If you itemize deductions using the Schedule A, don’t get in a rush to file as the IRS has announced that 50 million taxpayers must delay filing until Valentine’s Day at the earliest.

Congress screwed around and then finally passed a tax bill in mid-December, so the IRS has to make all kinds of changes to its system so that it can deal with what is now the law. Lets be clear on this, this is the fault of Congress. If they had done their job and passed this stuff before October 1^st when the Federal fiscal year begins, the IRS would have been ready.

I was involved in accounting systems for years and I know exactly what the IRS is going through. I would be working through Christmas to change and debug payroll systems so they would reflect the new laws that would be effective for the first payroll in January. The Congresscritters and their patrons don’t know or care about all of the extra costs that business has to absorb when they play games like this and pass things at the last minute.

The rest of world has finally noticed the Queensland floods, with water covering an area the size of Texas. Much of the current flooding is a result of the Christmas arrival of tropical cyclone Tasha which actually came ashore as the Pacific equivalent of a tropical depression. Like most tropical events, it isn’t the wind, it the water that causes massive damage.

Queensland was late to the party as Western Australia and New South Wales had already been dealing with flooding in December. The La Niña generally increases rainfall in Australia, but the effect of the extra moisture in the air due to climate change is certainly suspect.

Grain prices are sure to rise, as the droughts in Russia and floods in Australia are putting a lot of acreage out of production. Crop losses will certainly be in the hundreds of millions dollars. Mining is also affected, so commodity prices will also go up.

С Новым годом
Prosit Neujahr
Feliz Año Nuevo
Bonne Année
Felice Anno Nuovo
Gelukkig Nieuwjaar
Gott Nytt År
Sehe Bokmanee Bateuseyo
Blwyddyn Newydd Dda
Onnellista Uutta Vuotta

May you be safe from the idiots who think gravity is just a theory and fire off guns, failing to understand that what goes up will come down. [The Miami Herald covered this today]

Given the prevalence of accurate timekeeping devices, it is amazing that the explosions that are supposed to signal the new year extend for a four hour period beginning before and extending well after the actual event. Anyone who thinks alcohol and gunpowder is a recipe for a long life should be avoided by insurance agents.

The new year brings new opportunities, so here’s hoping that the good wins out and the world is made a little better.

Oh, and a happy 10^th blogiversary™ to Steve Bates at the Yellow Something Something.