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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
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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
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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
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