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In the past, the conversions were authorized for people with modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) of $ 100,000 or less. From 1 January 2010, however, the income cap is removed and the roth ira qualications may be open to all.

Additionally, you must pay taxes on income from a taxable account and not from your IRA or 401K. And for the rollover you must have enough money in a separate taxable investment account and should be ready to write a huge check to pay those taxes.

This indeed is contrary to the purpose of conversion, especially if you are under 59 1 / 2, that you subject to a further penalty of 10% as well. For most people it is hard enough to voluntarily pay more taxes now, but even more, considering the many years between the front, you can enjoy the benefits. Read full post…

Not satisfied with a $5 million estate tax exemption (until January 1, 2014 anyway) and spousal portability of the exemption, on January 5th Republicans introduced five bills to repeal the estate tax.

For details, see Hani Sarji’s blog posts of January 12 and January 13, 2011.

PARIS—Six years ago, Renault SA set out to conquer emerging markets with an affordable, stripped-down car.

Now, the French auto maker has run into trouble selling the model in some developing countries, such as India. But the cars are being snapped up by rich-country customers looking to save money, cutting into sales of Renault’s higher-profit models.

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The incredible growth of noncash payments over the past decade has forever changed the American consumer. In 2003, plastic overtook paper as the most popular payment option in the U.S. The speed and convenience of credit and debit cards were simply too much for the average shopper to pass up. Sixty percent of all retail purchases and over ninety percent of online sales are now completed with plastic.

What does this mean for small businesses? Because they fear the fees and the complicated contracts, some smaller firms resist electronic payments. This isn’t always a bad decision. For example, if you run a small general store, it is actually possible to lose money by accepting plastic. Bu

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PARIS—A top European Central Bank official urged euro-zone governments to make their €440 billion ($602 billion) crisis fund more flexible so that it can buy bonds of fiscally distressed governments and offer them short-term credit lines, a signal that the ECB wants to reduce its role in fighting the currency bloc’s debt crisis.

Bank of France Governor Christian Noyer, who sits on the ECB’s governing council, also said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal that the recent rise in euro-zone inflation should prove temporary, indicating that the ECB isn’t in a rush to raise interest rates despite its …

Rick Snyder, Michigan’s new governor recently pulled off an interesting trick: He gave a State of the State address without mentioning automobiles.

For President Barack Obama in his Tuesday night State of the Union address, he would have to talk for an hour without mentioning the economy to pull off a similar stunt. He is unlikely to do that.

The president, however, has some extremely dicey ground to cover in discussing the state of the U.S. economy in part because the promising recovery of a year ago sputtered badly by midsummer before gathering steam again and in part because every day is one closer to some kind of national reckoning with overspending. Republicans are nipping at his heels, hoping to maintain their image as the party most serious about government debt. Read full post…