WASHINGTON — More than 15 million taxpayers may owe the government $250 or more because of how the IRS last spring set up President Barack Obama's tax break that was designed to help consumers spend the U.S. economy out of recession. ...more

November 16, 2009

President Obama's proposal to limit the tax deductibility of charitable contributions would effectively transfer more than $7 billion a year from the nation's charitable institutions to the federal government. But the high-income taxpayers affected by the rule change are likely to cut their charitable giving by as much as the increase in their tax bills, which would, ironically, leave their remaining income and personal consumption unchanged. ...more

March 29, 2009

President Barack Obama's proposal to limit the tax deductibility of charitable contributions would effectively transfer more than $7 billion a year from the nation's charitable institutions to the federal government. But the high-income taxpayers affected by the rule change are likely to cut their charitable giving by as much as the increase in their tax bills, which would, ironically, leave their remaining income and personal consumption unchanged. ...more

March 29, 2009

The government's new stimulus plan offers tax breaks that will help millions of taxpayers when they do their 2009 returns next year. ...more

March 6, 2009

Mary Ritchie, a Massachusetts State Police trooper, has been married for almost five years and has two children. But when she files her federal income tax return, she's not allowed to check the "married filing jointly" box. That's because Ritchie and her spouse, Kathleen Bush, are a gay couple, and the federal Defense of Marriage Act makes them ineligible to file joint tax returns. Now Ritchie, Bush and more than a dozen others are suing the federal government, claiming the act discriminates against gay couples and is unconstitutional because it denies them access to federal benefits that other married couples receive, such as pensions and health insurance. Plaintiffs also include Dean Hara, the widower of former U.S. Rep. Gerry Studds, the first openly gay member of the House of Representatives. ...more

March 3, 2009

Last week, President Obama signed the biggest government economic rescue plan in history, a $787 billion package of spending, tax cuts and tax credits. ...more

March 2, 2009

Travis the chimpanzee's relationship with his owner was closer than those of some married couples. ...more

February 19, 2009

A comparison of the $827 billion economic recovery plan drafted by Senate Democrats and moderate Republicans with an $820 billion version passed by the House. Additional debt costs would add about $350 billion or more over 10 years. Many provisions expire in two years. ...more

February 7, 2009

A motion to consider extending health care coverage to unmarried partners of Hillsborough County employees was defeated by a 5-2 vote of county commissioners. ...more

January 22, 2009

I think that judges and lawyers could arrange a "partners-in-law" joining of gay individuals so they could be united but not truly married, for marriage in part is a religious as well as a legal joining and there is no religion in a same-sex union. ...more

December 11, 2008