Dole`s Tax Program Is Really Quite Modest
- Reducing individual tax rates by 15% over four years from 39.6% to 33.66%. (It has been overlooked that the tax rate will merely be rolled back to the 1982 level).
- Halving the capital gains rate from 28% to 14%.
- Indexing the tax cost of common stock in regular corporations and the basis of capital assets or property used in a trade or business.
- Reducing the tax on social security benefits
- Deduction for care of elderly dependents
- Balanced budget amendment to the constitution
- Eliminating the IRS? No.
- Shifting the burden of proof to IRS, away from individual
- Eliminating the lifestyle audit-where IRS presumes unreported income
- Cut IRS personnel by 30% (Forces the IRS to reorganize and establish priorities)
- Paperless tax returns for those who only have wage income and less than $250 of interest and dividend income
- Easing of rules on home office deduction
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Reflecting upon life`s blessings and bounties
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Year-end planning
The Internet Cometh
The IRS recently announced that not every government tax form will be available in print. Some forms will only be accessible by downloading from the IRS`s homepage. It seems the future has come faster than we thought.
Looking for Help
I often say we look for people who can read, write, and speak English and show up for work on time. According to USA Weekend, September 20-22, 1996 only 17% of Massachusetts Institute of Technology`s Freshman Class in 1995 passed the entry-level writing appraisal. Maybe my standards are too high.
Charles Rangel, cometh?
If the Democrats win the House, Charles Rangel becomes Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee. He`s no friend of the self-employed and small businessmen. On the other hand, its the first time a New Yorker will have been Chairman of the Committee.
QuickBooks Update
To meet the needs of its small office/home office users, Intuit is now offering a new customer service package called the QuickBooks Support Network. Intuit intends to expedite customer support questions and provide higher customer services for users who have asked for toll-free access and shorter waiting time. This new customer service package includes 24 hours of free fax-back information, a new search engine available on the QuickBooks Web site to search for commonly asked questions, 30 days of unlimited free phone support and more support options to choose from after the initial free period. Intuit guarantees it will not charge you for a phone call if you`re dissatisfied with the customer service you receive. For more information travel to www.intuit.com/quickbooks/ or call 888-222-7276.
Real Estate Clout
The Real Estate Lobby carried significant clout in this election. Dole and Clinton both came out against any attempt to repeal the mortgage interest deduction and both came out with a proposal to exempt some profits on the sale of a principal residence.
Great Plains is Here to Stay
Macintosh users will be happy to learn that Great Plains has made an about face and will continue to support the Macintosh product line. It also announced the release of Great Plains Accounting 7.2 for Macintosh this month. Find out more by visiting Great Plains at http://www.gps.com or call 800-456-0025.
Garden of Eden?
The August issue of Biblical Archeology magazine documents the modern finding of the Garden of Eden at the point where the four rivers meet, the Tigris, Euphrates, Gihon and Pishon. Up until recently the Pishon could not be found. Using image radar from the space shuttle scientists found the dried up river bed of the Pishon running from Saudi Arabia through Kuwait to the delta between the Tigris and the Euphrates. Score another one for the Bible`s accuracy!
One the first Tuesday of this month we go to the polls to choose our leader. Let`s hope our collective choice is right and we also find the route to the Garden of Eden.
Happy Thanksgiving
We wish all of you a safe and Happy Thanksgiving. This is a time of year when we should be doing two things:
Yes, when you see Santa at the end of the parade it`s time to call us to do year end tax planning to reduce this year`s and next year`s taxes.
If you have any questions about this or any other financial matters, please call me.