Financial Symmetry News & Views

Posts Tagged ‘Taxes’

As mentioned in our previous blog post about the debt ceiling, we said that our long term fiscal problem is heavily influenced by two issues- taxation and health care costs.
There is a school of economic theory that says that the level of taxation has a strong inverse relationship with economic growth.  In other words, some [...]

We all hear about how the US is going broke. Depending on the viewpoint or agenda of the source of what we hear, read or see, the cause of the federal government’s financial problems varies.
Unfortunately, there is almost always a lack of actual facts and perspective, so the public is left to try to [...]

Eligible to Contribute?
Roth IRA’s have been around since they were established by the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 and are named for the late Senator William Roth of Delaware who introduced the legislation.  They have grown in popularity because of the special tax treatment they receive as long as certain requirements are met.  Although you [...]

It’s very possible that you could be saving more money tax-free.  If your company offers a Roth 401k option, then this could be your ticket.  In recent weeks, the question we’ve heard most from clients is “should I be taking advantage of a Roth 401k?”  To help you make a decision we’ve answered the most [...]

You’ve no doubt heard stories this week that the Obama Administration and Republican leaders have negotiated an end-of-year tax deal which will, among other things, extend the current income tax rates for the next two years for all Americans.  Capital gains and dividends would also be taxed at the current preferred (lower) tax rates.
According to [...]

While we emphasize the importance of annual tax planning, it’s also important to not let tax avoidance override your other financial goals.  Liz Davidson, of Forbes.com, wrote a nice piece describing how people lose money when they let tax issues dominate their investment decisions. The article does a great job of examining why payments [...]

Have you ever had the pleasure of receiving an audit letter from the IRS?  You walk back from your mailbox with the fearful nervousness that you may owe more in taxes than you had originally thought.  You slowly remember that you rolled over your old 401k to an IRA last year, and are confused as [...]

What if you never again had to prepare your tax return? Or pay someone to do it for you?  The catch is that the IRS would be the ones who prepare it.  Sound a little scary?  The Bipartisan Tax Fairness and Simplification Act of 2010 introduced in the Senate has a provision for just that [...]

When Congress left town on Christmas Eve, it failed to address a major issue – the repeal of the federal estate tax…

Have you made your 2009 Roth IRA contribution?
If you have not yet made the maximum contribution, you still have time!  Tax payers have until April 15th of 2010 to make their Roth contributions for the 2009 tax year.  If you are within the income limitations to make contributions, a Roth IRA is an excellent investment [...]