The IRS will automatically provide this extension to anyone living in Suffolk County.
The IRS is granting a three-month extension of income tax filings and payments to anyone living in Suffolk County, and those affected by the Boston Marathon bombings. Instead of the April 15 deadline, taxpayers will have until July 15 to file their 2012 returns and pay taxes without penalty, according to an IRS announcement. This tax relief applies to all individual taxpayers living in Suffolk County, including victims, their families, first responders, and others "impacted by this tragedy who live outside Suffolk County and taxpayers whose tax preparers were adversely affected." “Our hearts go out to the people affected by this tragic event,” said IRS Acting Commissioner Steven Miller through press release. “We want victims and …
Should the state forge ahead with Gov. Deval Patrick's bold plan to invest now? Or should it follow the Legislature leadership's proposal to address the bottom line before embarking on bigger initiatives?
Massachusetts legislators this week answered Gov. Deval Patrick's ambitious plan to raise $1.9 billion for transportation and education with a $500 million plan of their own, which says the governor is asking for too much, too soon as the Bay State shakes off the effects of the Great Recession. Who's right? Should the state forge ahead in a bold plan to invest now? Or should it cautiously address the bottom line before embarking on bigger initiatives? While Patrick's plan includes funding for both the state transportation system and increased education funding from preschool through college, House and Senate lawmakers eschew new revenue for education, focusing solely on closing the transportation budget gap over the next five years. The …
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How does cooking meatballs on the grill relate to writing things off? Ron Mutascio has the answer.
Ron Mutascio is a certified public accountant with a business office located at 415 Belgrade Ave., West Roxbury. He is providing tax tips - do you have a tax question that you would like him to answer? Leave a comment below this article or email davide@patch.com. Patch: What is a write-off? I've heard about it. There's even that famous funny clip on 'Seinfeld' when Jerry and Kramer joke about not knowing what a write-off is, but businesses "just write it off." And more importantly what are some easy write-offs for the average person - and how do they go about making sure they have the right info to "write something off"? Mutascio: This week we are going to look at a commonly used phrase that is used in a variety of ways. The phrase is …
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The rally was organized by Campaign for our Communities, a coalition of over 120 organizations across the commonwealth.
Hundreds of people bused in from across the state packed into a State House auditorium Tuesday morning to rally in support of Gov. Deval Patrick's tax plan, which they say is critical to make much-needed improvements in education and transportation infrastructure. The rally, which was organized by Campaign for our Communities, a coalition of over 120 organizations across the commonwealth, ended with attendees heading off to the offices of their representatives, urging them to vote for Patrick's plan. The governor's $34.8 billion budget proposal calls for an increase in the income tax from 5.25 percent to 6.25 percent and the elimination of 44 deductions coupled with a decrease in the sales tax from 6.25 percent to 4.5 percent and a …
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Standard deductions go up, but the ceiling for itemized deductions go down in 2013, plus other changes that will affect your taxes this year.
On Friday, the Internal Revenue Service announced annual inflation adjustments for tax year 2013, including the tax rate schedules, and other tax changes from the recently passed American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012. The tax items for 2013 of greatest interest to most taxpayers include the following changes. Details on these inflation adjustments and others are contained in Revenue Procedure 2013-15, which will be published in Internal Revenue Bulletin 2013-5 on Jan. 28, 2013. Other inflation adjusted items were published in October 2012 in Revenue Procedure 2012-41.
1:23 pm on Sunday, January 20, 2013
where can i get federal and state tax forms in JP? more ›
Massachusetts Democrats in Congress want to avoid cuts in benefits as part of any deal, but proposals such as raising the eligibility age for Medicare are still on the table. What would you do?
As Congress negotiates a deal to avoid the so-called "fiscal cliff" on Jan. 1, Massachusetts' congressional representatives have voiced their opposition to any cuts in benefits such as Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, the Boston Globe reports. However, there are proposals still on the table that would change those benefit programs, including linking Social Security benefits to a more conservative inflation index that would slightly reduce annual increases, or raising the eligibility age for Medicare from 65 to 67. The Globe reported that while the Bay State's legislators were united against changes to Social Security, there's some wiggle room on Medicare. Rep. Ed Markey opposes raising the Medicare eligibility age; Rep. Michael …
6:58 pm on Tuesday, December 11, 2012
I have a buddy who worked a couple years for state government and now he has lifetime health insurance from the state. Absolutely no common sense when it comes to spending. No wonder the government is broke. more ›
After a 27-month-long process, there's a tentative agreement on the table.
The Boston Teachers Union and the School Department reached a tentative contract agreement late Tuesday night that if approved, will lead to changes in class sizes, teacher performance evaluations, and a new pay raise structure, ending the 27-month long negotiations between the two parties. "The agreement is good for students, affordable to the city, and fair to our members," said Richard Stutman, president of the Boston Teachers Union in a statement. "This contract is a big step forward in taking our school system to the next level – it’s what’s best for our students, it works for our teachers, and is fair to our taxpayers," said Mayor Thomas Menino. "Teachers will now have the support they need to perform, schools will have the …
The tax break was part of a larger economic development bill the Legislature passed Tuesday.
As part of the jobs bill passed on the last day of the legislative session, lawmakers passed a two-day tax holiday. The 115-page bill, passed on Tuesday, included a two-day holiday on the weekend of Aug. 11 and 12 from the state's 6.25 percent sales tax, according to the Boston Globe. Excluded from the tax holiday are restaurant meals, cars, motorboats, tobacco and any item that costs more than $2,500. To offset the loss of revenue, Gov. Deval Patrick set aside $20 million in a supplemental budget he filed early last month. Massachusetts was one of 17 states in the country to offer a sales tax holiday in 2011, according to Forbes. With the exception of 2009, the state has held a tax holiday every summer for the past nine years. The bill …
Non-profit organizations are not required to pay taxes on their property, but some do so thanks to Boston's Payment in Lieu of Taxes program.
Non-profit organizations are not required to pay taxes on their property, but some do so thanks to Boston's Payment in Lieu of Taxes program, or PILOT. The second fiscal year of the program ended on June 30, with Boston receiving $19.5 million in payments. But fiscal 2012 was the first year under new PILOT guidelines created by the City. The guidelines ask for voluntary payments based on organization’s tax-exempt property value. The City asked 45 institutions with property valued at $15 million or more. Organizations are eligible for a "community benefits deduction," calculating institutions' efforts to give back to the community through things such as scholarships, donations, events and programs. Before the list of the Top 10 PILOT …
3:05 am on Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Shame on all of them! These "non-profits" (not to be confused with charity) were asked to pay 25% of what they would have paid if they were not a "non-profit" for municipal services. Out of that 25% the mayor is asking for, he is allowing non-profits to deduct "community benefit services" up to 50%, bringing their share down to 12.5% of what they would pay if they were not a non-profit. The "… more ›
Included as an amendment to a bigger jobs bill, the update would expand the bottle redemption law to include plastic bottles used for water and juice.
The redemption center at Blanchards could get a lot busier if a bill to put deposits on more types of bottles finally becomes law. House and Senate leaders started debating Wednesday whether to include an expanded bottle deposit amendment in a bill designed to spur job creation. The bill was passed in the Senate Thursday and is now being hashed out in a conference committee comprised of members of both chambers. Gov. Deval Patrick has said that he supports it. But the House has fought passage of an expanded bottle bill, which Speaker Robert DeLeo and others in the House view as a tax. But Sen. Robert Hedlund disputes this view, saying that taxes can't be redeemed. The expansion to the 31-year-old law designed to promote recycling and …
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9:15 am on Monday, July 30, 2012
It's time to eliminate the arbitrary distinction between carbonated and non-beverages. I'm a walker, and and most of the trash I see littering our city streets is empty bottles and cans. (Most of the rest is fast food and cigarette packaging.) This bill will encourage recycling, and I hope it finally passes. more ›
Maureen Beach
2:34 pm on Monday, April 8, 2013
Now is not the time to be imposing more taxes on hard-working families. If we allow the government to impose taxes on common, everyday items like soda, we are essentially inviting them to start looking for more common, everyday items to tax. more ›