Things To Do In SW Florida

No one likes to pay penalties to the IRS when they fail to follow IRS regulations. In this column I’ll explain some ways to minimize these penalties, and possibly even obtain a complete waiver.

If you receive a notice or letter from the IRS indicating you may be subject to penalties for not following IRS policies and procedures, you should take the following steps. If you don’ t understand the notice, or disagree with the information in the notice, immediately contact the IRS and ask for clarification. If there are errors in the notice, you should respond in writing, pointing out the errors.

Some common reasons why individuals receive notices are failing to file a return, sending the return in late, and underpaying the required passes due. If you ignore the notice, you will be subject to increased penalties and higher interest charges.

You should definitely respond as soon as possible if you owe penalties/and or interest. If you procrastinate, you will be subject to a 0.5% penalty of the amount of the underpayment for each month or part of a month associated with the underpayment. The underpayment penalty is capped at 25% of the unpaid amount. read more

By MATT OTT, AP Business Writer

The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell again last week, remaining near seven-month lows.

The Labor Department reported Thursday that jobless claim applications fell by 6,000 to 213,000 for the week of Nov. 16. That’s fewer than the 220,000 analysts forecast.

However, continuing claims, the total number of Americans collecting jobless benefits, rose by 36,000 to 1.91 million for the week of Nov. 9. That was higher than expected and the most in three years.

While the number of new people applying for jobless aid each week remains at historically healthy levels, some who are receiving benefits are finding it harder to land new jobs. That suggests that demand for workers is waning, even as the economy remains strong.

The four-week average of weekly claims, which quiets some of the weekly volatility, fell by 3,750 to 217,750.

Weekly applications for jobless benefits are considered a proxy for U.S. layoffs.

In response to some weakening employment data and receding consumer prices, the Federal Reserve slashed its benchmark interest rate in September by a half a percentage point and by another quarter-point earlier this month. read more

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER, AP Economics Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — Just a few weeks ago, the path ahead for the Federal Reserve looked straightforward: With inflation cooling and the job market slowing, the Fed appeared on track to steadily cut interest rates.

In September, its officials predicted that they would reduce their benchmark rate four times next year, on top of three rate cuts this year.

Yet that outlook has swiftly changed. Several surprisingly strong economic reports, combined with President-elect Donald Trump’s policy proposals, have led to a decidedly more cautious tone from the Fed that could mean fewer cuts and higher interest rates than had been expected.

Fewer rate cuts would likely mean continued high mortgage rates and other borrowing costs for consumers and businesses. Auto loans would remain expensive. Small businesses would still face high loan rates.

In a speech last week in Dallas, Chair Jerome Powell made clear that the Fed isn’t necessarily inclined to cut rates each time it meets every six weeks. read more

SpaceX sent up another rocket Thursday to mark the 82nd launch of the year on the Space Coast.

A Falcon 9 lifted off at 11:07 a.m. from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 40 on the Starlink 6-66 mission carrying 24 of the internet satellites to low-Earth orbit.

Liftoff of Falcon 9! pic.twitter.com/GVfDn0PEAx

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) November 21, 2024

To date, SpaceX has flown up more than 7,300 Starlink satellites since the first operational mission in 2019, according to statistics maintained by astronomer Jonathan McDowell. Of those, just shy of 6,000 are still in a working orbit.

The first-stage booster is the latest to join the 20-launch club, and made a recovery landing downrange in the Atlantic on the droneship A Shortfall of Gravitas. The record for booster reflight and landing is 23 so far.

SpaceX has flown 77 of the 82 launches from either Cape Canaveral or Kennedy Space Center this year, with United Launch Alliance having flown the other five. The total launches from all providers has already bested the Space Coast’s 2023’s taly by 10 with six weeks to go. read more

By MICHAEL LIEDTKE, AP Technology Writer

U.S. regulators want a federal judge to break up Google to prevent the company from continuing to squash competition through its dominant search engine after a court found it had maintained an abusive monopoly over the past decade.

The proposed breakup floated in a 23-page document filed late Wednesday by the U.S. Department of Justice calls for sweeping punishments that would include a sale of Google’s industry-leading Chrome web browser and impose restrictions to prevent Android from favoring its own search engine.

A sale of Chrome “will permanently stop Google’s control of this critical search access point and allow rival search engines the ability to access the browser that for many users is a gateway to the internet,” Justice Department lawyers argued in their filing.

Although regulators stopped short of demanding Google sell Android too, they asserted the judge should make it clear the company could still be required to divest its smartphone operating system if its oversight committee continues to see evidence of misconduct. read more