1. I’ve been posting here about all the things that will be better in 2018. Michael Grunwald tried to outdo me by saying “Everything is Awesome!” — except, well, not quite. (Capsule version:  The economy is awesome — but Trump isn’t.)
2. After more tax discussions and end-of-year tax maneuverings — which at one point had me paying my California taxes early, until a recalculation and revised advise from my CPA had me not doing that — I’m not the only one left confused and in a state of pandemonium as confirmed by these reports from various states giving conflicting advice, and people waiting in line for hours to pay taxes they may or may not owe. I received an email today from the County Assessor advising me how to pay property taxes now, before January 1st, if I wanted:

   “Changes in the federal tax code have prompted some property owners to inquire about pre-paying property taxes prior to January 1, 2018, at which time a cap on deducting state and local taxes will take effect. Property owners who wish to pay the second installment of the 2017-18 tax bill may do so at this time. Payment options are as follows.”  And then a list of locations and payment methods.

   And then this addendum:”Property owners may not pre-pay 2018-2019 taxes at this time; these tax bills will not be generated until September/October 2018. Also, the Assessor does not accept payments; this is solely a function of the Tax Collector.”

   Uhh… If we think old folks in Florida are repeatedly confused about how to actually vote (and they are; witness the 2000 “butterfly” ballot), how well do we think this is going to work out?

3. One thing that’s been really great about 2017 is that Donald Trump hasn’t visited California. Not even once! That’s one of the best Christmas gifts this year.

This entry was posted on Friday, December 29th, 2017 at 10:33 pm and is filed under Thoughts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.