Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 25, 2019)
A4 OPINION Blue Mountain Eagle Wednesday, December 25, 2019 Cautious optimism on the trade front O ver the last three years we’ve learned to be cautious with our optimism on matters of trade. But, it looks as though there has been some positive movement on that front this month. After more than a year of dithering the House of Rep- resentatives approved the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agree- ment. USMCA replaces the North American Free Trade Agreement. NAFTA has received mixed reviews from farmers since the first President Bush negotiated it and President Clinton signed it. Making good on a cam- paign pledge, President Trump reopened talks on the North American Free Trade Agreement with Can- ada and Mexico. The prod- uct of those negotiations was the USMCA. Those terms were formally accepted Nov. 1, 2018, and the deal was put before Congress. And there it has sat. Although ag interests were happy with the new deal, Democrats in Congress said it didn’t go far enough to protect Mexican work- ers or the environment. Rais- ing standards for Mexican workers makes U.S. manu- facturing, particularly that staffed by union labor, more competitive. House Democrats and the White House have been working behind the scenes to make the necessary tweaks to the pact. Despite the ran- cor over the House’s attempt to impeach Trump, or per- haps because of it, a deal was reached. Democrats representing districts in the industrial Midwest need a trade deal just as much as the president. The deal still has to be passed by the Senate. Sen- ate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell anticipates that the Senate will have to con- sider articles of impeach- ment pending in the House, and says a vote on the trade deal will come after the Sen- ate trial. Also last week the admin- istration and Chinese offi- cials announced a deal to de-escalate the 17-month trade war between the two countries. The U.S. agreed to sus- pend a new round of tariff hikes on $160 billion worth of Chinese goods that were to go into effect last week- end and to reduce tariffs on $112 billion in goods that are already in place. China agreed to buy $40 billion worth of agricultural goods from the U.S. a year for the next two years. The Chinese also agreed to reduce barriers to beef, poultry and animal feed, and to increase protections for intellectual property. The president told farmers last week that they’d need to buy bigger tractors because they will be selling so much to China. We suspect most farmers will hold their order until the ships start leaving the dock. The announcement was light on the operational details. China’s commitment to $40 billion in ag purchases is ambitious, given its pur- chases have never topped $26 billion a year. As we said, we’ve learned to be cautious because we’ve seen these deals fall through or stall just as quickly as they are announced. But in keeping with the yuletide season we are will- ing to believe possible a Christmas miracle or two — at least for now. GUEST COMMENT What to do before tax year ends By David Tucker T he Internal Revenue Ser- vice reminds taxpayers there are things they should do now to get ready for the tax-fil- ing season ahead. Charitable Contributions For most taxpayers, Dec. 31 is the last day to take actions that will impact their 2019 tax return. For example, those who plan to itemize deductions should know that charitable contributions are deductible in the year made. Donations charged to a credit card before the end of 2019 count for the 2019 tax year, even if the bill isn’t paid until 2020. Checks to a charity count for 2019 if they are mailed by the last day of the year. Retirement Plans Taxpayers who are over age 70.5 are generally required to take distributions from their individ- ual retirement accounts and work- place retirement plans by the end of 2019. However, a special rule allows those who reached 70.5 in 2019 to wait until April 1, 2020, to receive them. Most workplace retirement account contributions should be made by the end of the year, but taxpayers can make 2019 IRA contributions until April 15, 2020. For 2019, the basic limit for 401(k) contributions is $19,000, plus another $6,000 for those who are at least age 50. For 2019, total contributions to all traditional and Roth IRAs can- not exceed $6,000, or for taxpay- ers age 50 and older, $7,000. Tax- payers should check IRS.gov for more information about contribu- tion limits, as well as cost-of-liv- ing adjustments affecting pension plans and other retirement-related items for tax year 2019. Some taxpayers may be eli- gible for the Retirement Savings Contributions Credit, also known as the Saver’s Credit. The income limit is $64,000 for married cou- ples filing jointly, $48,000 for heads of household, and $32,000 for singles and married individu- als filing separately for 2019. Refunds WHERE TO WRITE GRANT COUNTY • Grant County Courthouse — 201 S. Humbolt St., Suite 280, Canyon City 97820. Phone: 541-575-0059. Fax: 541-575-2248. • Canyon City — P.O. Box 276, Canyon City 97820. Phone: 541-575-0509. Fax: 541-575-0515. Email: tocc1862@ centurylink.net. • Dayville — P.O. Box 321, Dayville 97825. Phone: 541-987-2188. Fax: 541- 987-2187. Email:dville@ortelco.net • John Day — 450 E. Main St, John Day, 97845. Phone: 541-575-0028. Fax: 541-575-1721. Email: cityjd@ centurytel.net. • Long Creek — P.O. Box 489, Long Creek 97856. Phone: 541-421-3601. Fax: 541-421-3075. Email: info@ cityoflongcreek.com. • Monument — P.O. Box 426, Monument 97864. Phone and fax: 541-934-2025. Email: cityofmonument@centurytel.net. • Mt. Vernon — P.O. Box 647, Mt. Vernon 97865. Phone: 541-932-4688. Fax: 541-932-4222. Email: cmtv@ ortelco.net. • Prairie City — P.O. Box 370, Prairie City 97869. Phone: 541-820-3605. Fax: 820-3566. Email: pchall@ortelco.net. • Seneca — P.O. Box 208, Seneca 97873. Phone and fax: 541-542-2161. Email: senecaoregon@gmail.com. Blue Mountain EAGLE Published every Wednesday by The vast majority of taxpay- ers get their refunds faster by fil- ing electronically and using direct deposit. It is simple, safe and secure. This is the same electronic transfer system used to deposit nearly 98% of all Social Security and Veterans Affairs benefits into millions of accounts. Just as each tax return is unique and individual, so is each taxpayer’s refund. Here are a few things taxpayers should keep in mind if they are waiting on their refund but hear or see on social media that other taxpayers have already received theirs. Different factors can affect the timing of a refund. Even though the IRS issues most refunds in less than 21 days, it’s possible a particular taxpayer’s refund may take longer. Some tax returns require additional review and take longer to process than others. It may be necessary when a return has errors, is incomplete or is affected by identity theft or fraud. The IRS will contact taxpayers by mail when more information is needed to process a return. By law, the IRS cannot issue refunds to people claiming the Earned Income Tax Credit or Additional Child Tax Credit before mid-February. The law requires the IRS to hold the entire refund, including the portion not associated with the credits. This helps ensure taxpayers receive the refund they’re due by giving the IRS more time to detect and pre- vent fraud. Taxpayers should not count on getting a refund by a certain date, especially when planning major purchases or paying other finan- cial obligations. Update address Taxpayers who moved during 2019 should tell the U.S. Postal Service, employers and the IRS. Notify the IRS by mailing IRS Form 8822, Change of Address, to the address listed on the form’s instructions. Taxpayers who pur- chase health insurance through the Health Insurance Marketplace should also notify the Market- place when they move out of the area covered by their current plan. For name changes due to mar- riage or divorce, notify the Social Security Administration so the new name will match IRS and SSA records. Also notify the SSA if a dependent’s name changed. A mismatch between the name shown on a tax return and SSA records often causes refund delays. ITINs Taxpayers with expiring Indi- vidual Taxpayer Identification Numbers can get their ITINs renewed more quickly and avoid refund delays next year by sub- mitting their renewal application soon. An ITIN is a tax ID number used by any taxpayer who doesn’t qualify to get a Social Security number. Any ITIN with middle digits 83, 84, 85, 86 or 87 will expire at the end of this year. In addition, any ITIN not used on a tax return in the past three years will expire. ITINs with middle digits 70 through 82 that expired in 2016, 2017 or 2018 can also be renewed. Recordkeeping Keeping copies of tax returns is important. Taxpayers may need a copy of their 2018 return to make it easier to fill out a 2019 return. Anyone using a software prod- uct for the first time may need the Adjusted Gross Income amount shown on Line 7 of their 2018 return to file their 2019 return electronically. Taxpayers can also visit View Your Tax Account on IRS.gov. Anyone using the tool must verify their identity. Taxpayers can learn more about that process and elec- tronically signing a return online. Connect with the IRS The IRS uses traditional and social media tools — available in English and other languages — to share the latest information on tax changes, scam alerts, initiatives, products and services. The IRS uses several social media tools including: • Instagram: The IRS Insta- gram account will share taxpay- er-friendly information on a vari- ety of topics to help people get ready for tax season. • YouTube: The IRS offers video tax tips in English, Spanish and American Sign Language. • Twitter: Taxpayers can fol- low @IRSnews for tax-related announcements and tips. @ IRStaxpros tweets news and guid- ance for tax professionals. Tweets from @IRSenEspanol have and the latest tax information in Span- ish. @IRSTaxSecurity tweets tax scam alerts. • Facebook: News and infor- mation for taxpayers and tax return preparers. • LinkedIn: The IRS shares agency updates and job opportunities. The IRS also has its own app, IRS2Go. Taxpayers can use this free mobile app to check their refund status, pay taxes, find free tax help, watch IRS YouTube vid- eos and get IRS tax tips by email. Like Instagram, the IRS2Go app is available from the Google Play Store for Android devices, or from the Apple App Store for Apple devices. IRS2Go is available in both English and Spanish. The IRS has a special page on IRS.gov with steps to take now for the 2020 tax filing season. The author is an IRS media relations employee. L ETTERS POLICY: Letters to the Editor is a forum for Blue Mountain Eagle readers to express themselves on local, state, national or world issues. Brevity is good, but longer letters will be asked to be contained to 350 words. No personal attacks; challenge the opinion, not the person. No thank- you letters. Submissions to this page become property of the Eagle. The Eagle reserves the right to edit letters for length and for content. Letters must be original and signed by the writer. Anonymous letters will not be printed. Writers should include a telephone number so they can be reached for questions. We must limit all contributors to one letter per person per month. Deadline is 5 p.m. Friday. Send letters to editor@bmeagle.com, or Blue Mountain Eagle, 195 N. Canyon Blvd., John Day, OR 97845; or fax to 541-575-1244. Grant County’s Weekly Newspaper Publisher............ ......................................Chris Rush, crush@eomediagroup.com Editor & General Manager ...............Sean Hart, editor@bmeagle.com Reporter ...................................................Rudy Diaz, rudy@bmeagle.com Marketing Rep .......................................Kim Kell, ads@bmeagle.com Administrative Assistant ..................Christy Smith, office@bmeagle.com 1 YEAR SUBSCRIPTION RATES (including online access) Grant County .........................................$45 Everywhere else in U.S. .......................$57 Outside Continental U.S. ....................$60 Subscriptions must be paid prior to delivery Online: MyEagleNews.com Periodicals Postage Paid at John Day and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER send address changes to: Blue Mountain Eagle 195 N. Canyon Blvd. John Day, OR 97845-1187 USPS 226-340 Office Assistant .....................................Alixandra Hand, office@bmeagle.com MEMBER OREGON NEWSPAPER PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION Affected ITIN holders can avoid delays by starting the renewal process now. Those who fail to renew before filing a return could face a delayed refund and may be ineligible for some important tax credits. More infor- mation, including answers to fre- quently asked questions, is avail- able on IRS.gov/ITIN. Phone: 541-575-0710 Copyright © 2019 Blue Mountain Eagle All rights reserved. No part of this publication covered by the copyright hereon may be reproduced or copied in any form or by any means — graphic, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, taping or information storage and retrieval systems — without written permission of the publisher. facebook.com/MyEagleNews @MyEagleNews
