Last week Helicopter Ben was speaking at the 56th Economic Conference in Boston and let slip that the Fed may not just be trying to stop inflation anymore, but also may targeting nominal gross domestic product (the two don’t normally go hand in hand).If the fed tries to prop up NGDP as well as fight inflation, it will certainly be entertaining in the next few years.Here is an article about the Helicopter Man:http://business-news.thestreet.com/signonsandiego/story/the-most-important-ben-bernanke-speech-that-no-one-heard/11282562
Brian’s Tax Musings
This is mainly for professionals, but if you have lost a loved one, you may want to look at it too. WHen the estate tax exclusion was increased to $5000000, The Deceased Spouse Unused Exclusion Amount must be elected to be moved to the surviving spouse without the use of an A-B trust arrangement (but I believe there may be times where you need to elect to move this even with and A – B Trust setup).To make the election, you must file a form 706 even if one is not required! See the article attached:http://www.advisorone.com/2011/10/15/portability-election-could-trigger-estate-tax-retu?utm_source=wealthmgmt91411&utm_medium=enewsletter&utm_campaign=wealthmgmtMany thanks to Michael Long of Goldcoast Securities for emailing me this. www.gcsec.com clong@gcsec.com
Brian’s Tax Musings
Well the IRS has come out with the 2012 Inflation Adjusted tax deductions and exemptions. Yes, there is inflation according to the government (gasp). See this article in Accounting Today for a breakdown:http://www.accountingtoday.com/news/Inflation-Adjustments-Trigger-Bigger-Tax-Benefits-60529-1.html