May 15 Tax Deadline Extended to October 15 for California Disaster Area Taxpayers

As reported in IR-2023-33 on 2/24/2023 Disaster-area taxpayers in most of California now have until October 16, 2023, to file various federal individual and business tax returns and make tax payments, the Internal Revenue Service announced last Friday. Previously, the deadline had been postponed to May 15, 2023 for these areas. The IRS is offering relief to any area designated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in on the page entitled California Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides. There are four different eligible FEMA declarations, and the start dates and other details vary for each of these disasters. The current list of eligible localities and other details for each disaster are always available on the Tax Relief in Disaster Situations page on IRS.gov. The additional relief postpones...

California Storm Victims Qualify for Extended Tax Filing Deadlines

On January 10, 2023, IRS news release IR-2023-03 announced that California storm victims now have until May 15, 2023, to file various federal individual and business tax returns and make tax payments.   The IRS is offering relief to any area designated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). This means that individuals and households that reside or have a business in Alameda, Colusa, Contra Costa, El Dorado, Fresno, Glenn, Humboldt, Kings, Lake, Los Angeles, Madera, Marin, Mariposa, Mendocino, Merced, Mono, Monterey, Napa, Orange, Placer, Riverside, Sacramento, San Benito, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Francisco, San Joaquin, San Luis Obispo, San Mateo, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Solano, Sonoma, Stanislaus, Sutter, Tehama, Tulare, Ventura, Yolo and Yuba counties qualify for tax relief.   On January 11, 2023, the...

IRS Announces Dirty Dozen Tax Scams for 2022

The IRS has compiled the annual Dirty Dozen list for more than 20 years as a way of alerting taxpayers and the tax professional community about scams and schemes. The list is not a legal document or a literal listing of agency enforcement priorities. It is designed to raise awareness among a variety of audiences that may not always be aware of developments involving tax administration. #1-4 - POTENTIALLY ABUSIVE ARRANGEMENTS (Source: IR-2022-113, June 1, 2022)   The potentially abusive arrangements in this series focus on four transactions that are wrongfully promoted and will likely attract additional agency compliance efforts in the future. Those four abusive transactions involve charitable remainder annuity trusts, Maltese individual retirement arrangements, foreign captive insurance, and monetized installment sales.   "Taxpayers should stop and think twice before...

President Biden Signs the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022

On 8/16/22, President Biden signed into law the so-called Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (H.R. 5376).  In a statement earlier, the White House said, "President Biden and Congressional Democrats have worked together to deliver a historic legislative achievement that defeats special interests, delivers for American families, and grows the economy from the bottom up and middle out". The White House is also planning an event on 9/6/22 to celebrate the enactment of the bill. The $740 billion Act is projected to raise revenue via a new 15% minimum tax on large, profitable corporations and a 1% excise tax on stock buybacks, to achieve the Democrats goal of using the budget reconciliation measure to reduce the U.S. annual deficit (i.e. not the National Debt) by approximately $300...

Recent California Bills Up for Vote are Beyond Belief

As  posted to the Peak Prosperity YouTube Channel on 3/23/2022 (Run Time: 52 min, 22 sec) Paraphrased from Creator-Provided Description California is facing a rash of exceptionally dangerous and poor legislation that is truly beyond belief.  The only possible way to understand it compassionately is to see those elected officials proposing it as being swept up in Mass Psychosis. But compassion is not the same thing as condoning, let alone approving of, such recklessly indifferent ignorance.  In this video, Chris Martenson discusses the horrendous slate of California bills (on or about 3/30/2022) with Laura Sextro, CEO and COO of the Unity Project. If California passes these laws, other states could well be next. This is a battle for the future and soul of our country, individual rights, parental...

Payroll Provisions of the American Rescue Plan Act

The American Rescue Plan, 2021 (ARPA, 2021) was signed by President Biden on March 11, 2021 to address the continuing economic impact on employers and employees the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has posed.  The legislation extends and expands provisions found in the Families First Coronavirus Relief Act (FFCRA), Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, and the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (CAA, 2021).  This post reviews the payroll provisions of ARPA.   Paid Sick and Family Leave Credits Changes under ARPA apply to amounts paid with respect to calendar quarters beginning after March 31, 2021. ARPA, 2021: Extends the FFCRA paid sick time and paid family leave credits from March 31, 2021 through September 30, 2021.  Provides that paid sick and paid family leave credits may each be...

Rickards and Schiff on Deflation vs Inflation

As Posted to the Kitco News YouTube Channel on 8/3/2020 Part 3 of 3 (Run Time 7:19) Quantitative easing by the Federal Reserve has undoubtedly expanded the Fed balance sheet to record levels, but the outcome on consumer and asset prices is yet to be seen according to best-selling author Jim Rickards and Peter Schiff, CEO of Euro Pacific Capital. In this final segment of the three-part Kitco News interview, Rickards and Schiff argue that inflation of asset prices is the likely outcome. Other parts of this interview can be found here: Part 1: Rickards and Schiff Give Gold Forecasts Part 2: Rickards and Schiff Discuss Coming Monetary Collapse (This is Blog Post #863) James G. Rickards is an American lawyer. He is a regular commentator on finance, and is the author of The...

Rickards and Schiff Discuss Coming Monetary Collapse

As Posted to the Kitco News YouTube Channel on 7/31/2020 Part 2 of 3 (Run Time 9:15) The Federal Reserve has gone past the point of no return and is unlikely to be able to unwind their balance sheet in the foreseeable future, according to best-selling author Jim Rickards and Peter Schiff, CEO of Euro Pacific Capital. In this second segment of the three-part Kitco News interview, Rickards and Schiff discuss the consequences of the Federal Reserve paying for the nation’s expenses, or as Schiff called it, “free money.” Part 1 of this interview can be found here: Part 1: Rickards and Schiff Give Gold Forecasts Part 3: Rickards and Schiff on Deflation vs Inflation (This is Blog Post #862) James G. Rickards is an American lawyer. He is a regular commentator on...

Rickards and Schiff Give Gold Forecasts

As Posted to the Kitco News YouTube Channel on 7/30/2020 Part 1 of 3 (Run Time 14:35) Gold prices have hit all-time highs, but in this Kitco News interview, industry heavyweights Jim Rickards, best-selling author, and Peter Schiff, CEO of Euro Pacific Capital, both think that the rally is far from over. Rickards’ analysis gives a five-year gold price target of $15,000 an ounce. Schiff, too, sees this as just the start of the bull cycle, adding that an imminent U.S. dollar collapse will be a major catalyst in sending gold prices much higher. Other parts of this interview can be found here: Part 2: Rickards and Schiff Discuss Coming Monetary Collapse Part 3: Rickards and Schiff on Deflation vs Inflation (This is Blog Post #861) James G. Rickards is an American...

Big Holes in Covid Spike Narrative

As posted to the Ron Paul Liberty Report YouTube Channel on 7/21/2020   In the 7/21/20 Weekly Update from Ron Paul's Liberty Report, Dr. Paul investigates what is behind the recent spike in reported Coronavirus deaths. (This is Blog Post #856) Dr. Ron Paul is an American author, physician, and former politician.  He is a 12 term U.S. Congressman and 3 time presidential candidate.  Since retiring from Congress, Dr. Paul has created the Ron Paul Curriculum, the Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity, and hosts the Ron Paul Liberty Report....