Better Numbers for Lawyers

Paying your taxes is one of those responsibilities that most of us accept when the time comes. Sure, we grumble about it. But we pay, then get on with the day. We don’t expect to get brownie points just for doing our duty. In fact, if you give yourself too much credit for doing it, […]

Last month, one of the most truly American lives came to an end at age 90. Baseball legend Lawrence “Yogi” Berra was a superstar both on and off the field. As a player, he won 10 World Series rings and made the All-Star team 18 times in 19 seasons. He was American League MVP five […]

Coca Cola has earned a lot of headlines for their “Share a Coke with . . . ” marketing campaign, printing bottles and cans with 1,000 of the most popular names in the country, along with nicknames like “Mom,” “Dad,” Soulmate,” and “BFF.” You can even go online to customize your own bottle for just […]

Turn on the financial news and you’ll hear all sorts of explanations for the stock market’s ups and downs. Oh no, the Fed’s going to raise rates! Oh no, they’re not! Who knows what the real answer is? But last week, the IRS moved the market — when they casually signaled they wouldn’t be greenlighting […]

This year, as usual, millions of American tourists took advantage of summer vacation to travel abroad. Favorable exchange rates made European destinations especially attractive. Seeing Old World cultures gives us perspective that we just can’t get when we load up the family truckster and head for Disney World. The sights, the sounds, and the great […]

Employers have played a key role in financing their employees’ healthcare since World War II, when they threw in tax-free benefits to attract talent in a time of wage controls. So it’s no surprise that when Congress passed the Affordable Care Act, they gave employers all sorts of carrots and sticks to boost coverage. But […]

Campaign 2016 is here! Last Thursday, 10 Republican presidential candidates squared off against each other in Cleveland’s Quicken Loans Arena, tackling such crucial topics as hugs, pimps, and Rosie O’Donnell. That same day, the Democratic National Committee announced their schedule of six debates to begin on October 13 in early-primary state Nevada. Sooner rather than […]

On July 23, NASA announced the discovery of Kepler-452b, the first potentially Earth-like planet within the “habitable zone” of a star like our Sun. Kepler-452b is 1,400 light-years away, meaning the New Horizons space probe that just passed Pluto should get there in another 26 million years. (Mom, are we there yet?) It’s 60% bigger […]

Back in 2010, British Petroleum’s Deepwater Horizon drilling rig exploded and spilled millions of barrels of oil off the Louisiana coast. Countless small business owners, including fishermen, hotel operators, restaurants, rental companies, and seafood processors, suffered and went bankrupt. State and local governments lost billions more in tax revenue. Lawyers, who may be some of […]

Nina Olson is the most important person you’ve never heard of at the IRS. She’s the “National Taxpayer Advocate,” and she heads up an organization created to cut through the red tape when the Service can’t get the job done itself. If you’re stuck between cogs in the IRS machine, Olson and her staff of […]