NEW YORK CITY

I spent a few days last week in New York City speaking at a conference. I spoke for two days and then I visited with some of our clients that are in that area. My wife, Maggie, went along with me so we did have a day to do some shopping and visit art galleries on Times Square.

Staying in a hotel in New York is always an experience because space is so expensive. My room was 17' x 11. This included the bathroom, shower and then the bed. No closets only two drawers. At the same time this is a brand-new motel or hotel and a unique experience because of all the technology that was involved.

One of my favorite books and a requirement for everyone that works in my office is Raving Fans. One of the principles that creates a ‘Raving Fan’ is to do what you do very well but don't try to do everything. The hotel was a very good example of this. Everything they did, they did with class and it definitely had a WOW factor. At the same time there were a lot of things they didn't do, which was okay also.

If you've never been to New York I suggest that you put it on your bucket list. There's no place like it. On a weeknight at 11 PM to be walking down Eighth Street or Seventh Street or Times Square and to be shoulder to shoulder with people is amazing. Central Park- the theaters - the shopping - no place like in the world!

IN THE NEWS

I was honored to be asked to be a part of this month's Salon Today's Money Puzzle article. Salon Today asked a group of experts that examine every angle of your business to help you find, grow and save more money.

Please check it out: CLICK HERE

OBAMA ADMINISTRATION BACKS OFF PLANS TO REGULATE CHILD LABOR ON FARMS

(AP/KTIV.com) --  Last night, the AP reported that the Obama administration is dropping an effort to prevent children working on farms owned by anyone other than their parents.  "The Labor Department says it is withdrawing proposed rules that would ban children younger than 16 from using most power-driven equipment ... The rules also would prevent those younger than 18 from working in feed lots, grain bins and stockyards." 

To read more of this article: CLICK HERE

SENATE PANEL APPROVES FIVE-YEAR FARM BILL

(The Hill) -- TheHill.com reports, "The Senate Agriculture Committee on Thursday approved a new five-year farm bill over the objections of southern senators in a 16 to 5 final vote."  According to the story, "overall the bill cuts $24.7 billion in funding over ten years, according to the Congressional Budget Office. It eliminates traditional direct payment farm subsidies and creates new crop insurance plans to reduce risk to farmers."  The article also notes that "Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has committed to bringing the farm bill to the floor even if House leaders stall on it. ... The current farm bill runs out in September but opposition by fiscal conservatives in the House could stall action there."

To read more of this article: CLICK HERE

TAX FACTS

Here are some statistics to put the nation’s income tax system in perspective.

     ► 143 million tax returns were filed with the IRS in 2010, some of which represent households and married couples. 

     ► Only 85 million actually paid taxes out of the 143 million filers.  In other words, 58 million, or 41%, were non-payers.  96% of these non-payers made less than $50,000.

     ► The IRS paid out $105 billion in refundable credits to filers who paid no income tax.

     ► The effective tax rate for those making less than $50,000 was 3.5%, and their share of taxes paid was 6.7%.

     ► The effective tax rate for those making more than $50,000 was 14.1%, and their share of taxes paid was 93.3%.

     ► The effective tax rate for those making more than $250,000 was 23.4%, and their share of taxes paid was 45.7%.

     ► The IRS estimates that it takes more than 7 billion hours to comply with the tax code each year.

     ► The tax code is now 3.8 million words long.

CROP INSURANCE #1 PRIORITY

(Southeast Farm Press) -- SoutheastFarmPress.com reports, "U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, leaders of the U.S. Agriculture Crop Insurers Association and the directors of all U.S. grain associations agree that the single most critical part of the upcoming farm bill has to be crop insurance."  According to the story, high grain prices "have brought with them highest in history input costs, and risk associated with planting such a capital-intensive crop demands some sort of safety net."  Steve Rutledge, a spokesperson for crop insurance companies, noted that "crop insurance represented only 8% of the farm bill spending" and "one-tenth of 1% of overall government outlays" in the 2008 farm law.


To read the rest of the article: CLICK HERE

WE MADE IT

We finally made it to the  end of the 2012 tax season and due to our office changing software, I must say it has been a little more difficult than normal and all of the returns took a little longer than usual, but our team did a great job and our clients, as usual, gave us some grace.

I just want to take this time to say thanks to all of our readers for their questions during the season and our readership continues to grow each month and I look forward to my 41st tax season next year.

I will be traveling to New York City this weekend, speaking at the IBS show at the Jacob Jarvis Center and then meeting with some of our New York clients and some of our other distance clients that are in attendance.  My wife Maggie is going with me so there will be a little R&R between meetings.