Big News from Washington Americans have been complaining about income taxes since the IRS unleashed the first Form 1040 on us back in 1913. Sure, we all hate paying them. But as the tax code has ballooned to twice the length of the Bible (with none of the good news), preparing [...]

Shocking News This time of year, taxpayers across America are scrambling to put together their last year's mileage records. First you've got to total up how many miles you drove for your trade or business. Then you've got to add up all the costs of operating your vehicle — depreciation, interest [...]

007 For A Day Who hasn't wanted to be a spy at some point or another? Boys see their first James Bond movie, and they don't want to be like 007 — they want to be 007. Girls learn how Mata Hari put her charms to work as a lethal double [...]

In The Headlines Nations Retreat from Privatizing Retirement When Poland introduced private retirement accounts in 1999, the government gave its blessing to a $100 million ad campaign explaining why workers were required to contribute. Privately managed savings accounts would assure a comfortable retirement, the pitch went, while giving a boost to [...]

You Taxin' Me? Actor Robert DeNiro has played some of the most compelling characters in movie history: the schizophrenic ex-marine Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver, the young mob boss Vito Corleone in The Godfather Part II, the Chicago bootlegger Al Capone in The Untouchables, the "gentleman" gangster Jimmy Conway in Goodfellas, [...]

It's Freezing Where? Taxpayers across much of the midwest and east coast have enjoyed a relatively light winter this year, with mild temperatures and little snow. But Old Man Winter made up for it last week. Temperatures dropped well below zero and wind chills broke records across the country. Friday morning [...]

Baby, Don't Leave State governments collect billions of dollars in taxes every year, and they work just as hard to protect their revenue base as their friends at the IRS. Sometimes that means putting lots of eggs in one basket — then watching that basket very, very carefully. But one state [...]

In The Headlines RadioShack in Bankruptcy – New Life or Fade to Black? You probably thought the holiday season ended when the last Christmas lights finally came off the house. But then you would have forgotten the closest thing we have to a national fair. We're talking, of course, about the [...]

The Postman Always Rings Twice Getting mail from the IRS is rarely something to celebrate. If it's a bill, consider yourself lucky — at least you can just pay it and be done. If it's a "CP 2000" notice proposing a change to your taxes, get ready for a ride on [...]

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year Way back in 1963, the singer Andy Williams introduced one of the most popular Christmas songs of all time: "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year." Decades later, the office-supply store Staples repurposed it to sell school supplies, and Miller recycled it once [...]