Do you think anyone in their right mind would agree with this?  Because the Lakers have Kobe Bryant or because the Cavs have Lebron James, they should only be allowed to play with 4?  I think most people would agree that it was a lame concept.  Why then do we tolerate similar policy and rhetoric about [...]

We like golf because the game is fair – if you don’t play well, you don’t make any money.  Hedge funds are like golf players. 
We’ve seen recently that politicians don’t understand the hedge fund industry. They have tried to characterize this vital source of capital as structures used by the rich to hide wealth [...]

While gathering up all my W-2s for taxes this year, I was sickened by the amount of money I paid into FICA.  I look ahead at my potential annual salary I’ll be making when I graduate and am sickened even more.  My purchasing power is hurt by the amount I am forced to put into [...]

President Obama submitted his proposed budget last week.  Since then, we have had many clients at work calling and asking how it’s going to affect them.  I started researching through the hazy details and these are some of the things I have found:

Taxes are going up one way or another on people in the 33% tax [...]

Those who live in California, and many who live outside of the state, have undoubtedly heard the debates over the open budget.  In short, while California tax revenues have increased a lot over the past decade from a growing economy, California government spending has increased at a faster pace.  With the current economy, tax revenues are [...]

The stimulus bill is more expensive than the Iraq and Afghanistan war combined. 
“As a nation, we got into this mess by spending and investing money that didn’t exist. We won’t get out of it by doing more of the same.”  Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK).  That is why it is called a bubble.  There’s nothing of [...]

The day has finally arrived and it couldn’t have come soon enough.  While I may prefer another candidates political ideology, the awkward period between the election and inauguration made it difficult for any progress on any topic.  I wish President Obama the best and hope him success.  Here is my wish list in no particular [...]

I live in California and all I have heard about over the past few months is the budget crisis.  And rightly so; CA is in a huge budget crisis.  A couple of months ago, there was an projected deficit and after numerous threats by everyone involved, they finally passed a budget that would not increase [...]

Did you know you can elect out of California state disability insurance?  When I set up a new entity for a company here at work, my boss told me not to forget to elect out of CA SDI.  I was blown away and asked him how someone could just elect out of paying a tax.  [...]

I am a tax accountant and prepare tax returns and financial statements for numerous businesses and individuals.  Our clients work extremely hard and employ a lot of people, creating a lot of wealth.  Some make enormous amounts of money and others earn a modest living.
On Wednesday I prepared a couple’s tax return for 2007 who are in the [...]