HITLER ON YOU TUBE

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NEW MILEAGE RATES ISSUED

The Internal Revenue Service has issued the 2009 optional standard mileage rates used to calculate the deductible costs of operating an automobile for business, charitable, medical or moving purposes.

Beginning on Jan. 1, 2009, the standard mileage rates for the use of a car (also vans, pickups, or panel trucks) will be:

· 55 cents per mile for business miles driven
· 24 cents per mile driven for medical or moving purposes
· 14 cents per mile driven in service of charitable organizations

The new rates for business, medical and moving purposes are slightly lower than rates for the second half of 2008 that were raised by a special adjustment mid-year in response to a spike in gasoline prices. The rate for charitable purposes is set by law and is unchanged from 2008.

The business mileage rate was 50.5 cents in the first half of 2008 and 58.5 cents in the second half. The medical and moving rate was 19 cents in the first half and 27 cents in the second half.

The mileage rates for 2009 reflect generally higher transportation costs compared to a year ago, but the rates also factor in the recent reversal of rising gasoline prices. While gasoline is a significant factor in the mileage rate, other fixed and variable costs, such as depreciation, enter the calculation.

BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THESE ERRORS

Watch out for an error in the instructions for Forms 1099, 1098 and W-2G, and similar information returns. The correct due date for businesses to give a copy of the form to taxpayers is Feb. 17, 2009; not March 2 as the instructions state. The IRS can slap penalties on late issuers. The earlier date was OK’d by Congress in Oct.

CATTLEMEN OPOSE LIVESTOCK TAX PROPOSED BY EPA

(Grand Island Independent) -- A proposed Environmental Protection Agency tax on livestock operations would be devastating to Nebraska's billion dollar livestock industry, according to Dave Wright, president of the Independent Cattlemen of Nebraska. The EPA proposal would establish a greenhouse gas "tax" of $87.50 on each head of beef cattle produced and $175 per head on each dairy animal and $20 for each hog. The proposal is essentially a tax on livestock operations, Wright said. The EPA is seeking public comments until Nov. 28. To comment directly to the EPA visit www.regulation.gov.

MORE THREATS TO ETHANOL MARKET SHARE

(Lincoln Journal Star) -- Due in part to oil prices and national energy policy, the market penetration of ethanol In Nebraska recently reached an all-time high of almost 90 percent. Now turmoil in the ethanol industry has cast doubt on ethanol marketers' ability to keep the dime advantage they have held at the pump in Nebraska elsewhere for most of the past five years. Gas prices continue to plummet. In its daily report delivered Wednesday, AAA says the Nebraska statewide average sits at $1.81 for a gallon of regular, down from $3.13 a year ago. As of last week, regular unleaded gasoline was the cheaper option at the seven BP stores owned locally by Salem Oil Co. A Journal Star check of other Lincoln service stations gave the price advantage to regular unleaded in eight of 14 cases, typically $1.69 versus $1.79. This suggests that ethanol, despite its connection to Nebraska agriculture, doesn't have nearly the brand loyalty of, say, Husker sweatshirts. But despite recent developments at the pump in Lincoln and elsewhere, Todd Sneller of the Nebraska Ethanol Board said the ethanol industry will stay afloat because ethanol sales nationally are anchored in a federal renewable fuels standard (usage requirement) and clean air initiatives in California and numerous other places. The federal mandate is scheduled to get bigger over the next few years.

HERE IS A GIFT IDEA FOR CHILDREN OR GRANDCHILDREN

If your child or grandchild worked this year and had wages or other earned income, funding a Roth is a great gift. You can give $5,000 or what the child earned, whichever is less. But keep in mind that the gift does count toward the $12,000 annual gift tax exclusion. This does not create a tax deduction but a Roth can grow into a nice nest egg, especially if you keep making pay-ins each year.

IF YOU ARE A SINGLE MEMBER LLC, TAKE NOTE

If you have a single member LLC and you pay wages, you will need to have an ID number starting January 1, 2009. Per new IRS rules, single member/single owner limited liability companies are required to change how they report wages and pay federal employment taxes in 2009.