How’s the stock market?

[racer1]

My wife got two letters from the IRS last week and a number to call. It was about payments through PayPal and Square. When she called the number she asked what needed to be done and the lady who answered asked her about the payments (some for $5k+) and my wife explained they were for marketing services and asked what we needed to do. They IRS person asked how we claimed them on our fillings from 2018 and 2019, then asked what what forms we filled for both PayPal and Square (1099-K’s). Then asked us to add and addendum to those fillings. Ok we will do that, what more do we need to pay we ask? IRS person says you can either file addendums or just pay the additional taxes. This is like 20 minutes on the phone. we say we’ll just pay, what do we owe? She says I can send you a letter saying what you owe.

WTF. If you know what I owe before sending me the letters (and she knew my answers to all her own questions), then why don’t you just tell me what we owe from the beginning? You can see everybody who files payments to me, just tell me what I owe or have that number that I owe and let me file from there with my deductions.

 

[vanrysss]

If the IRS already knows what I owe in taxes why do I have to spend all of this time trying to figure it out myself? (I still haven't filed my 2021 taxes)

 

[r32]

If the IRS already knows what I owe in taxes why do I have to spend all of this time trying to figure it out myself? (I still haven't filed my 2021 taxes)

That's exactly what Warren said in the meeting when she was grilling Yellen. Warren wants a system where IRS provides us with a tax form showing what we owe. We can check the box to 'agree' to what IRS is reporting and be done with our taxes. Or option 2, we can do our taxes on our own.

 

[racer1]

Every time we answered her questions, she’s like oh yeah I see that. Why are you asking me then?!?/!/

 

[sussle]

Yellen has been paid millions by major investment / capital firms for speaking engagements. She in the backpocket of the big firms.

Yellen Earned $7.2 Million In Speaking Fees Over Last Two Years

She gave speeches to dozens of companies including Citi, Credit Suisse and Salesforce.

www.forbes.com

yeah but not necessarily the big tax prep firms (intuit/MS, HR Block etc). no doubt there are some back door pressure that are not visible - that issue has been bouncing around for a long time

Inside TurboTax’s 20-Year Fight to Stop Americans From Filing Their Taxes for Free

Using lobbying, the revolving door and “dark pattern” customer tricks, Intuit fended off the government’s attempts to make tax filing free and easy, and created its multi-billion-dollar franchise.

www.propublica.org

another fine example of American exceptionalism - most industrialized countries don't put it's citizens thru the filing wringer.

 

[afoaf]

That's exactly what Warren said in the meeting when she was grilling Yellen. Warren wants a system where IRS provides us with a tax form showing what we owe. We can check the box to 'agree' to what IRS is reporting and be done with our taxes. Or option 2, we can do our taxes on our own.

you can thank Intuit and the rest of the lobbyists for this dumbfk system

it's totally idiotic

I just had to amend 2020 filing due to error on the part of my broker....IRS sent me some numbers, I paid everything except the penalty and interest portions and they were like "cool. peas out, bru"

 

[grapedrink]

you can thank Intuit and the rest of the lobbyists for this dumbfk system

it's totally idiotic

I just had to amend 2020 filing due to error on the part of my broker....IRS sent me some numbers, I paid everything except the penalty and interest portions and they were like "cool. peas out, bru"

I filled out the education deduction/lifetime learning credit form for my wife’s MA tuition at CSU. Thing was absurdly complicated and basically a circular reference where you fill out the most of the form, then take the value from the bottom of the 2nd page and plug it back into the top of the first page- WTF

 

[PRCD]

That's exactly what Warren said in the meeting when she was grilling Yellen. Warren wants a system where IRS provides us with a tax form showing what we owe. We can check the box to 'agree' to what IRS is reporting and be done with our taxes. Or option 2, we can do our taxes on our own.

All of that is staged like WWE. Yellen is the heel, Warren is the baby face, the public is the mark. Warren knows well why the tax code and IRS forms are so complicated- she’s part of the reason why.

 

[PRCD]

Every time we answered her questions, she’s like oh yeah I see that. Why are you asking me then?!?/!/

To see if you’re going to try to lie to her.

 

[brukuns]

Soooooo... recession postponed until after the midterms?

 

[npsp]

you can thank Intuit and the rest of the lobbyists for this dumbfk system

it's totally idiotic

I just had to amend 2020 filing due to error on the part of my broker....IRS sent me some numbers, I paid everything except the penalty and interest portions and they were like "cool. peas out, bru"

So idiotic.
Good old Ross Perot and Steve Forbes had it right with promoting a flat individual and corporate income tax.

 

[casa_mugrienta]

All of that is staged like WWE. Yellen is the heel, Warren is the baby face, the public is the mark. Warren knows well why the tax code and IRS forms are so complicated- she’s part of the reason why.

Correct.

Simplifying the tax code would mean downsizing the IRS, not to mention downsizing the number of tax lawyers.

Nobody in Washington wants that.

 

[grapedrink]

Correct.

Simplifying the tax code would mean downsizing the IRS, not to mention downsizing the number of tax lawyers.

Nobody in Washington wants that.

Which is why Dems and Republicans are united in their disdain for libertarians- because it attempts to downsize the very system that justifies their existence.

 

[PRCD]

Soooooo... recession postponed until after the midterms?

Haha how dare you suggest that the US is a very serious country.

 

[hammies]

They greatly simplified the tax code in the late 80s, back when Dems and Repubs could work together. Slowly the code got bloated again and now there is no way the Congress could work together to fix it.

 

[Senor Sopa]

If the IRS already knows what I owe in taxes why do I have to spend all of this time trying to figure it out myself? (I still haven't filed my 2021 taxes)

It's an intelligence test. We have a bunch of dividend stonks. Inevitably, some of the forms get lost. The IRS is more than happy to ding me for not declaring 127$ from dividends.

I agree, if they know so much, why the F am I filling out the forms. They should just send me a bill and it's my option to dispute it.

 

[Senor Sopa]

I need some good stoke tips

Read this article, https://rapport.bio/all-stories/the-way-through-the-biotech-downturn

Basically, the point is that many companies are trading below book value. Some of these firms suck, and are never going to make it. Close the company and return value back to the investors.

Point 2, there are too many stocks, some need to be culled. Companies at low valuations are going to get squeezed. The burn rate to cash ratio is not appealing to reluctant investors at this time, causing further price declines. We're talkin bout corporate raider 80's and 90's style buy and close actions.

FTA
The problem is when a company’s valuation drops to such a low point that the amount it will need to raise is a large amount relative to what investors already hold. A $1B market cap company burning $100M/year that wants to raise two years of cash is only asking its shareholders, who collectively own nearly $1B (whatever employees don’t own) to come up with 20% more to support their value proposition. But a $100M market cap company burning $100M/year would need to ask its shareholders to triple down.
...
However, the problem with our dataset is that, historically, there have been very few cases of companies trading down to levels where they had a very high burn-to-market cap ratio absent a clear R&D failure as the cause. But today, we have a fairly large number of companies burning more than their entire valuation, many of whom might feel like they haven’t really deviated from their R&D premise and have the same probability of success as before.

As of this writing, out of 477 development-stage public biotech companies, there are 52 whose annual burn exceeds their market cap, of which we estimate 22 will need to raise in 2022.
...
The lower a company’s valuation, the smaller the position that company represents in the portfolios of its shareholders, therefore the lower a priority it may be for them, and therefore the smaller the supportive “fan-base” the company may have when it seeks more funding.
...
Those companies that can’t exit their spiral might cross down into valuation ranges that attract a different kind of shareholder: those seeking a return of cash, some of whom are willing to agitate actively to get it.
...
The stock charts of hundreds of public biotechnology companies show them to be at various points along this progression, with the pain of each company reinforcing the risks for others because of how their fates interact within investor portfolios.

...
The markets are creating a forcing function whereby the limited supply of cash is making investors choose the companies that they believe stand the best chance of surviving this downturn … and also generating a return.


The Investor Relations firm my wife works at, this is all they are talking about.

 

[Mr Doof]

Every time we answered her questions, she’s like oh yeah I see that. Why are you asking me then?!?/!/

To see if you’re going to try to lie to her.

I don't know about that.

Would guess they are making the call while going through their documentation at the same time. To me that is a sub-optimal way to do things, but maybe speedier?

You may have a very high opinion on the brains of an IRS worker.

Correct.

Simplifying the tax code would mean downsizing the IRS, not to mention downsizing the number of tax lawyers.

Nobody in Washington wants that.

That is because those who income depends on the system are the ones who tend to vote the most. Can't tick off the people (and money) who get you elected.

If more people voted.......

They greatly simplified the tax code in the late 80s, back when Dems and Repubs could work together. Slowly the code got bloated again and now there is no way the Congress could work together to fix it.

When I get promoted to god-emperor, I will be simplifying the tax code. A more predictable outcome from a simpler system would probably bring in more $ with much less hassle....win-win. Heck, I think I wouldn't mind paying an extra $10-$20 if I could cut my effort.

 

[casa_mugrienta]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1534583446818914304

 

[r32]

Consumer Price Index Summary - 2024 M03 Results

www.bls.gov

CONSUMER PRICE INDEX - MAY 2022

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 1.0 percent in May on a
seasonally adjusted basis after rising 0.3 percent in April, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
reported today. Over the last 12 months, the all items index increased 8.6 percent before
seasonal adjustment.

The increase was broad-based, with the indexes for shelter, gasoline, and food being the largest
contributors. After declining in April, the energy index rose 3.9 percent over the month with the
gasoline index rising 4.1 percent and the other major component indexes also increasing. The food
index rose 1.2 percent in May as the food at home index increased 1.4 percent.

The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.6 percent in May, the same increase as in
April. While almost all major components increased over the month, the largest contributors were
the indexes for shelter, airline fares, used cars and trucks, and new vehicles. The indexes for
medical care, household furnishings and operations, recreation, and apparel also increased in May.

The all items index increased 8.6 percent for the 12 months ending May, the largest 12-month
increase since the period ending December 1981. The all items less food and energy index rose
6.0 percent over the last 12 months. The energy index rose 34.6 percent over the last year, the
largest 12-month increase since the period ending September 2005. The food index increased 10.1
percent for the 12-months ending May, the first increase of 10 percent or more since the period
ending March 1981.