Weekly Digest – March 31, 2023
A week of sunrises and a shout out about my pod cast interview with Marielle Segarra and her team who produce Life Kit for NPR. I love how they were able to take some very complicated issues and create a segment that was so concise and understandable. Here’s the link to the segment…
and now for a week of sunrises, with a sunset and a sunrise omelet substitute tucked in…
I was out on long island early Sunday morning, so here’s a photo of the healthy “sunrise omelet” I cooked and had with my coffee after I returned home delicious (spinach, mushrooms, tomatoes, peppers)…
Ok now, who’s planning to visit me for a walk on the beach and some photo ops? I am hoping you have great plans for the weekend and the upcoming holidays (I am “dreaming” about my friend Lois’ matzo ball soup).
WEEKLY TAKE AWAY
IT professionals consistently recommend three critical things for small businesses and those of you who store personal data on your computers: data back-up systems, battery back-up, secure firewalls. Our office systems were set up and continue to be maintained and monitored by our amazing and responsive IT firm JRD Technical Associates and yes I am grateful. Yesterday morning the power went out as I was just finalizing a tax return review and update. There I was in the pitch dark but my computer was still on as was my server. First I thought, oh great a vacation day at the height of tax season then I saved my work and shut down my computer. Our server battery back-up is so powerful that it never shut down. The power came on about an hour later, and I took advantage to take a walk on the beach and relax a bit. As an aside our IT firm tests our data back-up system, and I am happy to say it worked perfectly back in October 2012 when our office was destroyed by hurricane Sandy!.
I am hoping you have a great IT team supporting you too.
TAX ISSUES/TAX PLANNING
IRS Warns Against Shady Tax Preparers in the Annual ‘Dirty Dozen’ Campaign
The IRS warns taxpayers to be cautious of unscrupulous tax return preparers and provides tips to identify trustworthy professionals. The Dirty Dozen campaign lists 12 common scams and schemes that put taxpayers and the tax professional community at risk of losing money, personal information, and data.
There’s Still Time to Contribute to Your 2022 IRA
Reminder if you are planning to make a contribution to your 2022 traditional or ROTH IRA, you still have until April 18th as well. Please be sure to indicate the tax year as 2022 when submitting the documents and payment to your broker or banker. As always we recommend that you check with your accountant before submitting your paperwork to see if you are eligible and what the tax benefits would be.
Consider Making a Back Door ROTH IRA Contribution
For those of you who are not eligible to make a direct contribution to a traditional or ROTH IRA, consider slipping through the back door. There may be no tax consequences, as long as your traditional IRA contribution is non-deductible and you have no other funds in the IRA account. Always consult your tax professional and make sure to follow through with the full plan: contribute, wait a bit, roll. Remember if the traditional IRA account was funded with tax-deductible contributions the amount rolled will be subject to tax.
FBAR Filing Deadline April 15th
The IRS reminds US citizens, resident aliens, and any domestic legal entity that the deadline to file their annual Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR) is April 15. Lucky for us tax professionals this filing requirement is also able to be extended. Learn more about filing deadlines on the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network’s (FinCEN) website.
ECONOMY/BANKING
“US Banking System is Sound and Resilient”
Vice chair of the Federal Reserve Michael Barr said on CNBC this week that we have no need to worry about our banking system in the wake of Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse.
First Citizens Bank to Buy $72 Billion of Silicon Valley Bank Assets
First Citizens Bank will acquire $72 billion in assets from the recently collapsed Silicon Valley Bank, resulting in a 47% rise in First Citizens Bank shares. The deal includes 17 former Silicon Valley Bank branches, which opened their doors as First Citizens Bank branches on Monday. Smart move with government assistance and deep discount.
Warnings from Economists About the Link Between Commercial Property and Small Banks
Commercial real estate is highly connected to small and mid-tier banks in the US, with smaller banks making up 70% of outstanding loans to the sector, according to Capital Economics. A pullback in lending could cause downward pressure on capital values.
The Best Interest Rates are Being Offered by Online Banks
The Federal Reserve’s decision to increase its key interest rate for the ninth time since March last year has brought welcome news for savers seeking higher yields on their money, with returns on savings accounts and CDs at their best in 15 years. The big banks are offering the lowest interest rates overall.
Crypto Prices Drop as CFTC Sues Binance for Violating Trading Rules
On Monday, the biggest crypto exchange in the world, Binance, was sued by the CFTC for violating trading rules, leading to a 3% drop in bitcoin and ether prices to $27,001.05 and $1,708.73 respectively.
GENERAL RESOURCES
- IRS resources for stimulus payments:
- Use the Get My Payment tool to check on EIP payment status
- Eligibility and general information about Economic Impact Payments
- A list of frequently asked questions for stimulus payments
- IRS information about the Advance Child Tax Credit Payments
- Portal to update information
- A list of frequently asked questions on the advance Child Tax Credit Payments
- The best source for up-to-date and accurate health information is the Center for Disease Control (CDC)
- Our prior blog posts, videos and prior weekly newsletters
- Entrepreneur put together a listing of free tech resources for remote work
- The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has warnings about COVID-related scams
- The New York Times has an online newsletter on K-12 and higher education
- The Wall Street Journal has a collection of articles on education
- The Louvre has digitized 482,000 artworks from its collection
- How to create a strong password
We sincerely hope that you and your family are well and remain well. If you have any questions or concerns, don’t hesitate to reach out to us. We are here for you.
If you need help with your accounting, want to create a tax minimization plan, want to discuss your business growth plan or your finances, are concerned about retirement goals or need to be held accountable for your 90 day action plan, contact us for a complimentary discovery session or an appointment to just get started.
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