Quarterly Review $20.00 The False Claims Act & Qui Tam Quarterly Review is published by the Taxpayers Against Fraud Education Fund. This publication provides an overview of major False Claims Act and qui tam developments including case decisions, DOJ interventions, and settlements....

New Laws Effective January 1, 2010

The following legislation will take effect beginning Jan. 1, 2010.

Gerald Celente part 2 interviewed by Project Camelot.mp4