Donate to Help Haiti Today – Get Immediate Tax Deduction on 2009 Tax Return

A few days ago in a email news item I made reference to the fact that the natural disaster that occurred in Haiti is now a qualified disaster according to the IRS (http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=218615,00.html).

And I mentioned in that email, the IRS was rumoring that people would be able to take a deduction for contributions to Haiti on this year’s (2009) tax return – instead of having to wait until you file your 2010 tax return. Certainly this would be a huge reason to donate for people who desired to give a part of their wealth to the people of Haiti to help them get back on their feet! Are you feeling the pressure of today’s taxes? Right now you can get $100 off your tax return for Cary NC Tax Preparation needs!

Well, the rumors I heard and that you could have heard are TRUE! On January 22nd, the IRS adopted a special tax relief provision that allows donations for the Haiti disaster made after January 11, 2010 and prior to March 1, 2010, will be deducted on your 2009 tax return. Or, you can choose to put the deduction on your 2010 tax return instead, just in case you didn’t want to take advantage of this wonderful incentive to assist those in need.

The inhabitants of Haiti are hurting quite a bit. These kinds of disasters cannot be avoided, and are well, devastating. Earthquakes and other forms of environmental disaster create vast levels of carnage and widespread loss of homes. Entire families are without food or clean water. In many cases these families do not even have the capability to acquire any level of stable living environment without the help of other countries’ efforts (funded by donators like you!). Do your part right now and donate whatever you can to help the people of Haiti. I would certainly appreciate the extended effort, and I am positive all of the struggling people in Haiti would appreciate it to!

Stay tuned for more articles and information regarding tax season, taxes, and Haiti!

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A Brief Timeline of Taxation of the United States, Chapter 2

W. Marc Gilfillan, CPA, NC, individual and business CPA and Tax expert, shares about the history of taxes…

1861 – After Lincoln was put in office, southerners walk out on Congress and create the Confederate States of America with a rewritten constitution to curtail the right of their new government to tax.

1862 – The beginning of US income taxes is levied to assist the financing of the rising massive debts of the Civil War. If you are feeling the pressure with today’s taxes, call a CPA for Tax Preparation in Raleigh, NC for all your tax-related needs!

1872 – The income tax is abolished.

1894 – Congress creates an income tax as a result of southerners complaining that excessive reliance on tariffs pushes up the costs of imported goods for farmers and consumers. Go here if you want help from a modern-day CPA firm in Raleigh, NC.

1895 – The US Supreme Court susta‌ins the idea that the 1894 income tax law conflicts with the US Constitution’s bars on levying direct tax.

1913 – The 16th Amendment is passed and takes that bar away and Congress establishes an income tax system.

1917 – World War I financial needs bump up taxes, with the maximum rate jumping to 77% in 1918.

1924 – Publicating the names of taxpayers and how much they owe fails to complete the goal of enforcing paying the taxes and the practice is dropped.

1942 – Before World War II, the lowest income level for paying income tax excluded most wage earners. But the cost of the war pushed the threshold down the income ladder and put the top rate to 94% before the war was over.

1943 – In order to enforce compliance from the sharply increased number of taxpayers, Congress creates tax withholding from wages, which basically turned employers into tax collectors.

In the 1940s Justice Jackson of the Supreme Court, former chief counsel of IRS, gloated about how law-abiding Americans were in reporting their income taxes. The system was based on the user’s honesty – there were only a few informational returns. Tax resisters were few and the black market was relatively small.

1962 – IRS Commissioner Caplin said “no other nation in the world has ever equaled this record of voluntary compliance. It is a tribute to our people, their tradition of honesty, and their high sense of responsibility in supporting our government.”

1982 – Chief Justice Neely said – “cheating on federal and state income tax is all pervasive in all classes of society; except among the compulsively honest, cheating usually occurs in direct proportion to opportunity.”

Stay tuned for Part 3 of the Timeline of US Tax Policy!

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