It is getting busy already
Today is January 4th. The IRS will not begin accepting electronically filed tax returns until January 27th. That means that any tax returns we do for 2016 that are to be e-filed will be lined up on a host server and will remain there until the IRS opens their portal.
There will be even more of a delay for taxpayers who are receiving either the Earned Income Tax Credit or the Additional Child Tax Credit. That is because both of those credits are "refundable credits" (which mean they can create an income tax refund without regard to whether or not the taxpayer had any income tax withheld from their pay). This delay is to help deal with the billions of dollars that scammers are stealing from the government through fraudulent returns involving these credits.
So I expected that the first two weeks of the tax season would be slow. Boy what I wrong about that. I did three amended tax returns for a client on Tuesday. Today I spent some time training one of the new tax professionals. I also met with a client and helped them deal with a letter from a tax authority. Tomorrow I work five hours and I have four confirmed appointments. I had to insist on having Friday off or I'd have wound up working eight straight days.
I want to work as much as I can but my various physical problems limit what I can do. Working eight straight days isn't one of those things I can do infrequently, let alone regularly. I know I may end up working all but one or two of the days from April 3 through April 18th. I just cannot allow that to begin happening in January. I'm trying to pay more attention to what my body is telling me and right now it is yelling "moderation" at me.
* * *
Wednesday ponderings:
Just watched the new Jackie Chan movie that will open in limited release in the U.S. this Friday. I can't say much about it because reviews are embargoed until Friday but I will say it was not what I expected and that I enjoyed what I saw.
**
Jenny McCarthy is saying that it is unfair of Mariah Carey to blame others for what happened at her New Year Eve performance. I wasn't aware that Jenny McCarthy was still relevant.
**
The federal government is suing Google to block them from any government contracts because Google won't disclose specific information regarding employee compensation. The government is seeking the data to make sure that Google is complying with federal regulations regarding minority hiring and compensation that apply to any government contractor.
Good for the government.
**
Elmo Jones is a retired U.S. Army Green Beret. He saw combat in the Persian Gulf. Now he's fighting the ridiculous bureaucracy known as the VA because they are garnishing his retirement pay for a child support obligation. The problem is, it is for a child who he is not the father of, and the Colorado courts have already ruled he isn't legally liable to pay child support for this child.
The VA hasn't responded to his phone calls or to calls from a local TV station's news "problem-solver."
When the DNA test shows that the child is not yours and the courts rule you don't have to pay child support; then the VA has no business stepping in.
**
While channel-surfing tonight I landed on Independent Day. Reminded me that I've always wondered why they cast a real news person (Barbara Beck) to play a reporter but they cast an actor (Gary W. Cruz) to play a news anchor.
I've often wondered what Ms Beck has been up to and this time my web search revealed that she'd made a career change and went off to study metabolic medicine. Good for her.
**
There will be even more of a delay for taxpayers who are receiving either the Earned Income Tax Credit or the Additional Child Tax Credit. That is because both of those credits are "refundable credits" (which mean they can create an income tax refund without regard to whether or not the taxpayer had any income tax withheld from their pay). This delay is to help deal with the billions of dollars that scammers are stealing from the government through fraudulent returns involving these credits.
So I expected that the first two weeks of the tax season would be slow. Boy what I wrong about that. I did three amended tax returns for a client on Tuesday. Today I spent some time training one of the new tax professionals. I also met with a client and helped them deal with a letter from a tax authority. Tomorrow I work five hours and I have four confirmed appointments. I had to insist on having Friday off or I'd have wound up working eight straight days.
I want to work as much as I can but my various physical problems limit what I can do. Working eight straight days isn't one of those things I can do infrequently, let alone regularly. I know I may end up working all but one or two of the days from April 3 through April 18th. I just cannot allow that to begin happening in January. I'm trying to pay more attention to what my body is telling me and right now it is yelling "moderation" at me.
* * *
Wednesday ponderings:
Just watched the new Jackie Chan movie that will open in limited release in the U.S. this Friday. I can't say much about it because reviews are embargoed until Friday but I will say it was not what I expected and that I enjoyed what I saw.
**
Jenny McCarthy is saying that it is unfair of Mariah Carey to blame others for what happened at her New Year Eve performance. I wasn't aware that Jenny McCarthy was still relevant.
**
The federal government is suing Google to block them from any government contracts because Google won't disclose specific information regarding employee compensation. The government is seeking the data to make sure that Google is complying with federal regulations regarding minority hiring and compensation that apply to any government contractor.
Good for the government.
**
Elmo Jones is a retired U.S. Army Green Beret. He saw combat in the Persian Gulf. Now he's fighting the ridiculous bureaucracy known as the VA because they are garnishing his retirement pay for a child support obligation. The problem is, it is for a child who he is not the father of, and the Colorado courts have already ruled he isn't legally liable to pay child support for this child.
The VA hasn't responded to his phone calls or to calls from a local TV station's news "problem-solver."
When the DNA test shows that the child is not yours and the courts rule you don't have to pay child support; then the VA has no business stepping in.
**
While channel-surfing tonight I landed on Independent Day. Reminded me that I've always wondered why they cast a real news person (Barbara Beck) to play a reporter but they cast an actor (Gary W. Cruz) to play a news anchor.
I've often wondered what Ms Beck has been up to and this time my web search revealed that she'd made a career change and went off to study metabolic medicine. Good for her.
**
posted by me at 8:24 PM
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