Author Archives: Russ

A Slam for Traylor? No, It’s the Slammer.

Posted on January 28, 2007 by Russ

Robert “Tractor” Traylor, a former NBA player for Milwaukee, Cleveland, Charlotte, and New Orleans, pleaded guilty on Friday to a charge of preparing a false tax return. Mr. Traylor, 29, attempted to conceal assets of his cousin, Quasand Lewis, according … Continue reading →

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Will You Really Get that Hybrid Vehicle Tax Credit?

Posted on January 26, 2007 by Russ

There’s a great op-ed piece in today’s San Francisco Chronicle about the hybrid vehicle tax credit. The op-ed, written by Edward McQuarrie, a professor at Santa Clara University, gives the unpleasant details of how many Californians won’t get the full … Continue reading →

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Trumpeter Goes to Jail for Tax Evasion

Posted on January 26, 2007 by Russ

In August 2005 I reported on trumpeter Phil Driscoll. Mr. Driscoll was being accused of tax evasion of over $1 million. He was convicted last year on conspiracy and tax evasion charges stemming from using his ministry to hide income … Continue reading →

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Bitten by a Spider?

Posted on January 26, 2007 by Russ

A web spider, or web crawler, is a program that scours the Internet for data. Wikipedia has a good description of them. And guess who is starting to use them? The taxman. The Belastingdienst, the Netherlands version of the IRS, … Continue reading →

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Tax Day Is Pushed Back One Day

Posted on January 24, 2007 by Russ

The IRS announced today that the deadline to file your tax return has been pushed back to Tuesday, April 17th (the deadline was originally Monday, April 16th because the 15th falls on a Sunday). The IRS release is available here. … Continue reading →

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A Pinch of Fraud, and a Pound of Evasion

Posted on January 23, 2007 by Russ

I haven’t done a megapost with a bunch of tax schemers in some time. So before I head off to dinner, here’s some fraud and evasion to munch on. Lots of people have been filing false tax returns lately. The … Continue reading →

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What Kind of Business Entity is Right For You (Part 1)

Posted on January 19, 2007 by Russ

You’ve decided to go into business for yourself! Congratulations. If you’re like most new entrepreneurs, you start your business first, and ask questions later. If you do that, I can guarantee that unless you’re incredibly lucky, you’ll have a bunch … Continue reading →

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Out of State California S Corp Shareholders in for a Surprise

Posted on January 19, 2007 by Russ

California has always mandated that for all distributions to out-of-state S Corporation shareholders, 7% be withheld for state income tax to the Franchise Tax Board. However, there was no enforcement of this mandate. That’s changed for 2007. The Franchise Tax … Continue reading →

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Frozen Taxes?

Posted on January 16, 2007 by Russ

California has been in the grips of a freeze. It’s estimated that the cold weather will cost California growers billions of dollars. You and I will feel the pain when we go to buy citrus in coming weeks — expect … Continue reading →

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Postmarks Matter

Posted on January 16, 2007 by Russ

Today is the deadline to make your fourth quarter estimated tax payment. That payment must be postmarked today. It doesn’t have to be received by the IRS today, but you do need it to be postmarked today. The easiest, best, … Continue reading →

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