Dorothy Philbin | CNBNews

Planning to fly?  You can now do it mask free, thank you to an 11th District Federal Court judge, centered in Florida.  On the evening news was a clip from inside a plane.  People’s cell phones were going off, masks were being torn off and people were applauding.  So, what happened?

The federal judge ruled, as other courts before, that the Center for Disease Control (CDC) only has the responsibility to advise the government and citizens.  It does not have the authority to make law, as it has been doing for the past two years.  The big difference in this case is that this was a federal decision.  The decision applies only to those areas within the lawsuit.  In this case, federal transportation – plane travel, TSA agents within airports, trains and buses because they are federally funded.  Only minutes after the decision was made public the following airlines announced that masks are now optional:  Alaska Airline, American, Delta, Frontier/Spirit (now merged,) Jet Blue, Southwest, and United.

Continue reading “The Story Behind The Story: Thank You, Florida” →

Dorothy Philbin | CNBNews

I recently read an article from the Philadelphia Inquirer; it was called “These Are Your Rights if the Police Knock at Your Door.”  Unfortunately, it offered a lot of advice from the ACLU (Americans Civil Liberties Union.)  That organization tends to be very anti-police and in favor of the individual’s right to speech.  I’m very much in favor of the First Amendment – tempered with common sense.

Please allow me to start with a personal narrative.  Early one morning there was a bang at my front door.  It wasn’t a tap.  It wasn’t a knock.  It was a bang.  I looked out the living room window and saw a man wearing camo with his hands around his eyes looking into the house.  This was strange but I still had to answer the door.

Continue reading “THE STORY BEHIND THE STORY: Your Rights if the Police Knock” →

Dorothy Philbin | CNBNews

I recently read an article from the Philadelphia Inquirer; it was called “These Are Your Rights if the Police Knock at Your Door.”  Unfortunately, it offered a lot of advice from the ACLU (Americans Civil Liberties Union.)  That organization tends to be very anti-police and in favor of the individual’s right to speech.  I’m very much in favor of the First Amendment – tempered with common sense.

Please allow me to start with a personal narrative.  Early one morning there was a bang at my front door.  It wasn’t a tap.  It wasn’t a knock.  It was a bang.  I looked out the living room window and saw a man wearing camo with his hands around his eyes looking into the house.  This was strange but I still had to answer the door.

Continue reading “THE STORY BEHIND THE STORY: Your Rights if the Police Knock” →

Dorothy Philbin | CNBNews 

Have you noticed how many appeals you see on television for $19 a month for this charity or $11 a month for another?  These commercials run so often that you might have to wonder how much $19 buy and is it enough to cover the cost of advertising?  Personally, I never understood it, so I had to do some research.

The reason for only $19 a month?  That only amounts to $228 per year.  Contributions of $250 or more per year generate files that must be kept for the IRS.  Even with that being true, something just doesn’t feel right.

Then I came across lawsuits against, of all charities, St. Jude’s Hospital for Children.  At first, I thought the complaints were ridiculous.  Despite all the free medical care, travel, housing, and meals people were complaining, people wanted more!  They complained that St. Jude wasn’t paying for their cell phones, rent at home, gas and electric bills, etc.  Free medical, which in many cases amounts to millions of dollars, wasn’t enough?

Continue reading “THE STORY BEHIND THE STORY: $19 a month charities – Part I” →

Dorothy Philbin | CNBNews

First:   If you choose/have chosen a paid tax preparer, pick a good one and not just the most convenient one.  About 20 years ago (give or take) one of the nation-wide tax preparing companies had an 80% error rate on itemized returns.  As a result the IRS now requires all paid preparers to be certified.  If you are paying someone to prepare your taxes, make sure s/he is certified. 

If you happen to choose someone who has a record of errors (innocent or not) with the IRS, expect an audit.  This is not a certainty but the odds are favorable that, if you itemize your deductions, you will hear from the tax man.

Continue reading “THE STORY BEHIND THE STORY: Friday is Tax Day so here is the last of my advice.” →

Dorothy |Philbin

The Internal Revenue Service has announced the triggers which will mark a taxpayer for audit.  Here they are:

1.  Those who itemize their deductions rather than taking the standard deduction.  Sometimes you don’t have a choice but don’t get carried away.  Keep it reasonable.

2.  Millionaires – there is so much there to audit but millionaires usually have very good accountants and lawyers.  My personal opinion is that millionaires are on the list just to make the rest of us feel better.

3.  Income does not match lifestyle – This usually applies to people who work in cash-oriented industries.  Hairdressers/barbers (especially those who work out of their homes,) food servers and bartenders all have a better chance of audit.  If the IRS sees someone living in Haddonfield, has a mortgage, and luxury cars but makes only minimum wage – expect an audit.

4.  No or negative net income (adjusted gross income) – let’s be real.  How could you have so many expenses or business losses that you have no money to live on?

5.  Earned Income Credit – this is an oldie but goodie.  It is an easy audit and the assignment is usually given to seasonal employees who has little training.  Most likely a letter will be sent and no personal trip to the IRS is necessary.

Continue reading “THE STORY BEHIND THE STORY: IRS Announces Audit Triggers” →

Dorothy Philbin | CNBNews Contributor

GLOUCESTER CITY, NJ-(March 29, 2022)–It looks as though we’re in for another municipal (city) tax increase.  Are we shocked?  I doubt it.  I found something, actually several somethings, that should shock every taxpayer, though.

I’m finishing work on my cousin’s estate and before closing it I thought I would check the state database for unclaimed property.  The good news is I found $68 I didn’t know I had and $2,100 I didn’t know my cousin had and then…I looked into Gloucester City.  Here is where we might be shocked and angry.  Why are our politicians talking about raising taxes when there are twenty-one unclaimed accounts for Gloucester City and/or various departments?  These accounts are old.  The asset, usually money, was abandoned by the owner of the account and after a few years, it is turned over to the state treasury.  The state tries to find the rightful owner and they really do try hard.  At least once a year all the names of people who have property were listed in local newspapers.  Today it is done on the internet which is available 24/7/365.

Continue reading “THE STORY BEHIND THE STORY: FOUND MONEY” →

Dorothy Philbin | CNBNews Contributor

A list was recently printed in businessinsider.com.  It gave the incomes needed to be considered “middle class” in each of the 50 states.  The range is very wide but the parameters consider a town such as Gloucester City to be lower middle class while Voorhees or Haddonfield are considered higher middle class.  Listed below are only a few states which stood out.  New Jersey?  For once we aren’t the most expensive state; we came in second.  The incomes listed below are for two people in a family.

Continue reading “THE STORY BEHIND THE STORY: Are You in the Middle Class?” →

Dorothy Philbin | CNBNews Contributor

There were recent articles in newspapers claiming that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) targets the poor for auditing far more often than the rich.  Is it true?  After what we’ve been through with the federal government over the past few years, I think anyone would say “yes.”

I’m sure most people have heard that the vast majority of auto accidents happen within five miles of home.  That is true, also.  These statistics, though true, come from a philosophy called “how to lie by statistics.”  I am in no way defending the Internal Revenue Service or the federal government as a whole.  My goal is only to explain the lying by statistics.

Continue reading “THE STORY BEHIND THE STORY : Does The IRS Target The Poor?” →

by Dorothy Philbin | CNBNewsnet Contributor

WASHINGTON, DC–I scanned an article this week but didn’t spend much time on it because I thought it was a joke.  I should have known better.  It’s the government!

There are a lot of problems that our government should be working on – inflation, gas prices, war in Ukraine, the border crisis.  These are all very important.  They affect all of us every day.  So, what is our Congress going to work on this week?  Hair Discrimination!  Yes, you read that correctly, Hair Discrimination.

Continue reading “The Story Behind The Story: Congress and Hair Discrimination” →