Topics: Your Money & The Law - 57 results

Mary J. Blige’s financial woes deepened in mid-February when the state of New Jersey reportedly filed a $900,000 lien against her New Jersey home. While most people don’t own homes worth that much, Blige’s case is a reminder of what can happen when income taxes go unpaid.   Mansion Targeted The singer has been in hot financial water for some time, with two banks having already sued her for defaulting on loans worth about $511,000 and $2.2 million, and a …

One of the primary goals of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare,  is to make insurance available to as many consumers are possible. Now, as the law gears up toward full implementation in 2014, states are grappling with how to balance near-universal care with protecting their pocketbooks. Close to 50 million people lacked health insurance before the law’s passage, with tens of millions more who had insurance that was inadequate to cover their needs. The ACA aimed …

It’s Valentine’s Day, a time of romance and wedding proposals. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in February last year, jewelry stores sold more than $2.66 billion worth of merchandise, including engagement rings. Afterall, a popular belief is the holiday commemorates a saint, martyred for secretly performing weddings. But with so much love in the air, unfortunately some of it can sometimes drift away. Short of romantic martyrdom, unless OKCupid improves his aim, all engagements will not end in marriages. …

At the beginning of 2013, President Obama signed the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, averting the dreaded “fiscal cliff” and making significant changes to U.S. tax law. While the top 1 percent of taxpayers will bear the biggest burden, the new law will affect most U.S. families in one way or another.   Income Tax Brackets Rates will increase for only the highest income tax bracket, increasing from 35 percent to 39.6 percent. These changes apply only to individuals …

The California Supreme Court ruled last week that online retailers of electronically downloaded goods may seek personal information from customers who use credit cards, bypassing privacy restrictions placed on physical stores. The ruling came after a lawsuit was filed against Apple for asking for address information from customers who purchased music from iTunes. Under most circumstances, vendors in California cannot record any personal identifying information beyond what is required to complete a credit card transaction. According to the Song-Beverly Credit …