Filing your taxes is kind of like going to the dentist: It may not be fun, but dealing with it is part of being a grownup.

So with Tax Day one short month away, I turned to an expert for advice aimed especially at us younger and newer filers. Kay Bell is a Texas-based journalist who has covered tax tips for Bankrate.com since 1999 (check out their 2008 tax guide here). Read the rest of this entry »

Barack Obama defied the odds (and the Clintons) and made history to become the Democratic party’s nominee for president. As the Democratic Convention comes to a close at Invesco Field Thursday evening, concerns linger about whether Obama is experienced enough to be Commander-in-Chief, or appealing enough to blue-collar workers.

But Joeseph Brusuelas, chief economic at Merk Investments, says Obama’s biggest problem is his tax policy, which he believes would be a “profound mistake.”

While planning to cut taxes for “working families,” Obama proposes raising taxes on wage earners above the $250,000 level, as well as on capital gains and dividends. Such policies are “courting disaster” in an a weak economy, says Brusuelas, who believes Obama’s tax plan is much better campaign politics than governing policy.

But is John McCain’s plan — which is mainly to extend the Bush tax regime — really a better idea? Tell us what you think.

Source: Tech Ticker