The Financial Flipside Podcast, Episode 30B: Resignation-gate, part 2
The Financial Flipside Podcast
Photo via on Pexels Although , the Great Resignation is still going strong: as of the beginning of June 2022, Americans , and data from the a global survey by Price Waterhouse Coopers found that up to . Further, the Great Resignation is , which have long been believed to be more stable (however far that belief is from the reality of most of the sector’s workers). With all that in mind, we are back with the second half of our Great Resignation episode. This time around we’re talking about factors that influence quitting, lying flat, labor costs, worker-management relations,...
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The Financial Flipside Podcast Episode 30
The Financial Flipside Podcast
Odds are, you know someone who has moved on from their job recently, whether a co-worker, family member, or friend. Maybe you’ve made a similar transition yourself. If so, you may be part of the Great Resignation, a socio-cultural phenomenon that is baffling researchers and reporters, and which is causing no small degree of anxiety among employers. As we explore in this episode, the reasons that people are leaving their jobs are complex and really get to the heart of why we work in the first place. Also in this episode: life updates, an inside view of what happens when accountants fire...
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The Financial Flipside Podcast Episode 29
The Financial Flipside Podcast
This episode, we’re talking about the tax gap, that is the yawning void between how much tax is owed and how much tax gets paid to the IRS. Where does the tax gap come from (hint: not always where you think)? Why are some people so reluctant to pay their fair share, despite having more than enough money to do so? We also take a detour into dynastic wealth, moral millionaires, and what money does to our brains.
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The Financial Flipside Podcast Episode 28
The Financial Flipside Podcast
Infrastructure touches every aspect of our lives, from the roads we drive on to the water we drink to the electricity powering the laptop I’m using to type these show notes. If part of our country’s (or city’s or state’s) infrastructure falls apart, we often end up paying for it in ways both big and small. Infrastructure projects are also really expensive, making them sites of debate about who pays and what's worth paying for.
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The Financial Flipside Podcast Episode 27
The Financial Flipside Podcast
On this episode of the podcast, we’re talking about scarcity, both the economic concept and how it plays out in our daily lives. Along the way, we’ll discuss sneaker drops, free markets, living wages, human nature, and moments when instinct takes over. We also dedicate our Flipping the News segment to examining the financial aftermath of the January 6 insurrection at the US Capitol.
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The Financial Flipside Podcast Episode 26
The Financial Flipside Podcast
A quick note: This episode was recorded on October 31, 2020, before Election Day or any of the subsequent events surrounding the results or the transition process.
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The Financial Flipside Podcast Episode 25
The Financial Flipside Podcast
Your hosts take look at the history of reparations in the US, examine some of the past and present barriers to reparations for slavery, and discuss what a national reparations program might look like in our current moment.
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The Financial Flipside Podcast Episode 24
The Financial Flipside Podcast
We’re back, and we’ve come bearing gifts in the form of retooled format (including a new segment!). Join us as we recap a weird tax season, take a look at the storylines that emerged after the Treasury Department finally released data about who received PPP loans, and wrap up our discussion of economic indicators with a deep dive into the stock market.
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The Financial Flipside Podcast Episode 23
The Financial Flipside Podcast
Though it may be hard to believe, the US economy isn't officially in a recession. In this episode we talk about why that is, what economic indicators tell us about the economy, and what they sometimes leave out. Plus, we discuss some tips for weathering an economic downturn, recession declaration or no.
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The Financial Flipside Podcast Episode 22
The Financial Flipside Podcast
After some time off, a move (L), and a partial pivot to video (J), the Financial Flipside Podcast is back! For our first episode of 2020, we thought it would be a good idea to talk about a goal that heads up so many of our lists of New Year’s resolutions: getting organized. Specifically, we’re talking about business systems, those combinations of processes, workflows, and tools that we use to do everything from monitoring cash flow to training employees to literally keeping the lights on.
info_outlineThe first tax season after the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was full of surprises. When the IRS published its weekly filing statistics during the last week of tax season , the numbers confirmed what many taxpayers were shocked to see when they finished their returns: namely, that tax refunds were both smaller and a bit harder to come by. The number of refunds decreased by 1.9%, while their size decreased by 1.3% (or about $36--this is a correction from the $55 reported on the show). In this episode we talk about what happened and why, our national love affair with tax refunds, corporate tax avoidance, and why the IRS isn’t pursuing as many investigations despite new data that reveals that more people are cheating on their taxes.
Summary
- Intro: smaller refunds, unexpected bills
- JH’s notes from the field: an accountant’s-eye view of tax season
- How do we explain these changes?
- Tax refunds: why do we expect them? What are the benefits and drawbacks of receiving one?
- The number of people and businesses cheating on their taxes has increased, but not much is being done about it--why?
- Speaking of tax avoidance: how do large corporations manage to pay $0 in corporate taxes.
- How does tax avoidance affect the economy, and what are we going to do about it?
- What can individuals and business owners who received unpleasant surprises on their tax returns this year do to prevent the same thing from happening next year?
Links:
From the US Department of the Treasury: How much did the US government collect and spend in 2018?
Fiscal Year 2020 Federal Spending
A recent survey found that most Americans were uninformed about the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act
The Tax Policy Center has published a guide that explains how the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act changed individual taxes. They also published their own look back at tax season.
The truth about tax refunds for individuals (and for businesses).
Here is another outline of tax law changes, this time for businesses.
Tax Day used to be a party at the post office
Large corporations like Amazon, Nextflix, and Salesforce paid $0 in corporate taxes this year. This article from Forbes explains why.
ProPublica’s series on the gutting of the IRS
If you want an inside look at the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that combines analysis (and admittedly, pointed critique) with journalistic flair, the Center for Public Integrity has partnered with The Guardian for a deep dive into the origins and impact of the law.
“In 1998, only about 5,000 employers hadn’t paid their payroll taxes in at least five years. By December 2015, according to IRS records, the number had more than tripled to 17,000.” :Millions are cheating on their taxes, but fewer people are getting caught
Some tax savings appear to be shaking out along party lines, with those in Republican-leaning states benefiting more from the new tax law’s limits on state and local tax deductions.
Still stewing about your tax refund? Adjust your withholding. The IRS explains how here.
Year-Round Financial Tips to Make Taxes a Breeze
How the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act Will Impact Tax Planning in 2019 and Beyond
How the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act Will Impact Tax Planning in 2019 and Beyond