OK, uninformed is a bit reckless. We don’t mean uninformed in the literal sense. We’re speaking relatively. What we really mean is that advice from people outside of the fields of business, investing and economics is rather helpful when making decisions that have business, economic and societal impacts. In this spirit we queried folks working [...]
Yesterday kicked off the first of the Democratic debates. How many are seeking the nomination? Might be better to ask who isn’t. Lots of folks on that stage last night. Anyway...a major plank in the platform is student loan forgiveness. Presumed frontrunners Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders are pledging to forgive 75% and 100% respectively. [...]
Nice article from Barry Ritholtz about the importance of a basic financial education, why we're so bad at providing it and what can be done to improve the situation.
Fiscally liberal politicians are furiously trying to pound out the dents in their reputations. Their unified complaint in the post-Trump tax reform world has been that budgets in traditionally Democratic states (i.e. blue states) would be sunk. Data shows just the opposite. Earlier this month California Governor Gavin Newsom introduced a revised $213 billion budget [...]
Who likes a visit to the doctor’s office? Exactly. In a recent survey conducted by The Harris Poll Americans likened financial planning to a medical exam. Adults aged 18+ were asked how they feel about financial planning. The #1 answer was “not my favorite thing in the world but know it needs to get done [...]
Live in a high-tax blue state? Annoyed by the SALT deduction cap of $10,000? Quit whining. You were one of the biggest winners of the Trump tax cuts. An early analysis of data shows taxpayers in high-tax states (e.g. California, New York) were some of the biggest beneficiaries. The majority of taxpayers received a tax [...]
When Uncle Sam’s income (i.e. tax revenue) is less than his spending he runs a budget deficit. The Treasury Department sells Bills, Notes and Bonds (i.e. “Treasuries”) to cover the shortfall. Who are the buyers? Who enables the federal credit card? Historically the gap was filled from overseas. Individuals would buy Treasuries due to [...]
On Friday the Treasury Department further relaxed penalties on people who didn’t pay a sufficient minimum of their total income tax throughout 2018. Taxpayers can now avoid penalties if they paid at least 80% of their 2018 income taxes through withholding and/or quarterly estimated tax payments. That’s a second moving of the goalpost. In 2017 [...]
Each year taxpayers must remit the lesser of 90% of their estimated current year income tax liability or 100% (110% if AGI > $150,000) of their prior year income tax liability. Doing so meets the safe harbor requirement thus eliminating penalties for failing to meet the statutory minimum remittance requirement. Ignorance of the Law is [...]
Yesterday the IRS announced inflation-adjusted limits for 401(k) contributions, the SS wage base, etc. Highlights and the full technical bulletin may be found here and here.