Tax
”Samsung Chairman Resigns Amidst Scandal Storm
Samsung Group Chairman Lee Kun-hee has resigned today after the $113 million tax evasion scandal investigated in a special prosecution probe, which has finally led to formal charges, but no arrests. Kun-hee apologized deeply, taking full responsibility. Other members of the board are resigning too. We can only hope that the Samsung product shot ninja bombshells are staying. [AP]Question of the Day: Will You Spend Your Tax Refund On Gadgets?
The economy is going down the toilet, so you get to stick your hand in Uncle Sam's pockets to "stimulate growth." America needs you to go out and spend, spend spend! So the question is will you heed the call? Will you be a patriotic consumer and rush out to buy a gadget you have your eyes on, will you piddle it away on a non-gadget related item, or will you save it like a wuss? More »No More Tax Free Online Purchases For New York With New "Amazon Tax" Bill
In case living in New York wasn't already expensive enough, state lawmakers passed the "Amazon Tax" bill this week, which will require online retailers to collect sales taxes on purchases shipped to the state, even when they don't have physical operations there. More »
uncle sam
Senate Passes Seven-Year Extension of Net Access Tax Ban
Showing the House who's in the lower chamber of the bicameral setup, the Senate passed a seven-year extension on the net tax ban, three years longer than the four-year ban that passed the House. Better deal for us, right? Well, since they didn't match up exactly, they'll have to work together to hammer out the differences, hopefully before the current moratorium goes rotten on Nov. 1. Republicans continued to advocate for a permanent ban, but apparently Dems blocked a vote on it. Boooo taxes. [Yahoo!/Reuters]
uncle sam
House Judiciary Votes to Extend Ban on Net Access Tax by Four More Years
The ban on taxing your intertube access is set to drop dead next month, but signs are looking decent it's taxation you won't have to worry about for at least another few years—the House Judiciary Committee voted 38 to zip passing an amendment to the Internet Tax Freedom Act that stretches the tax-freeness out another four years. More »
feature
Frankenfight: Best Tax Software
It's that time of the year again. No, we're not referring to tax season—we actually mean it's that time when you've officially stopped feeling guilty for backing out on any and all New Year's resolutions. But it just so happens that this glorious tradition lines up with our tax season procrastination. More »
cellphones
Gov't Offers Compensation for 108-Year-Old Phone Tax
This is a reminder for you folks beginning work on those dreaded taxes. If you recall, nearly a year ago, I told you about the "federal excise tax." This was a tax that Teddy Roosevelt implemented on telephone usage that was still being assessed as of late. The initial purpose of the tax was to help fund the Spanish-American War (which has been over for a while, if I recall). More »
gadgets
Vulocity Mileage Logger Keeps Track of You for Good or Ill
For those who save big tax bucks writing off mileage, sometimes keeping all those paper records of how many miles you've traveled is a huge pain in the ass. Vulocity Mileage Logger takes care of that for you with the flip of a switch. Using GPS, it keeps track of your location and counts the miles, and then sends that info via wireless data network to its servers. Then, you can download your travel records from anywhere. More »
home entertainment
New Jersey Taxing Downloaded Music and Video
Thanks to its $4.5 billion budget deficit, New Jersey's just instituted a 7% tax for online purchases and downloads of music and videos. For you, that means iTunes, Napster, and other stores are going to be a bit more expensive. More »
home entertainment
Time Warner Talks With Networks About "Hits Channel"
If you're stuck with Time Warner Cable, as many of us unfortunate souls are, things might be looking a little better, where the cable giant is negotiating with the four major U.S. TV networks to create a "Hits Channel" that could serve as your own semi-personal video recorder. The proposal has Time Warner Cable charging you $10 for the privilege of instantly playing back any of the 20 highest-rated television shows immediately after they air and into the next day. More »
cellphones








