Become a Patron! With the end of the year in sight and tax season around the corner, I've been brushing up on the rules for IRA contributions and deductions. Remember IRA contributions can be made for the 2019 contribution year until April 15, 2020. Most large IRA custodians make it easy to designate your contribution for the appropriate year, but if you use an independent … [Read more...] about How to think about the Spousal IRA deduction gap
taxes
The SECURE Act is headed into law; small employers get a few handouts
Become a Patron! I've written extensively about the hilariously-named SECURE Act, which sailed through the House but was frozen in the Senate while Ted Cruz extorted his colleagues to allow wealthy Texans to make tax- and penalty-free withdrawals from their 529 accounts for "homeschooling" expenses. Contrary to some early reporting, that provision does not seem to have made … [Read more...] about The SECURE Act is headed into law; small employers get a few handouts
Donor-advised funds are in the news, here’s why it matters
Become a Patron! Attributing quotes to famous dead people is, as the great Greek poet Homer is said to have once remarked, one of mankind's oldest storytelling traditions. In that spirit, I want to pass along Margaret Thatcher's famous answer when asked to name her greatest achievement in office: "Tony Blair and New Labour. We forced our opponents to change their … [Read more...] about Donor-advised funds are in the news, here’s why it matters
What to watch for as the Senate panics over the SECURE Act
Become a Patron! My readers know that the SECURE Act, passed unanimously out of its House committee and overwhelmingly on the floor of the House, was conjured into existence by the insurance industry in order to increase the distribution of expensive, opaque annuity products in 401(k) retirement plans. It incidentally also includes a few other provisions designed to reduce … [Read more...] about What to watch for as the Senate panics over the SECURE Act
The backdoor VAT is an ideological project that must be defeated
Become a Patron! It's a banality among progressives in the United States to observe that we collect too little in taxes, spend too little on government programs, and consequently enjoy the least-generous welfare state, lowest life expectancy, and worst government services among our peer countries. And this is, as far as it goes, true: there's no obvious reason a country with … [Read more...] about The backdoor VAT is an ideological project that must be defeated