Share to facebook Share to twitter Share to linkedin New York became the 15th state Monday to decriminalize marijuana. Getty Topline: New York governor Andrew Cuomo signed a bill Monday further decriminalizing recreational use of marijuana, but fell short of his goal to fully legalize the substance in 2019. Under the new law, people will
Taxes
ASSOCIATED PRESS The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is Pakistan’s new government. When it comes to major economic decisions, that is. IMF sets the policies that will either make or break the country’s economy. Early this month, the Washington-based institution gave Pakistan a $6 billion loan that helped the newly-elected government of Imran Khan cope with
A toddler is trying to escape from his crib – do you need help to escape from a bad annuity? Getty If you find yourself in an annuity that no longer meets your financial planning needs, you may find yourself asking, “What is the best way to escape a dreadful annuity? You do luckily have
Social Security may be one of your largest assets. What and when you collect will make a huge difference to your lifetime benefits. Today’s column examines remarriage while receiving Social Security survivor’s benefits, filing for and suspending a retirement benefit versus filing a restricted application for spousal benefits only, scam claims about benefit windfalls, and
The IRS has begun sending letters to people with virtual currency transactions who may have failed to report income and pay taxes, or who did not report their transactions properly. By the end of August, more than 10,000 taxpayers will receive the letters, targets the IRS says it obtained through various ongoing IRS compliance efforts.
Our country is split down the middle on man-made climate change. Roughly half of us believe it’s real, and half of us believe it’s fake. Deep down, though, we all have our doubts. Take NASA’s assessment. “Climate-warming trends over the past century are extremely likely due to human activities.” While NASA’s pulling no punches, it’s
Getty Taxpayers who deal – or even dabble – in virtual currency may be on the receiving end of a letter from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) this month. The IRS has announced that they have begun sending letters to taxpayers who might have failed to report income and pay the resulting tax from virtual
Share to facebook Share to twitter Share to linkedin Congress is once again trying to impose a carbon tax on the American people, with multiple bills coming from both Democrats and Republicans. It must be understood that a carbon tax would be one of the most regressive taxes the United States has ever seen. A Tesoro
A burned European Union (EU) flag. Photographer: Konstantinos Tsakalidis/Bloomberg photo credit: © 2015 Bloomberg Finance LP © 2015 Bloomberg Finance LP There’s an eerie but placid tone in current U.S.-Europe relations. Investors should view it as the calm before the storm that could eventually wreak havoc across global financial markets. “It seems most likely that tensions
Today, the House Ways and Means Committee held its fourth and likely final hearing on the Social Security 2100 Act, a proposal to expand Social Security benefits that has 210 Democratic sponsors and is likely to pass the House in the autumn. That hearing will itself be largely uninformative: House Democrats have yet to call
null Getty Booking.com, the online travel agent, is the focus of an investigation in Italy into $167m of unpaid VAT on holiday rentals made through its website. Two sources told the FT that the inquiry is focusing on the VAT owed on payments between individuals for rental properties advertised by the popular hotel and holidays
Tax reform and gun control both arouse passionate dispute. That is one thing that they have in common. Another thing that they have in common is a kind of knowledge imbalance between people arguing opposite sides. The knowledge imbalance might be, in part, a result of the passion. People resistant to gun control, on the
Disgraced Wall Street financier Bernard Madoff (C) arrives at a US Federal Court on March 12, 2009 in New York. Photo credit: TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP/Getty Images Getty Ponzi schemer Bernard Madoff has been in prison over 10 years (time flies) but still has another 140 years to go. He’s now asked President Trump, who has
Social Security may be one of your largest assets. What and when you collect will make a huge difference to your lifetime benefits. Today’s column answers questions about when spousal benefits can become available, whether application dates affect the application of COLAs, whether a checklist could help with deciding when to file, the earnings test
As Boris Johnson becomes the U.K’s next prime minister after a decisive victory against foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt, it is good to remember his tax fisticuffs. Before this win, Mr. Johnson was a flamboyant Mayor of London, then foreign secretary. Yet he was famously also an American citizen, born in the U.S., leaving at age
I don’t think I’m breaking any news when I say that you’ve always been a disappointment to your Dad. It all started when he proudly showed up to your fifth grade field day — so full of hope and pride — only to watch you jog a quarter-mile, vomit all over your shoes, and spend
ASSOCIATED PRESS Whether the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) disproportionately helped the rich may be 2020’s biggest political issue. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin claims that it benefited most Americans. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) calls it a massive giveaway to the rich. Who’s right? Unfortunately, no one can tell from the TCJA studies done to
Student Loan Debt Repayment Photo credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS It’s time to pay off your student loans faster. Here’s what you need to know. Student Loan Repayment: Follow these 25 rules Rule #1: Student loan repayment is an active process, not a passive one. If you invest the time and do the work, you can save money
Share to facebook Share to twitter Share to linkedin BRAZIL – 2019/05/31: In this photo illustration the Equifax logo is seen displayed on a smartphone. (Photo Illustration by Rafael Henrique/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images) LightRocket via Getty Images Section 162(f) of the tax code prohibits deducting any fine or similar penalty paid to a government for the violation
Social Security may be one of your largest assets. What and when you collect will make a huge difference to your lifetime benefits. Today’s column addresses spousal benefit filing options after reaching full retirement age, when to begin benefits to ensure a certain benefit amount, when and how Social Security makes certain payments, information available