All Posts Tagged With: "tax"
FHA Mortgage Insurance Premium To Rise In 2012
Borrowers will pay more to get an FHA loan in 2012. The much-heralded payroll tax cut worked out by Congress will also raise the cost of an FHA mortgage by at least .2 percent and probably more in 2012. Think of it as a back-door tax increase. While the public was watching the payroll debate [...]
3Jan2012 | Peter G. Miller | 1 comment | Continued
Who Pays Foreclosure Property Taxes?
When you purchase a foreclosed property, are you responsible for back taxes? The general answer largely depends on when you buy the property. “If the property was foreclosed and possessed by the bank, the bank will have to pay the back taxes to sell the property with clear title,” says RealtyTrac spokesman Daren Blomquist. “However, [...]
8Nov2011 | Peter G. Miller | 0 comments | Continued
Standard & Poors Drops US Credit Rating
The credit rating of the United States of America has been reduced from AAA to AA+ by the Standard & Poors rating agency. In an historic development the willingness of the United States government to fulfill financial obligations has been called into question by a major ratings agency due to “political risks” and a “rising [...]
5Aug2011 | Peter G. Miller | 0 comments | Continued
Pawlenty Proposal: Worst American Tax Plan Ever
There’s finally a serious Republican tax proposal on the table, and it’s a plan which deserves consideration. The Nation, of course, now has a massive budget deficit. Not since four straight years of surplus under Bill Clinton has the government broken even much less had a few spare dollars. Under President George W. Bush the [...]
13Jun2011 | Peter G. Miller | 0 comments | Continued
How To RAISE Social Security Benefits Now
Social Security is much in the news with claims that it’s going bankrupt and cries that benefits must be cut. But that isn’t the case, in fact if everyone simply paid their fair share of the costs — if bosses paid as much of their income as their workers — benefits could be maintained or [...]
5Apr2011 | Peter G. Miller | 19 comments | Continued
Time Winding Down for First-Time Military Borrowers To Get Tax Credits
The government’s landmark tax credit program for first-time home buyers is starting to drift back in focus again as tax day approaches. The unique $8,000 credit for new buyers and $6,500 credit for existing homeowners helped inject stability into the slumping housing market during 2010. Consumers and some industry observers have pushed for a renewal [...]
3Mar2011 | Chris Birk | 0 comments | Continued
US home values fall $9 trillion since 2006, says Zillow
American real estate, a traditional bastion of household wealth for the middle class, has lost $9 trillion in equity since 2006 according to the real estate marketing site Zillow.com. Zillow reports that US homeowners lost $1 trillion in 2009 and it expects that losses will total $1.7 trillion in 2010. Specifically, Zillow estimates that values [...]
9Dec2010 | Peter G. Miller | 0 comments | Continued
1 Million First-Time Home Buyers To Owe IRS
More than a million first-time home buyers are likely to get unfriendly letters from the IRS, brief little notices from Uncle Sam which say we want our money back. A report by the Treasury Department’s Inspector General for Tax Administration shows that nearly 1.8 million taxpayers filed claims under the government’s First-time Homebuyer Tax Credit [...]
15Sep2010 | Peter G. Miller | 0 comments | Continued
Labor Day, Mortgages & Real Estate
Today we celebrate Labor Day but we don’t celebrate labor. We’re quickly dividing the country into rich and poor and shrinking the middle class. It’s a formula for national disaster. It used to be that a basic American value was a fair day’s wages for a fair day’s work. Over time this standard has been [...]
6Sep2010 | Peter G. Miller | 1 comment | Continued
Should We Tax Our Vets?
The IRS has created an excellent Web page — Tax Information for Members of the U.S. Armed Forces — which explains tax issues for those now on active duty. There are a huge number of rules, most of which greatly benefit those now fighting overseas. But when you look at the forms, deductions, exceptions, alternatives, [...]
4Jun2010 | Peter G. Miller | 0 comments | Continued
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