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As the economy continues to improve, and the housing market gets back to normal, hopefully there will be fewer and fewer homeowners who will find themselves so far underwater with their mortgages that they need to do something drastic or risk losing their houses. One of the least extreme actions for a homeowner who wants [...]

In addition to all of the regular tax credits and exemptions that are available for ordinary U.S. taxpayers, military personnel are entitled to a number of special benefits that apply solely to them. Many people are not aware of these benefits, so it’s important to become familiar with them in order to get every tax [...]

You might not have the kind of money that the rich (and perhaps famous) have, but there are some strategies that they employ on a regular basis to avoid paying taxes, and maybe you can use some of them yourself. Get cash for your stocks without selling them OK, so you have a million dollars [...]

Lest you be concerned that the IRS is spending all its time discriminating against various political entities, rest assured that the agency is doing its job by also catching a number of people who are cheating on their taxes. In fact, here’s a round-up of some of the most outrageous cheaters that were prosecuted successfully [...]

Just a few days ago, a video started making its rounds of the internet, demonstrating exactly how little the American people seem to know about their own history (you can watch it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRkFDcX_72c). Many don’t know from which country we declared our independence, and when the Declaration of Independence was signed. Activist and author [...]

The California Franchise Tax Board infuriated thousands of small business owners earlier this year when it sent out letters informing them that they owed four years’ worth of taxes due to a recent decision of the state’s Supreme Court. The court struck down a 20-year-old tax break as unconstitutional, and the FTB then felt obliged [...]

If you are about to launch your own small business, or maybe even if you have been in business for a while, you may be considering your business structure. There are a lot of options, and all offer particular advantages and disadvantages. If you’ve moved beyond the status of being a sole proprietor or maybe [...]

Thirty-five years ago, in 1978, California started the property tax revolution by voting in a constitutional amendment that limited property taxes to 1% of the property’s assessed value, and that limited annual increases to 2%, regardless of the increase in assessed value. The amendment came about because of several ongoing situations. First, Ronald Reagan as [...]

Aside from the incredible convenience and generally competitive prices, one of the best things about shopping at Amazon and other internet retailers has been the lack of sales tax assessed on your purchases. Of course, just because the retailer or website doesn’t collect a sales tax doesn’t mean that there is not one due. In [...]

With the beginning of summer, a lot of people start thinking about taking a vacation. And the best kind of vacation is one where you can get someone else to pick up the tab. The second-best is the kind when someone else pays for at least part of the expense. If you can manage to [...]