[meteorite-list] NASA/SETI missed opportunity + OT: tax strategy

From: Jim Wooddell <jimwooddell_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Sat, 3 Nov 2012 04:41:09 -0700
Message-ID: <CAH_zgwHOsmceGcnu+oBWdn+MceX3owR0sKY5byu4Oa7bzhM1dg_at_mail.gmail.com>

My take on taxes:

I take every legal advantage to avoid paying taxes that I can.
I feel that's every Americans responsibility to do so.

In regards to small business...hobby business, the IRS has some real good
information available as to what is writeable or not. It is perfectly
acceptable to
write off mileage, office equipment and supplies as well as home office space.

All of this sort of stuff applies to hunter/dealers that are in the
hobby business of selling
meteorites.

Where the red flags begin to appear is when said business is writing
off more than they make.

Don't be intimidate by an audit. Be there, done that. If you are
honest, there are no worries!

Also fyi.... while we all pay intra state tax, inter state tax is
tightening up. Legally, if you sell and
ship something out of state, you are liable for the tax. Most do not
pay this, but it's on the books in many
states...AZ being one of them.

Jim Wooddell




On Fri, Nov 2, 2012 at 4:34 PM, Matson, Robert D.
<ROBERT.D.MATSON at saic.com> wrote:
> Airship = publicity
>
> I don't think taxpayers are on the hook for any measureable amount of
> revenue spent on that "joy trip". Is it scientifically useful?
> Absolutely
> not. Is it cool to get to fly around in an airship? Sure -- it's
> fabulous! (I've had the pleasure of doing so in a LEGITIMATE work
> capacity many years ago.)
>
> That said, like Bob Verish I believe NASA/SETI missed an opportunity
> for public outreach in their zeppelin flight: they should have taken
> out newspaper/TV/radio ads warning people in advance that live under
> the ground track that an airship was going to be flying overhead on a
> such and such a day. If anyone saw the airship high above their horizon,
> then *THEY* were in the strewn field!
>
> OT: Mike, on your question to Adam about tax strategies, you asked:
>
> "Adam, are you taking full advantage of your allowed deductions? For
> example, if you have an area in your home that dedicated to your
> business, you can deduct tax burden based on the square footage of the
> home office. They actually assign a dollar value to each square foot
> of your office, so take advantage of that."
>
> While legally true, this is a VERY BAD idea if the tax savings you
> are talking about are no more than a few thousand dollars. It is a
> major red flag for IRS auditors, so if you decide to claim home use
> as a business, the rest of your tax return better be squeaky clean.
> In most instances, the tax savings are not worth the risk of an
> audit.
>
> Best,
> Rob
>
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-- 
Jim Wooddell
jimwooddell at gmail.com
928-247-2675

Received on Sat 03 Nov 2012 07:41:09 AM PDT