Diversions January 5, 2012

Talk About a “Lump Sum”

A North Carolina man was arrested after police say he tried to use a fake million-dollar bill to buy $476 worth of Walmart items.
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The Associated Press reports that 53-year-old Michael Fuller tried to buy a microwave oven, vacuum cleaner and other various merchandise with the bill, which he insisted was real. Fuller was charged with attempting to obtain property by false pretense and uttering a forged instrument.

The largest bill in circulation is $100. In 1969, the Federal Reserve Board announced it would stop distributing currency in denominations of $500, $1,000, $5,000 and $10,000, according to the U.S. Department of The Treasury.

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The largest bill ever printed by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) was the $100,000 Series 1934 Gold Certificate, but it was not circulated among the general public.                                                                                                            

Compliance January 4, 2012

Tax Deadline Extended to April 17 in 2012

The Internal Revenue Service opened the 2012 tax filing season by announcing that taxpayers have until April 17 to file their tax returns.
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The reason for the Tuesday, April 17, deadline is that April 15 falls on a Sunday, and Emancipation Day, a holiday observed in the District of Columbia, falls this year on Monday, April 16. According to federal law, District of Columbia holidays impact tax deadlines in the same way federal holidays do.  

The IRS will begin accepting e-file and Free File returns on January 17, 2012. Additional details about e-file and Free File will be announced later this month.  

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The IRS also announced a number of improvements to help make this tax season easy for taxpayers, including new navigation features and information on IRS.gov and a new pilot to allow taxpayers to use interactive video to get help with tax issues.  

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