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Pastimes : The Justa and Lars Honors Bob Brinker Investment Club Thread -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Wally Mastroly who wrote (2057)	9/29/2002 6:02:21 AM
From: Justa Werkenstiff	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 10065

Wally: Did not see anything with that link. Anyway, what ever happened to the idea of raising rates pushed by Bill Gross? Raise 'em, cut 'em -- it does not make any difference at this point, although raising them would create far more problems I would think. They be pushin' on a string. Imagine, a real estate bubble taking place in one of the worst equity bear markets of all time. What a mess.

To: Wally Mastroly who wrote (2057)	10/1/2002 10:15:21 PM
From: Wally Mastroly	Respond to of 10065

One--less---form-to-fill-out...maybe (hummed to the tune of: One_Less_Bell-to-Answer): One less tax form to fill out IRS raises ceiling on separate filing for interest, dividend By Deborah Adamson, CBS.MarketWatch.com Last Update: 12:02 AM ET Oct. 1, 2002 NEW YORK (CBS.MW) - More than 15 million Americans won't have to file an extra tax form in 2002, thanks to the Internal Revenue Service raising the threshold for reporting interest and dividends. Effective this tax year and beyond, Americans who receive $1,500 or less in interest and dividend income won't have to file a "Interest and Ordinary Dividends" form, up from $400. It's Schedule B for 1040 filers and Schedule 1 for 1040A. "I commend the IRS," said Kaye Thomas, founder of Fairmark.com, a tax publisher. "It's not a great step for mankind, but it's a small step." The $400 ceiling has been in place since 1974, the IRS said. Without the change, at least 40 million taxpayers would have to file Schedule B or 1 for this tax year. The agency estimates the change will enable another 800,000 taxpayers to use the shorter Form 1040EZ or file by telephone (Telefile). Bob Scharin, editor of tax journal publisher Warren, Gorham & Lamont, said the number of taxpayers to be helped likely will increase this year because people who normally would have to file may not have to report, as interest rates have fallen. For example, taxpayers who usually get about $2,000 a year in interest or dividends could receive only about $1,200 now because of lower interest rates. They won't have to file the extra tax form. The change doesn't mean taxpayers will pay less in taxes, Scharin said. People just have to report only their interest and dividend totals on their tax form instead of itemizing it. Remember that tax-exempt interest - such as those in an IRA or 401(k) - are not counted. It's the second attempt this year by the IRS to reduce paperwork. In April, officials raised the gross receipts and asset limits for businesses filing Schedules L, M-1 and M2. The government estimates that it eases the burden on 2.6 million small businesses. IRS exceptions Not surprisingly, there are exceptions to the IRS rule. Taxpayers with foreign financial accounts, or those involved in foreign trust transactions, must continue to file the extra form. However, the exception does not apply to U.S. investors who own a taxable mutual fund that holds foreign securities, said Mark Luscombe, principal analyst for federal taxes at CCH Inc. Also, a home seller who acts as the mortgage lender to the buyer of the house must continue to report interest received on the mortgage. Scharin notes that taxpayers with $1,500 or less to report might want to file the extra form anyway to avoid overpaying - such as the recipients of Form 1099-INT showing more interest than is actually taxable to them. For example, an investor buys a bond - not at issue, but one that's been traded - paying interest in January and July. He or she buys the bond in March and pays the seller interest that has accrued from January until March. When he or she gets the interest check in July, it would show interest earned from between January and July - even if the investor only received interest starting from March. He or she should not be liable for taxes on interest earned before then. Deborah Adamson is a reporter for CBS.MarketWatch.com in Los Angeles.