Mama Carol

I have yet to see a president create the first job. That's done by business owners. Two other things about Florida. #1--we have no state income tax. Income tax rate in Georgia is 6%. Ours is 0%. That's 6% more of your hard-earned money in your pocket. #2--we have a very low unemployment rate. We are in one of three Florida counties with the lowest unemployment rate in the state and the state has an unemployment rate lower than the national average.

Other than car tags and possibly car insurance, about the same. My son in law said their car insurance went down and for more coverage than he was paying up there. Ours was about the same, and also has better coverage. Tags are high when you first register them but otherwise, about the same. Until this morning, our gas was cheaper than there. EDITED TO ADD: Drivers licenses are a little higher here but they are good for 7 years. Once you register your vehicle, you can get the tag for 2 years or for one year. And it's quite reasonable for just the tag. Carry permit is $112.

Small business owners tend to be conservative. At least that has been MY experience with the HUNDREDS I have dealt with through the years, both on a professional basis and a personal basis. I have yet to see a truly poverty-stricken person create jobs.

You've proven time and time again that you know all there is about taxes and how things work in the economy. I don't need to prove anything. You just might want to start using a resource that is truthful and doesn't slant things.

As had been the case almost without exception when the minimum wage goes up, wages for those who make more than that do not increase proportionally. It seems to me that a raise in the minimum wage hurts more people than it helps. Those making more than that, don't get a raise yet their expenses increase. Those making MW get an increase but their expenses increase as well. Case in point. In two days, the minimum wage here in Florida goes up to $7.93 an hour, from $7.79 an hour. Since yesterday, gas has gone up 10 cents a gallon. Yesterday, it was 3.16 a gallon for regular. Today it i

If my daughter takes even a minimum wage job, she will get about a 75 cent an hour raise over what she was making in Georgia.

No, you're not being Scrooge. Giving gifts should be about giving what the recipient wants. If you don't want a gift, your family is the one with the problem, not you. If it were me, if I were returning the gift, I'd make a donation to a charity that the giver supports or if they don't support any, give to one YOU support. Anybody want a fishing rod?

You graduated with my sister. Interesting factoid. My sister was in the first graduating class at Wills. My husband's brother was in the first graduating class at Pebblebrook. Both graduated in 1967.

I don't know that the state could handle you and me here.

Oh, TP, I understood from the first post.

Years and years ago, my husband went to a Ford dealer over near Stone Mountain and tried to buy a vehicle. He had already bought two vehicles from them so it wasn't like he was a first timer. He had the salesman and the manager climbing on top of their desk, trying to negotiate with him. Anyway, by the time we walked out of there, the owner, who was very Friendly, had offered my husband a job. And three days later, he drove home in the vehicle he wanted, at the price he was willing to pay. The dealer didn't have the vehicle. They went to Albany, GA to get it.

Absolutely!!! In 2008 when my husband was wanting to buy a particular car, he went to a dealer and told them what he was willing to do to get that car. They did the "I have to talk to my sales manager" routine and then came back with only a slightly better deal than originally presented by the salesman. Hubby said "no thanks". We got up and left. Before we got to our truck, the sales man came back out and said "let's talk about this some more". Hubby said "no thanks". We got in the truck, cranked up and left. By the time we got home, we had a message that they really wanted to make a d

They should be available by 1/31 but that is often not the case. If it's mailed by 1/31, it is considered "on time" even if the recipient doesn't receive it until 2/14 or later. Banks are notorious about not getting 1099s and 1098s out until sometime mid-February. I can't remember all the times we were waiting on a 1099R for a client but had everything else to do the return. So frustrating. Not as frustrating as getting the 1099R and finding the bank coded a rollover incorrectly and it cost a client a penalty when they should not have had one. We always had W2s and 1099s available f

Perfection and IRS should not be said in the same sentence.

I get newsletters from several tax prep places including from the IRS. I've not read about any forms being delayed except the start of the IRS accepting returns. Pretty often a particular schedule or form that goes with a tax return won't be ready to start with--such as an investment reporting form--but the forms for use by payees have been ready. The delay shouldn't come as a surprise. The government announced the beginning of filing season would be delayed by 1-2 weeks back in October. If everything is go on January 30, that's better than last year when some people had to wai

What forms are delayed 10 days? I'm already getting notices that final versions of tax software is available. Anyone who needed to order W2s or 1099s from the IRS should have already done so and likely already has them. I had mine last year before Christmas. And 2013 1040 is already available online. http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1040.pdf

Imagine having to explain to people on April 15 that they have to pay $4000, maybe more, maybe less. That's what would happen if payroll withholding was not done. Research the history of it and you'll see why it's done. Besides, the government likes that money. I understand why for some people it's a big deal to get the refund quickly but is it really worth $360 per $1000 of refund to do it? So, let's say you were due a $4000 refund but elected to do a refund anticipation loan and to get the refund in 2 days as opposed to 10 days. At the average interest rate for a RAL, you would only

Oh, you would not believe some of the crackpots that come in a tax prep place during tax season. So, yep, you're right about that. True story. One of my first two years of doing tax prep we had a young lady come in to get her return done. One set of her grandparents were clients, so we were always happy to deal with family of clients. We loved our clients! And took good care of them and their families. Anyway, this young lady was about 20 and worked somewhere in Dallas in a warehouse. She still lived with her parents, had no children, had no mortgage, had no medical bills. In oth

I also know a good deal when I see one. Paying 36% interest to get a tax refund a few days earlier is NOT a good deal. And I'm well aware of how payroll deductions work. Been doing payroll for 40 years. Why file on January 21 when you won't likely get your W2 before January 31? You CANNOT file until you get a W2. Well, you can but then you may need to amend your return. Many tax preparers won't do a return that will report W2 wages without an actual W2. We stopped doing them without an actual W2 when we had a client bring in their last paystub because their W2 was lost in the mail

I'm impressed that the sheriff's department gave a ticket.

TP, I am a tax preparer. I'm quite familiar with how it works. But thanks for explaining it to me. And again, the delay is ONE DAY over last year's first filing date. ONE DAY. Most accounting offices won't even file a return until after the first of February. And the big box tax prep firms, like H&R Block and Jackson Hewitt, will be done by the end of February. That's fine. Try finding one of them on April 14. Or October 14. If you want to pay 36% interest in order to get your refund a couple of days early, be my guest. Wait one week, seven days, and get 36% MORE refund.

ONE day delay over last year. Count it, ONE. Last year first filing day was January 29. This year, January 30. It matters not one iota what the government said they wanted. What matters is it is ONE day later than last year. I guess most of you forgot 2010 tax year/filing in 2011 when the filing of some returns was delayed until mid-February due to a last minute law that meant neither the software providers NOR the IRS was prepared for certain returns. The only day that really matters is the LAST day to file. You don't get more for filing early and in fact, you might end up having

Most people think if they get a refund they paid NO TAX. Not true. But when I say "pay taxes" I mean those who pay additional taxes when they file. In the tax biz, it's "refunds" or "pay". A refund does mean you loaned the government money INTEREST FREE for up to a year.

They don't come much more common than me, TP. I ain't fancy. Heck, most Pcommers who have met me never even realized who I was.