Cyprus Rejects Controversial Tax on Deposits
The parliament of Cyprus rejected a controversial bank deposit levy earlier this week, a precondition for receiving a very pricey bailout. This quickly tore up the four day old loan deal the country already negotiated with European and international creditors that is need badly to break off default and a meltdown in its financial sector.
Many people believe that the stock market’s reaction to the Cyprus banking crisis was a case of willful denial, according to Mark Hulbert’s discussion on Markets Hub.
Coming in after days of political talks in the Cypriot capital, the vote means that a new deal, if it’s possible to even make one, will have to be done in days or Cyprus might face a total collapse of its banks. Many analysts believe that if that is to happen, it will send the tiny nation flailing out of the Eurozone.
After a long two hour debate on the divisive federal tax, there were 19 lawmakers from Cyprus’ Democratic Rally party, led by President Nicos Anastasiades that were abstained from the vote; this decision made sure that the plan would be rejected. The rest of the lawmakers in Cyrpus’ 56 seats of parliament had voted against the plan.
The rejection of this particular bill will only leave Cyprus with a few options. They could renegotiate the deal on the tax deposits with the European creditors, but they are also forming a Plan B that involves support for its banks from Russia.
Categories: Federal Tax, Income Tax, State Tax Tags: avoiding taxes, federal income tax, federal tax, income tax, tax law
Useful tax tips for filing your federal tax return
It’s the time again: tax season. Although individual tax returns aren’t due until April 15, America’s CPAs would like to remind you that the taxpayers that get working on their taxes early will make the filing process easier. Below are some of the things you might like to know about getting your taxes done, especially if you’re new at doing them:
First of all, you’re going to need to gather your W-2s and 1099s. When you get this paperwork, put them in a place where you won’t easily lose them, and in a place where you’ll remember because you can’t complete a tax return without them.
Remember that you should check on the rules to see if you’re required to file a federal tax return due to the amount of income that you earn. In other cases, it may benefit you to file a federal income tax return because you had too much income tax withheld.
You’ll have to collect your records. This means you have to round up all of your canceled checks, receipts, and various documents that support your current income. You will also need to gather your deductions and credits that you will be reporting or claiming on your tax return. Try and get your records in the best shape possible so that you’ll only be paying what you owe and nothing extra.
Keep in mind that you may have credits and deductions that may apply to you; you may not need to pay more tax than you need to. This includes the earned income tax credit, child tax credit, adoption credit, and so forth. It’s best to check with your local CPA or the IRS website for qualifications.
Categories: Federal Tax, Income Tax, State Tax Tags: federal tax, filing taxes, income tax, state tax, tax filing, tax season, tax tips
Oregon’s budget increased because of federal tax hike on wealthy
Oregon lawmakers delivered some great financial news this past Friday, allowing some room to breathe with the budget.
The state’s economists have said that the state revenues are supposed to come in at $162 million higher in the latest biennium because of the tax increases on the wealthy that was implemented by Congress. The tax increases will have an effect on filers in 2013, which influenced a sell-off of assets at the end of 2012. This gave a sudden increase to state tax receipts.
The sell-off will eventually lead to a reduction of $75 million in the revenue outlook for the next two years. Adding it up, the lawmakers will have about $88 million more to use for Oregon as they start to develop a budget for the 2013-2015 biennium. This is not a bailout, but rather a difficult choice that had to be made. Oregon has experienced some bad news in its finances in the past four years, and it’s nice to have this good financial news drop on them.
Senate President Peter Courtney mentioned that this forecast is a positive net gain because every single penny will help Oregon, parting the clouds a little to help the sun shine enter.
Overall, Oregon’s state general fund is supposed to hit around $16.6 billion for 2013 through 2015. That’s about a 9% increase from the current budget of $15.2 billion. There’s expected to be larger tax collections in the new few months because of higher earners pushing more of their income into 2012.
Categories: Federal Tax, Income Tax, State Tax, Tax Law Tags: corporate tax, federal income tax, federal tax, income tax, oregon tax, tax code