Author Archives: Russ

Maryland Tax Increases Are a Go

Posted on January 11, 2008 by Russ

Yesterday, Judge Thomas F. Stansfield dismissed the lawsuit challenging Maryland’s $2 billion tax increase. “Although the Court is inclined to agree with the Plaintiffs regarding the reprehensible nature in which the Legislature conducted itself, the remedy they seek in redress … Continue reading →

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Ex-GSA Official in Holiday Case Pleads Guilty

Posted on January 10, 2008 by Russ

Dessie Nelson, the ex-GSA official who sent various contracts (illegally) to Michael Holiday (after receiving bribes) pleaded guilty to accepting bribes and tax evasion. Mr. Holiday and other contractors forwarded over $100,000 in bribes of cash, vacations, and other items … Continue reading →

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Freedom and Privacy Through ClubFed

Posted on January 10, 2008 by Russ

AP reports that four individuals who promoted an alleged tax evasion program were arrested. The Department of Justice alleges that the four, Joseph Oquendo Saladino, Richard Allen Fuselier, Marcel Roy Bendshadler, and Michael Sean Mungovan (A.K.A. “Cajun Mike”) sold a … Continue reading →

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Appeals Court to Snipes: It’s Ocala

Posted on January 9, 2008 by Russ

Yesterday the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals dealt the final blow to Wesley Snipes’ wish of a trial in the Big Apple (or anywhere but Ocala, Florida). They dismissed Snipes’ motion to move the trial from Ocala and denied his … Continue reading →

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What To Do In Ocala

Posted on January 8, 2008 by Russ

Poor Wesley Snipes. He’ll have to spend several weeks in beautiful bucolic Ocala, Florida. Judge William Terrell Hodges denied Snipes’ motions for a stay in the trial pending the ruling of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals on Snipes’ appeals … Continue reading →

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Proposition 92: Community College Funding

Posted on January 7, 2008 by Russ

Proposition 92 is one of seven propositions on the February ballot. (I just received a supplemental voters guide from the Secretary of State and my sample ballot.) Proposition 92 limits fee hikes at community colleges (what used to be called … Continue reading →

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What to Look for in a Tax Preparer

Posted on January 7, 2008 by Russ

The IRS just released a fact sheet on what to look for in a tax preparer. Here’s what they say: Be cautious of tax preparers who claim they can obtain larger refunds than other preparers. Avoid preparers who base their … Continue reading →

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All Your Thermostats Will Soon Be Ours!

Posted on January 7, 2008 by Russ

The last time I checked I lived in a (relatively) free society. But California regulators are about to make this part of the old Soviet Union. The California Energy Commission has just issued its proposed 2008 regulations for Building Energy … Continue reading →

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Domestic Partners Win Property Tax Benefit

Posted on January 6, 2008 by Russ

The California Supreme Court ruled last week that registered domestic partners have the same property tax benefits as heterosexual spouses. This means that if registered domestic partners own a home, and one inherits the home from the other, they are … Continue reading →

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It’s Only A Technicality….

Posted on January 6, 2008 by Russ

I haven’t posted on the new taxes that citizens in Maryland face. The overwhelmingly Democratic General Assembly passed a huge tax increase last November. One portion of the increase is an increase in the state’s sales tax. But a problem … Continue reading →

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