Last week we had a superbly informative presentation on the new tax law by Anderson Zurmuehlen's Carlen Keaster. (Also in attendance was her A-Z colleague, Pam Guschausky.) Needless to say, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is long, detailed, new, and complex so the go-to answer for many of your questions is, "It depends."
The new law is neither simple nor permanent, and Carlen cautioned us that many of the provisions sunset in 2025. Standard deductions will increase substantially and personal exemptions are suspended throughout that period. Child credits have increased to $2,000/child and a new, non-refundable credit of $500 is allowed for dependents who do not meet the definition of a qualifying child.
The AGI threshold for medical expenses is lowered to 7.5% for 2017 and 2018 for all taxpayers. Taxpayers are allowed a maximum deduction of $10,000 on the sum of state and local real property taxes, state and local personal property taxes, and state and local income taxes (or sales taxes, if elected). This provision does not apply to taxes paid or accrued through trade or business activity. Cash contributions to charitable organizations now have a 60% of AGI limitation, a 10% increase over the previous limitation.
The presentation covered far more than can be captured here. The main take-away of this cub reporter is that, if you've prepared your own taxes in the past, you would be wise to consult a CPA this year!
This Week at Rotary
This week we have our traditional holiday luncheon, for which the only formal program is the beautiful music of one of our talented youth groups in the community. This year we will be entertained by the Russell Ayres. Feel free to bring a guest at club expense. For our planning, be sure that you have responded to Todd's email requesting an RSVP.
Leading by Example
When it comes to service above self, our president, Todd Neighbor, sets the bar high. When Rotary decided to treat the 219th Red Horse Squadron to some holiday sweets, Todd showed that it isn't only at the bank that he can handle the dough. He filled his office with cookies - yours and his!
Diane Wright also sees Todd's service ethic in his work on the board of the Red Cross. "He had this great idea recently," Diane reported, "to organize blood drives at U.S. Banks across the state." And so it came to pass that the "Week of Giving" took place during the last week of November. At the Great Falls U.S. Bank alone, 19 units of blood were collected ... enough to save 57 lives!
"That kind of 'sleeves-up' leadership is great to see," Diane mused. We agree!
Help Us Grow Our Membership!
Perhaps you’ve seen the recent public service announcements (PSAs) created by our public relations committee. They feature Kevin Clark and Kevin Eckhardt explaining why they’re Rotarians, and they’re fantastic!
The themes of the PSA project are “Ask me why I’m a Rotarian” or “Join People of Action.” In addition to airing on KRTV, we’ll send the spots to all TV and radio stations to run as inventory is available. You, too, can be part of this effort by:
Volunteering to be in a 15-second PSA talking about why you’re a Rotarian or what it feels like to be part of an international organization of people of action; and/or
Sponsoring ads by contributing $400, which covers 10 spots on KRTV. The $400 covers our production costs at KRTV and gives the Club additional income.
Milestones
Once again, we have some pretty special birthdays to celebrate this week! Dean Boyle blows out the candles on Monday; Susan Wolff, on Thursday; and Bob Oakland, on Friday. The stars must have be in alignment for leadership in mid-December! Best wishes to all three of you from all 100 (or so) of us!
Weekly Whimsy
The World's Children (to the tune of "White Christmas")
I’m dreaming of the world’s children,
Wishing they fared as well as mine,
With his soft, full tummy and doting Mommy …
Two gifts every child should find.
I’m dreaming of the world’s children,
Each with His own intrinsic worth.
We will honor that Holy One’s birth
When we venerate every child on earth.
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