for march and the overall economy. robertaccorccormally and baldassari will take your tax questions. "washington journal is next. host: stories regarding the jobless numbers released yesterday are in the headlines today. for the first 45 minutes, we will talk about what role your state plays in occupying the oval office next january. we're using an article from this morning as a jumping off point.

they are focused on 10 swing states they say will tell the tale in november. we want to talk to you about what role your state will have in election 2012, big or little, swing or not, battleground or not, red or blue. tell us how your state will determine who will win in november. and if not, why not? here are the numbers. host: if you are talking to was electronically, you can send us an e-mail. the conversation continues as always on facebook. here is the article we're

talking about from this morning's "wall street journal." the headline -- "campaigns gird for a battleground in quest for 270 electoral votes." all the weeks of primary elections still lay ahead, both parties began acting as if the fall campaign season has already arrived. mitt romney has not clinched the gop nomination, but with a compelling delegate lead, but he is now concentrating almost solely on president barack obama. mr. obama engaged mr. romney this week, calling him by name for the first time. it is a good time to ask how will the general election look. it will be decided state-by- state, with two hundred 70 electoral votes needed to win. the obama campaign sees several

paths to victory. he needs to add only florida or north carolina and virginia or ohio + iowa or the rocky mountain west + iowa. the idea is to create as many paths to it to 70 as possible. all those pathways are still alive and well says jim messina. mr. romney or another republican can win by matching president's 2004 performance. that will require reclining several states mr. obama won in 2008, a task that may be easier in places such as north carolina, florida, and nevada, where unemployment rates are above 8.2%. the battlegrounds will likely be 10 tossups states that both parties identified as tossups.

the role of your state in the 2012 election is our topic for the first 45 minutes. our first call comes from houston tx. on the democrats' line. good morning. caller: i am here in texas. i do not think we are ever really a swing state. it does not seem to matter. i am a democrat. we are a red state. it does that seem to matter. i vote for obama, but i noticed in 2008, in nearly areas of the three biggest counties, like houston, dallas, and san antonio, they all carried obama. we will probably have to turn our smaller districts first appeared it does not seem to matter because of the electoral college. rick perry was trying to run for

president, but no one seems to pay attention to texas. people do not come here. the media does not come here. we are always out of the picture. host: i want to read you something from this morning's "baltimore 7." santorum backers came to tweak rules in texas. they are pressing to change the rules to give texas a win-or- take-all primary, a boost potential for rick santorum. a supporter says he has commitments from enough members to force a support by the party hierarchy to make the change. he says that delivering all 150 two delegates available in the primary to the overall winner would make the state a rich

prize in the presidential suite state. even though you are a democrat, they are considering changing the rules. caller: i would like that. >> it could put texas in play for the republicans. caller: i would like to see a difference painted between obama and the right. it seems to me that run is kind of manila, down the middle. but santorum is very much to the right. i think there should be a conversation about the very far right and i think obama is near the middle. thank you so much. host: arizona, sarah is on the line for independence. caller: i think it is kind of scary to think of rick santorum as a presidential nominee.

i voted for obama before and i will vote for him again because i think he is an incredible human being. but to even consider the fact that someone that extreme could be your president? caller: sarah, are you still with me? ♪ yes. host: what do you think about arizona and how it will play out in the overall election? caller: i think arizona could go to obama. he only lost by about 9% last time. i was in tucson at the time. he won in tucson. the people in phoenix, in some areas, seem to be more extreme. to me, it is not about anything else of the than the kind of human being that is able to do things for all of us. host: cynthia on the line for

republicans. caller: thank you for taking my call. i am 18. gas prices are still through the roof here. i am a little bit grateful because i know that people on the west coast and east coast and northern california -- i have friends out there -- they're talking about gas being $5. we are in college. you try to keep a positive outlook because i have friends who have already graduated that cannot find jobs. you are competing with everyone. if you do not have a degree, you better have a skill or talent to make it through life. it is a different ball game. i talk to my friends about saving money and trying to stack up on overtime. even though we are down now, security may not be around when we are older. with the way it is looking down the road, it does not look too good. it will have to be about

personal responsibility. i am a person who likes to help out, i mean, who likes to give. but with gas prices going up, food prices going up, it is a lot more for everyone. i just think goodness i am single. i do not see how families are doing it. when i see people with their groceries, i wonder, man, how much will that cost? host: do you think this is a lot for either party or will there be a battle waged later this summer? caller: one thing i have noticed, i remember when i was in high school, i wondered, why do we have this electoral college? it would be nice if individually your vote counted and that the electoral college. i think the mudslinging will just go ahead and continue. we will get to november and see who wins. i think barack will take it

providers will give him another four years. whatever. nobody knows what they would do. we're all trying to ride this ride together and hope for the best. thank you so much. you take care. host: our line for oudemocrats calling from pennsylvania. that is one of the swing states the will tell the tale in 2012. mark, your thoughts about the impact of your state in the election 2012. theer: they don't call as keystone state for nothing. we will definitely be key in this election. i think it will be) i am -- i think it will be close. i am in philly, a blue city in a blue state.

if president obama wins ohio and pennsylvania, he has got it. host: the article this morning, 20 electoral votes in pennsylvania. the unemployment rate in did yuri was 7.6% according to a poll done between march 20 and march 26, obama was 45% and romney was 42%. that was in the 2008 presidential election. the numbers were a little more spread out. in the 2010 election, republicans picked up five house seats, a senate seat, and the governorship. with all of that, do you think that pennsylvania is still a lock for the president?

caller: absolutely. especially in philly, you have a large minority population that did not come up for 2010. they were not motivated. believe me, the minority populations in philly and pittsburgh will come out just like they did in 2008 for the president. with some of the policies of the republican governor and legislature here, they are really moving to the right. i am telling you, we democrats are site and ready to we want to shut the republicans down. host: john is calling from north carolina, another one of the swing states identified in the article this morning in "the wall street journal." go ahead. caller: our governor is not

running again. the house has been run over by republicans and they say that republicans will win the governorship. last time -- i hate to say it, but i will have to vote republican again. but that is not important. i am mad about obama as being a .uban-american coul i do not agree what happened to tyrone. topiclet's stick with the regarding the swing states. in north carolina, in the 2008 presidential election, it was practically a dead heat. president obama had 49.8%. senator mccain had 49.5%.

in a recent poll though, they have president obama at 49% and former governor romney at 46%. is that how you see things there in north carolina? caller: no, sir. they did a poll on the radio. kevin produce the only -- kevin perdue is the only governor to be booted out of a basketball game. host: john, with the democratic convention being held in charlotte, do you think that will help the president lock up north carolina? caller: my cousin, he stays

outside of charlotte in the outskirts. his family has always been strong democrats. his family says, before they -- they don't like romney either -- but they said before they vote for obama, they will stay home. host: the president was in vermont in march, march 30 to be precise, and he was talking with a group of folks there on the campaign trail, talking about getting out the vote. this is what he had to say. >> i am not a perfect man. michele will tell you that. and i will never be perfect. but i made a promise to you then that i would always tell you what i believed and i will always say where i have stood

and wake up every single day fighting as hard as i know how for you. and i have kept that promise. [applause] i have kept that promise. [applause] i have kept that promise. so if you're willing to keep pushing with may, through every obstacle, through all the naysayers, if you want to keep reaching for that vision of america that we have all talked about, not just the commitment that you made to me or that i made to you, but that we made to each other, change will come. if you're willing to work harder in this election than you did in the last one, i promise you that change will come. [applause] if you're willing to knock on some doors and make some phone calls, i promise to change will come. we will finish what we started in 2008. host: the president talking on the campaign trail in vermont back in march, last month, and

we will continue our conversation talking about a role of your state in the 2012 election. our next call comes from the city of oklahoma. republican on "washington journal." caller: i heard romney's speech in front of the chamber of commerce. and i heard president obama's speech in the same area in front of the chamber of commerce. he came to oklahoma and made a speech. that is all we have heard, speeches. you can tell the difference between a gentleman like ronnie and a chicago flood like obama.

host: what did they say that makes the difference to you? caller: romney is a gentleman. he does not go round to strangers and tell them what they need. we know what we need. we need change, and it is not obama's change. host: what kind of change to you need there in oklahoma? caller: we need that oil coming from canada coming to oklahoma. we do not need it from texas. we need it the whole thing. host: let's move on to our line for independence, new jersey, dave. you are on "washington journal." caller: i am originally from colorado, which i imagine is a swing state. there will have an initiative on the ballot which legalizes marijuana.

mitt romney is running the war on drugs. i wonder how that will affect the election. host: how do you think it will affect it? caller: i think he will lose. we have two initiatives on the ballot to legalize marijuana. we see people say i prefer marijuana over alcohol. does that make me a bad person? host: looking at the chart we found this morning, colorado, as you mentioned, is one of the swing states they have identified. 9 electoral votes with an unemployment rate of 7.8%, below the national average. in the 2008 presidential election, the president won 53.7% to senator mccain's 44.7%. that is a difference of nine

points. but right now, according to recent polling, the president is -- is up only two points over mitt romney. your thoughts? caller: the eastern front, like denver and colorado springs, the really big cities, they all go for obama. that is where the heavy campaign is to push for legalization. when it comes to the end, when people hear the commercials of what is action going on and romney with his fighting the war on drugs and trying to blame the american people on that again, i think that everybody will change their tune. host: we have a tweet.

again, you can follow was on twitter. evanston, ill., randy, tell us the role of your state in the 2012 election. caller: you know illinois is voting for president obama. but there are at least for past or five paths to get to 270 easily. florida is not in play in either one of those. what i mean by that is that they will go in there and campaign, but they deny needed to win. then there comes ohio. ohio is there only in one spot. this is what i personally hope happens. once and for all, so that the media can get off of this

veteran of ohio, ohio, ohio know, you do not need ohio. in 2008, by the time ohio came in with their numbers, he was already in there. there was one person ready to claim the race before ohio came into it all you have to do is look at the numbers could look at where he is playing at. ohio is nike. that is -- ohio is not keep. that is made up. host: do you think illinois will see more less of president obama then it 2008? caller: he is always here. they know where his heart is at. he does not need to be here all the time. host: the line from republicans

also from illinois. do you agree? caller: here is the situation. i have campaigned for republicans in the republican primary. the republicans in my neighborhood, whether they are very conservative or just right of center, they are not happy with the selection that they have. but the general election still goes to the independent voters. and they are not paying attention. and they will not pay attention until two weeks before the election. unless we have a severe drop or increase in gas prices or a severe drop in employment, chances are that they will vote for the president for reelection. host: let me ask you this, steve. if you get hired to be on the

campaign staff of the republican nominee, let's say it is governor romney, would you advise him to spend as much time in illinois or skip it altogether? caller: absolutely skip it altogether. the fact is that, if you look at how obama won, he won with 365 electoral votes. mr. romney has won tough role to climb. remember, you cannot think of the electorate unless you think of the independent voters. people do not like to be told in one form or another that they made a mistake. ok? in other words, the independent voters who voted for obama, they will not say, well, we were really wrong, unless something is really wrong. host: we will take a look at the state newspaper from columbia,

south carolina. obama, romney at odds on jobs report. obama made only passing reference to the report on friday as he addressed a white house forum on women in the work force. he then qualified his optimism. we will be talking more about the unemployment numbers in about another 20 minutes. speaking of south carolina, we have this tweet -- host: san diego, calif., you are

all for democrats. caller: there are very few things i can say that i have never done before and c-span was one of them until today. host: welcome to the party. caller: california is in many ways in the same boat that texas is in. texas is a red state and we are a blue states. but we are not a swing state. if we all decided to stay home, that would definitely affect the election. host: as a democrat, do you think there are enough disaffected democrats that they would stay home and maybe give the state to the republican nominee? about: no, i'm talking everybody staying home. everybody seems to be dissatisfied. the republicans are dissatisfied with their candidates. there are a lot of democrats were not happy with president

obama. i am personally ok with him. and when i look at the alternative, mr. romney, i mean, he comes across as stringently purposeful and everlasting the earnest and smiles and he might sell you a used car something, but his business background ultimately his message is, high, my name is mitt and i would like to screw you, if you would excuse the expression. there is a higher caliber of people who should be out there proposing moving the country forward and pulling it together. host: scott, among your republican friends, i am sure you have a couple out there in california -- what are their feelings about governor romney? caller: i guess a lot like

republicans everywhere. they are resigning themselves to the fact that he seems to be the standard, the nominee. host: that was caught in san diego, california. this way, governor romney spoke with the society of newspaper editors. he was talking about this not being the time for president obama's heightens the campaign. this is a little bit of what he had to say. [video clip] >> as president, he has been talking about increasing taxes. as the kennedy, he talks about lowering taxes. -- as candidate, he talks about lowering taxes. as president, he delayed the development of our oil, coal,

and natural gas. as candidate, he says he favors an energy policy that favors an all-of-the-above approach. president obama has turned advising to a campaign strategy. he wants us to reelected so we can find out what he will actually do. with all the challenges of the nation faces, this is not the time for president obama's hi nancy campaign. president obama says he wants to transform america. i don't want to transform america. i want to restore to america the values of economic freedom and opportunity and small government that have made this government the leader it is. host: we're talking about the role of your state in the 2012 election. we have this item here from reuters stock, the came out earlier this week. "women boost obama over romney

in swing states." the results point to difficulties the republicans could face, a critical block in november's general election against obama. support for obama among women under the age of 50 searched from mid february, putting the president and head of obama by 51%. obama led romney among women with 54% compared to romney's 36%. back to the phones in our discussion. next up is georgia for independence calling from new jersey this morning. are you with me, george? all right, let's move on to baltimore maryland. frank is on a line for

republicans. caller: thank you for taking my call. remember, the election has not started yet. for the first time, barack obama will have to defend his record. the difference between now and 2008 is that he now has a record to defend. i promise you we will make barack obama run on his record. this election is about barack obama. are you better off than you were four years ago? women, men, minorities, everybody is hurting at the gas pump. foreclosure is everywhere.

this president has been very incompetent. and we will make him be on the defense for the first time. it will be very interesting to see how barack obama defends his record. and it has not even started yet. host: do you think that the president will have to defend his record enough in a state like maryland that it will go republican in november? caller: in the swing states, it does not matter who our nominee is. there will focus on one thing, barack obama's record. remember, it was a waste of money. the second-biggest policy was the health care policy that is now in the supreme court. most likely, it will be declared illegal. imagine that. host: arias on the line for democrats from kentucky.

caller: bear with me for a minute. i was just listening to the man from maryland to i don't know if he realized that, on the floor, when they tried to, you know, stop the -- i think it was the opec, the gas companies and everything, from getting the money, billions of dollars that they did for deductions, most everyone of the democrats -- it failed because all of the democrats feel like opec and all of these cases should still get the deduction and all that. if they were not getting that deduction, then we could work on other things as far as our energy. and another thing, i believe he will come in.

women will not forget -- all women will not forget what happened in the time that november gets here. as far as romney goes, he flip- flops' back and forth. i can sit here and talk with you about everything. he said he is not trying to get rid of planned parenthood. host: 3-2 kentucky went for in the 2008 election. -- tell us who kentucky 14 in the 2008 election. caller: i believe it was a red stain. -- a read state. when mitch mcconnell came in saying stop president obama from getting a second term, he said this in the beginning. everything that president obama has come up with as far as jobs

and our roads and everything, it failed. all the republicans vote no on it regardless of what it is. so it is no wonder we do not have more jobs. like i said, i could tell you more. mitch mcconnell needs to go. i will say this, ok? these are not republicans that we have right now. ok? i do not know where these people came from. but i am not against republicans, ok? host: all right, we will leave it there. we have the story from "the washington times" from yesterday's paper. we wanted to bring it to your attention. "panetta paid $17,000 for an $18,000 commute to california." this is susan cabinetry talking about leon panetta shuttling

back and forth to california on a military aircraft. he negotiated his right to commute home to california and nearly every weekend using military equivalent of a gulfstream jet at his job. the trip cost the government as much as $860,000. mr. panetta paid about $630 per trip for a round-trip flight that cost the pentagon about 30 two thousand dollars could defense officials told the associated press. it was reported that mr. panetta flew home 14 times and had no plans to curtail the trips. you can read more about that in "the washington times." we are talking about the role of your state in the 2012 election. our next call comes from randy

on airline for republicans calling from basil, mississippi. caller: thank you, sir. first off, i would like to touch on some of the response to the lady said. then i want to get past that. in my state of mississippi, i am sure it would for obama. but the lady was talking about all the things about romney. we can look at a lot of different things that obama has done that have not come out to be worth of crack, really. -- worth of crap, really. california will go for obama. host: who do you think mississippi will go for? and how much of a factor will mississippi play in the overall election? caller: i actually believe from

what i hear from the people i talk to around here, they're not pleased with obama, too. i cannot say they would good democrat or not. host: what about your republican friends? caller: my republican friends will go republican no matter who it is. even if it was sarah palin. they just do not feel that president obama is up to the task. i would go out and have a beer with the man. host: but you would not have a beer with him at the white house. caller: i would if he invited me. this article says that romney has so alienated women and

latinos, he will never get them back. we'll remember in november. that was on our twitter line. and this op ed from linda chavez in this morning's "new york post," she writes -- a new report says a lot about the assimilation of the nation's largest minority group, both good and bad. one aspect of the report that is bound to provoke controversy and come in some quarters, resentment, is how few hispanics identify themselves first and foremost as americans. only 8% of americans, 35% owner generational spanish do, according to the study. that is part of an op ed in this morning's "new york post." back to the phones, chicago, ill., on the line for democrats. caller: it is amazing how people

forget how things were four years ago. it never ceases to amaze me. if you look at the empirical data -- by the way, good job -- but when you look at the empirical data in terms of employment numbers, he is headed in the right direction. toyou're at in-any move up zero, you're doing well. and if you have no money and i give you $1, you are 100% better. from a macro economic standpoint, are we better off than we were when he took office? it is unequivocally yes. is it where we wanted to be? no. if you look at the republicans, it is the same metric -- small government, garrett of certain regulations -- every election is the same rhetoric. host: when people ask are you better off than you were four

years ago, sometimes people are better off but they do not feel that way. in talking with your friends and other democrats in illinois, and do enough of them feel like they're better off than they were four years ago to want to reelect the president in november? caller: that is a very good question. individually, you will find people who are perhaps not doing better off. perhaps the unemployed for multiple wants, maybe multiple years. but if you look at it from a macro economic standpoint, the country as a whole is better. if you look at what he put in place, the jobs that come all the things that people in place, the foundation, you can see that this country is headed in the right direction. host: sorry to cut you off. we have to keep the conversation moving. first, we want to bring to the attention of our viewers and listeners this, talking about

gop superdelegates -- it is over, romney is the nominee. the growing consensus among -- support search of other candidates for grudgingly said the math doesn't add up for anyone but the former massachusetts governor. back to the phones. annapolis, maryland for the line for republicans. caller: maryland will go for obama. no question about that.

i agree with this woman who was on the phone a couple of callers ago. obama is for everyone. he must be pared the way he came out strongly and the black panthers came out to put a bounty on george zimmerman, of course he is for all people. he accused his own white grandmother of being a racist because she did not like a bunch of black men coming in behind her. that shows you how much he cared that it was a typical white woman reaction. unless you're white or hispanic or asian, by by. host: we have another headline this morning. talking about the crash of an airplane in virginia beach.

the story in the till we have from "the wall street journal" this morning. -- the story in "the wall street journal" this morning. the navy firing -- the navy fire rescue personnel were on scene. you can read more about that in "the wall street journal" and other papers across the country. st. david, ill. for our line for democrats. caller: good morning, c-span, and thank you so much for televising the house votes and everything else that you do. i am glad that you have paid down state in illinois to reply to this question. i am a democrat. i have never been so am harassed by the democrats who are in

office right now and the left- wing newspapers only report the democratic side of policies. i think it is hilarious when i talk to my fellow democrats downstate. they defend president obama. but when you ask them if they are better off than they were four years ago, there will not answer that question because they know that the answer is they are not. when the president came into office, gas was $1.79 per gallon could look at what is now. all of his policies were a failure. three solar companies, over $600 billion, have failed. i think he will go down in history as the worst president since jimmy carter. i do not want to see that because i like him and i hope he does get defeated. because if he is in there for another four years, his name will be so tarnished with the democratic party that it will be

a shame because he is such a nice guy. host: we will leave it there. we will let our viewers and listeners know that, if you want to get more information about the 2012 campaign, you can go to our website, c-span.org /campaign2012, for the latest election news. we also want to let you know that, in 45 minutes, we will be talking about taxes. this is one of the things that we do on a yearly basis. during the break, get a pencil. you will want to take some notes. after that, we will look at the unemployment rate for march and the numbers and what they mean. today's saturday and we will be right back. >> tonight on c-span, from cardozo law school in new york, a debate on civil liberties, including the head of the aclu and the former solicitor general

pierre >> in those cases, you're talking about the most critical exertion of government power. the number of individuals directly affected are probably several hundred in guantanamo. but when you have the highest rank of government decide to hold individuals without charges or trial, to ship them off to block sites, to authorize torture, which was hitherto illegal, and then endeavor to obfuscate that from the entire public, lawyers -- you are talking about a high-stakes game that can literally change the course of american history. so now you are thinking about the civil-rights of this individual who is preparing -- anthony says, well, maybe the

moment before the missile strikes he is having a conversion, but maybe he has killed lots of americans already and he has equipped other individuals to kill lots of americans and you cannot stop that. that is already underway. that is going on. now you have the rights of that individual to something that anthony calls judicial process, which you cannot possibly bring about. >> is the argument that it should be decided by the generals? >> i am getting to the dilemma. this is not an easy thing to answer. and you put those civil rights against the people that you're sworn to protect from acts of despicable terrorism and you do not have a choice to do it the way everybody would like, which is to bring someone into court, have all the witnesses, miranda rights, brady writes, all of those kinds of things -- you do not have that choice.

until you allow that to happen, until you do the thing that you cannot do, which is to bring about this judicial process, or use a drone or some other method of killing that individual -- >> you can see the whole discussion tonight at 8:00 p.m. eastern on c-span. tonight on c-span, the president of planned parenthood talks about women's health care and politics in america. >> i think most of us believe in this country that health care should not be politicized and it does not come with a political label. i just left arizona where i am very proud -- actually, we just voted down the birth control ban in arizona. so good things can happen. but planned parenthood was started by peggy goldwater, barry goldwater's wife.

we have hundreds of thousands of republican supporters. and planned parenthood is bipartisan -- we are republicans democrats and independents. we all believe in women's health care. >> you can watch it on c-span. smiley will lead a discussion. >> in 1990, the average member of congress had a network of two hundred $50,000, excluding their home. by 2010, the average member of congress had a net worth of $750,000, excluding their home. how can they tripled their worth?

everybody else stayed level, but these members of congress found a way to interest themselves. i am not hating on congress and i am not speaking on wealth. but this is what i have to say. people who have that kind of wealth and do not understand a person who needs another $40 to take the bus. >> you can watch the whole event on monday nights starting at 8:00 p.m. eastern on c-span. >> "washington journal" continues. host: timothy hohmann is here to talk to us about the latest job numbers that came out yesterday. the numbers and the stories that go with it are emblematic of the story that we see in "the boston globe" this morning. so the economy is adding more jobs, but at a modest rate. what happened? >> guest: a lot of economists

are saying that the weather played a significant role. there was an unseasonably warm winter. in some fields, that made jobs available forward a few months. you had construction and homes that could be built in february when it is usually much colder. more people went to the mall and employers added more people there. they are saying that we are seeing a little bit of a pullback. host: in "the washington post" they address a that a little bit. the folks that are working now in construction, will they be able to hold on to lose jobs through the summer and fall? or should we see, because many of them were employed earlier

this season, that their numbers will drop as we move into may and june and july? guest: the ones that have been hired so far will likely be stay employed for the next few months. later in thered laye year, their prospects may not be that great. but this depends on the housing market and the construction market as well. the housing market is still weighing on the economy. until housing picks up, construction will be lagging as well. host: rick manning has a story with the headline of understanding the employment rate, march 2012." you have a strange phenomenon where the government claims that 120,000 new jobs were created yet fewer americans are actually employed in those jobs. it is just one more reason why the monthly unemployment rate no

longer reflects the reality of america's economic situation. in your perspective, as an economics reporter, tell us what these numbers actually guest: mean: the -- actually mean. guest: the unemployment rate fell, but not for the right reasons. more people fell out of the labor force. they want to see more people in cursed by their job prospects -- people encouraged by their job prospects. instead, you had more people drop out and stop looking for .ork appeare there are two separate surveys. they ask people who are unemployed if they are looking for a job. where the job gains receipts month comes from the establishment survey where the

labor statistics calls businesses and asked how many people have you hired and how many people have you fired. a lot of economists have been saying that the household survey is a much better indicator recently because it is looking at more people and you are finding that to what extent people -- the labor situation because the labor department will ask all kinds of questions. what kind of job you want? had you stopped looking for work? host: we're talking about the jobs numbers that came out yesterday. it you want to get involved in the conversation, you can call .

you can also send this e-mails and follow the conversation on twitter and facebook. our first caller comes from cleveland, ohio. caller: how're you doing? guest: good, thank you. caller: we have 120,000 jobs were created. how many of those are native americans? thank you. guest: i am afraid that the bureau of labor statistics does not break it down to that level. they do some racial breakdown, but they do not go down to that level. in terms of the 120: jobs, there is no data on the race -- the 120,000 jobs, there is no data on the race or ethnicity.

but the bureau of statistics does offer numbers in terms of age groups and have a people are employed -- last month, which sought teenage unemployment taking a time up. -- we saw teenage unemployment taking a jump up. host: it appeared that the economy was getting better, that people who were currently not looking for work and not counted as unemployed would be motivated to get off the couch and start looking for work and the unemployment numbers may actually go back up. is that what we're starting to see with the march unemployment numbers? guest: we have not seen it in march, but a lot of economists said the that is on the horizon. the unemployment rate has come down 0.09% since august. now we could see it jump back

up, but for good reasons. people would be encouraged and feel like they have a good chance of getting a job. so we're still waiting for that influx of workers in the labor force to push the unemployment rate back up. host: the next call comes from gains the, florida. caller: thank you for taking the time matter saturday morning to come on the show. we have been told for a long time that, if the tax rate was lower, jobs would appear that demand for product. the discussion went through president obama and the bush tax cuts and he caved in to them and again. when will the "job creators" put them out there since we continue to keep their tax rates low? guest: a lot of the job creation

comes from small businesses. they are the engine of labor market growth. we have started to see significant job gains in small business so some of those people are affected by the bush tax cuts and marginal tax rates. what we are hoping to see is a more broad-based job gains among small businesses. right now, they're still focused in some places like the technology industry. a lot of technology firms are starting to create a bubble of sports, -- bubble of sorts, especially around mobile apps. there are a lot of other small businesses, small manufacturers or construction companies, that have not quite a scene that takes hold. host: ron all four republicans calling from shenandoah, va.. caller: i would like

caller: yes, i would like to know what the median income of these 120,000 jobs are. guest: yes, the average weekly earnings increased a little bit, and that is encouraging because it shows more americans will have money in their pockets to go out and shop. that accounts for about 70% of the u.s. economy, and more spending that happens, the more likely business are to hire workers. we saw a decline in the average hourly earnings, but that was not very good. host: some of the numbers we have from the bureau of labor statistics regarding the march 2012 unemployment rate down are as follows.

timothy homan, can you explain the retail loss of jobs? guest: that has something to do with the weather effect. when it is warmer weather, there is not as much a race horse now on the roads. people might be more likely to do some shopping. when retailers see more for traffic coming through the doors, and they have not seen that in the last few months, they want to take advantage. if that means hiring an extra cashier, they will do that. because we saw that in january and february, that meant that

the firms did not have to hire anybody knew in march. host: pennsylvania. john, and our line for democrats. caller: good morning. i wonder if the statistics includes the people that receive a golden parachute when not seek work? guest: they are not counted on the labour force. that is one statistic. if you're not actively looking for a job, you are not considered part of the labor force. some critics have said there is almost a shadow wilberforce, people that have given up looking for work. -- labor force, people that a given up looking for work. it is hard to know how many people fall into that category. >> when they do these statistics, do they call people.

in terms of the actual payroll, how many jobs are added. did not make phone calls. they send all forms. that is why we will often see the numbers revised from previous numbers. there is a deadline for the firms to send back firms. if they miss the deadline, they could send it in, and it would be revised. host: we are talking about the march unemployment figures in the overall economy with timothy homan from bloomberg news. our next call comes from waldorf, maryland. bethany. caller: it seems like the same statistics came out at the height of the bush administration when gasoline prices rose at that time.

we lost retail. i do not understand why as a country we cannot get smart. the same construction jobs that would go towards new construction could also be imply -- applied right now, to making our homes more energy efficient, low or maintenance, or making an existing house more energy efficient. there is a definite correlation. what is the resistance on this. why do we have to keep going through these cycles? it is so easily predictable that when gasoline prices rise, retail will go lower. why are we not been more aggressive trying to break that cycle? host: bethany, in waldorf,

maryland. guest: we have seen improvement taking place in lieu of construction of new homes, but what is going on this time is a lot of this is do-it-yourself work. they're not hiring construction workers to install something, or make improvements. we're not seeing jobs added there. the caller is right in that whenever gasoline prices to spike like this, which they did last year around this time, it really does put a penny pension on households. if you have to spend more on gasoline, which is for many households and essential purchase, that means you have less money for non-essential items, and you can not save as much money to buy a new television or clothing. if we do see gasoline prices

continue to rise, that will take a toll on other retail purchases, but right now economists are saying the u.s. consumer is in a better position this year than they were last year, when the gas prices also rose. host: in "the baltimore sun" this morning -- this is what the president had to say yesterday in addressing the march unemployment numbers. [video clip] >> we welcome the news that our businesses created 120,000 and our unemployment rate ticked down. our economy has created 4

million private sector jobs in the last three years, and more than 600,000 in the private sector -- the last three months ago. it is clear that we have a lot more work to do. host: timothy homan of bloomberg news, tell us your thoughts about how the unemployed numbers will be used as a tool in the upcoming head-to-head the election process between the president and what looks to be the republican nominee, governor mitt romney. guest: one statistic to keep in mind is president ronald reagan is the only president since world war two to be elected with the unemployment rate above 6%. obama certainly has a hurdle ahead of him in that respect. it is fair to say that a lot of his critics and opponents will

bring up dead when the federal stimulus was being considered, -- that when the federal stimulus was being considered, some economists from obama's team said it would keep unemployment below 8%, and it peaked at about 10%. it is fair game for the creeks to use. -- critics to use. even if the unemployment rate keeps falling, it has to be falling for the right reasons from the eyes of policymakers. if we see the rate come down because people keep dropping out of the labor force, that does not make for a happy electorate. host: what you were talking about is also referred to on the front page in columbia, south carolina, with a chart that shows 6.8% was the

unemployment rate in november, 2008, when barack obama defeated john mccain for the presidency, went up to 7.6% in january, 2009, when the president took office. in october, 2009, when employment hit its great recession highs at 10.2%, and yesterday's numbers, 8.2%. as you mentioned, timothy homan, no president since franklin roosevelt has been reelected with an unemployment rate higher than 8%. massachusetts. john, and our line for republicans. go ahead. caller: good morning. i would like to say thank you to bloomberg for putting out the information on the tarp and the troubled asset thing.

getting over to the unemployment statistics, of course, i'm calling from massachusetts, and i guess the heart of the question is how political are these unemployment numbers? the reason i ask this is this. here, in massachusetts, for 2011, in a strongly democratic state, and the home of mitt romney, or the supposed home of mitt romney, last year, mass. did their own unemployment numbers, and they claimed there was 40,000 jobs created in 2011. they moved from the state doing on employment calculations to the dls doing calculations, and they revised their growth of jobs from 40,000, down to 9000

for the whole year of 2011. i looked it this and say what are they doing here? is this a status quo thing? what is going on here? how can you miss a number by 400%? and, just as a general question, i know what they're doing with participation rates and record numbers, and things like this, and, you know, it kind of goes back to, you know, basic questions about economics, and i was curious of the -- as to how you feel these numbers are being used politically, and if they are manipulated to be political, and if you think america is not strong enough to know the truth. guest: the bureau of labor

statistics, almost on an annual basis will do what is known as a benchmark revision, and that is where the -- the revised numbers for the previous year or the previous few years, and a lot of that has to do with modeling. this happens under every administration. the people that do this are not political appointees. of course, the unemployment rate and ease jobless figures almost always come under criticism regardless of who is in office. part of what is getting revised in terms of the modeling is in the bureau of labor statistics, not in their opinion, but in their view, how many businesses are being created and how many fell every year. that helps them figure out how many to call, and how to wait to figures from a smaller firm against the bigger firm. so, these are things they're doing annually, is not

constantly throughout the year. it helps them get a better picture of the labor -- is not constantly throughout the year. it helps to get a better picture of the labor market. host: cindy sends us a tweet and wants to know if the yearly increase in population is taking into account. guest: it is. this is something the bureau accounts for, and it helped that we had the 2010 census just a couple of years ago. we have those figures now, to give us a better view of the landscape for job-seekers. a lot of people point out that we lost around 8 million jobs during the 18-month recession we had, and there are still about 5 million that need to be recouped. at this pace, we are still a ways off. host: we're talking with timothy homan, bloomberg news economics

reporter, and he is here to talk about the latest jobs numbers that came out for march yesterday. we want to remind our viewers and listeners that on "newsmakers" this week, the secretary of housing and urban development, shaun donovan, talks about what the administration is trying to do about underwater homes and a settlement with the latest mortgage services groups, after a hud investigation. he also talked about construction workers, and we began our conversation talking about construction workers. this is what the secretary of housing and urban development had to say. [video clip] >> we need to do more for the markets that are hardest hit, and particularly the shadow inventory, the distress sales. there, the president has

proposed a project rebuild the one put construction workers back to work, renovating and rebuilding homes better sitting vacant, dragging down everyone's home value. if you live next door to a home that goes into foreclosure, even if you are paying your bills, the very day in the full closure sign goes up, your home loses value. we have to do this to help neighborhoods overall. host: you can see the entire video sunday at 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. on c-span. timothy homan, your thoughts about this project rebuild, and the administration tried to put two hundred thousand people to work in construction. is that reality?

guest: it depends on where this construction will take place. infrastructure is more likely to have a greater good, if you will carry the biggest problem we have seen so far with construction workers is with the housing market, and there is not much incentive for home builders right now, given the shadow inventory that was mentioned there. that is because if you have a house that is already built and that is livable, and it is going to be sold at a fire sale price by a bank, and you are shopping for a home, you will probably opt for that one as opposed to a newly constructed one that will cost more. host: tennessee. vivian, on our line for democrats. you are on "washington journal." caller: good morning. it seems like here in america the only people doing business

good and making money is the president. one thing that america has not addressed to us it is these big companies going overseas, and bringing back products. if they bring back these jobs, the big manufacturers, because not everyone is equipped to go to college -- bring back our manufacturing jobs such as clothing, shoes, cars, bring that back to america. the next thing i would like to say before you cut me off is what is wrong with them trying to put the money over here to help our country build roads, schools, hire a fireman, policeman? guest: we have seen some growth

in the manufacturing sector in terms of jobs, and that is usually more on the high-tech side. there is not as much manufacturing of articles of clothing, household goods -- a lot of things we manufacture now part technological goods, or ones that require a lot of capital investment in that -- that a lot of other countries are not equipped to handle. the uss companies that can put forth that kind of money and -- the u.s. has companies that can put forth that kind of money and build production plants. while we are seeing growth, it is not the kind of stuff the u.s. made in years past, and it will be interesting to see if a lot of companies do decide to bring that labor back to the west. host: john, on our line for independences.

caller: i appreciate you being here parent we should get on to the bureau of labor statistics and check the -- check -- you being here. we should get to the bureau of labor statistics. their last release of 8.3%. the number of people looking for work are 4.4 million. they're not included in the figures. i of working age folks, 23- million are under-employed. 4.4 million have given up looking. if you sift through all these figures, the real unemployment

rate would be 70 million people, and under-employed it would be closer to 27 million people. the government likes to shout about these numbers. i wonder how many of these jobs pay more than the minimum wage. host: john, we will leave it there. we want to show our viewers, and read it for our listeners, regarding the march 2012 on a plan and demographics -- host: back to the phones. new work, ohio, car, and our line for republican -- clark, on our line for republicans. caller: the health industry and

the energy industry -- in the health industry, we are suffering from recessions globally. it seems like the government -- the health secretary relies on technical people. the people i talk to do not want to hear about bacteria. the only thing left because the federal budget -- judge told the fda to stop using antibiotics in our food animals, any time you eat a piece of chicken or beef, you get a dose of antibiotics. on the energy side, wave energy will work because we continue to burn, and that gives eds and to the oceans, and we see a decline -- acid to the oceans, and we see a decline in all of our oysters.

it is killing our food animals in the sea. host: clark. ohio. timothy homan, go ahead. guest: the health field was one of the few that weathered the recession pretty well. we continue to see more health and education jobs, which are grouped together by the bureau of labor statistics. we've seen a lot of hospital workers said have been added significantly. there is no sign the debt letting up in terms of analysis for -- of that adding up in terms of analysis. we've also seen an increase in the energy sector, and part of that is natural gas drilling and other mining activities in the u.s.. that contributes to the many fed trimmed gains we have seen as well. host: in "the wall street journal" --

host: explained that to us, the nine economists -- and non- economists. guest: chairman bernanke said the pace of economic growth was slower than the job gains that we have seen, and that was out of sync, so what we should be expecting is a slowdown and a pullback in terms of jobs growth, and that is what we saw

with the march numbers. if the to the gdp figures from the fourth quarter of last year, and the figures and are giving us an indication of what gdp was like in the first quarter, economic growth and demand does not support the job gains we saw in january and february. he was saying we should not get our hopes up too high, and the fact is we did see a slowdown. host: we have this tweet from jim himes. host: back to the phones. oregon. john, and our line for democrats, you are on "washington journal" with timothy homan of bloomberg news. caller: thank you. what number or percentage of these jobs are temporary agency

jobs, and the second part of my question is an earlier caller ask your guest what the median income, median wage of these jobs are, and if you're just could avoid the verbal flatulence and put a number to get wage, thank you. host: thank you for being nice, john. timothy homan. talk about top jobs first. guest: sure. the temporary jobs declined in march. i spoke to some executives, and in their eyes it is a positive sign for the labor market as a whole because a lot of their employees have been transferred from temporary workers into full-time hires. they have a client that has 50 of their workers on a temporary payroll, in march of lot of them decided to make them full-time employees. that brings down the temporary

hiring numbers, which is a good thing for those workers because then they are receiving full time employment with benefits. in terms of the average weekly earnings, that is about $806 a week last month. host: how much of the difference is there between the average earnings per week, and the average take home a person gets on unemployment? what i'm trying to get here is what kind of incentive is there to get off of unemployment and go back to work? guest: a lot of economists have been saying that some tough love is needed in terms of getting people back into the labour force, and what they mean by that is bringing down the duration of unemployment benefits. some people can receive them up to 99 weeks. some economists are saying that people in this position will be looking for work, but some of

them have grown accustomed to the lifestyle and the income that they receive, and there is a formula that determines how much that could be. sometimes it is around $300 or $400 a week, but for some people that were not making much more than that, they're able to adapt. host: we have another article. host: how much are the unemployment numbers effected by the fact that baby boomers, those in their early-to-mid- 60's, going into their 70's, and traditionally would be retiring, are staying in the job market? guest: it is having a tremendous effect, particularly on college graduates, who would usually go

in and take the place of a retiring employee, but it is said employee stays on longer, the company is not likely to fire the person, so a lot of people are coming out of college without jobs, and that will pose somewhat of a challenge for president barack obama in his reelection bid because the unemployment rate for americans in their 20's has gone up significantly, and that is in many ways obama's base. host: phil, on our line for independents. caller: have a couple quick questions. the effect that the legal immigration has on all the illegal immigration has on our jobs -- illegal immigration has an effect on our jobs. if i go out and get a job,

people are hiring illegal immigrants, and i take a cut in pay to get the job, then i can not pay my bills if i take that cut in pay. where does that leave americans? guest: a few things on that front. depute center has done -- the pew senator has done studies on the number of illegal immigrants coming into the u.s., and that number, has dropped off significantly, and that is because a lot of people come in for jobs in construction or the restaurant industry. those fields saw significant layoffs in their recession, so there was not bad job demand like there was in the years leading up to the recession. also, it is fair to say that a lot of the jobs that have been added recently have been on the

lower-paying side of things. there are some financial industry jobs that are being added, and a lot of the jobs we are seeing are on her retail, and there are still some construction jobs being added a lot of the retail -- added. a lot of that is in the retail industry, which typically does not pay as much. host: timothy homan, thank you for the non-"washington journal" this morning. have not done your taxes in? we will spend the rest of " washington journal" helping to prepare. >> we st to create a video telling us what part of the constitution was important and why. today, we will talk to an eighth grader from farragut,

massachusetts. why did you choose to focus on the first amendment? >> we thought it was very general. we chose the religious liberty clause. we thought it was something we could personally relate to because we each have our own little point of view on religion. we also thought it was something other people in our community and nation could do as well. >> you intend to do all -- two experts. how did they help you understand? >> they opened their eyes to how it impacts not only a small group of people, but how it impacts the whole nation. it is always effected us because everyone is practicing their religion, expressing their religion, and they all have their own personal connection. >> how does this topic he said your community? >> everyone has their own view,

so these causes are protecting them by giving them the freedom to practice them without being persecuted. it allows this to go to school, go to work, have a job, own property, and vote without being judged by our faith and our religion. >> how does your research affect your position on the topic? >> i have always been a strong supporter of religious equality, and through their research and by creating this documentary it has opened my eyes to how important this is, and how important these clauses are, and how they're always effectiveness. it is made me a stronger supporter for religious freedom. >> what was your favorite part in making the documentary? >> my favorite part was the editing. i love creating videos. i had more of a professional, hands-on experience, and it was a lot of fun. >> what would you like others to

learn from your documentary? >> i would like other people to watch our documentary began to feel how we felt how important the causes were, and how they are always impacting us. they're always giving you the freedom to practice your religion and express your religion without being persecuted. >> thank you for talking with us today, tessa williams. congratulations. >> thank you. >> here is a portion of the document prepared >> no matter who we are, where we come from, or what faith we have, we are americans. >> the establishment and exercise clauses make up the religious liberty clause is. >> the first amendment tells us we should make no law establishing religion, nor prohibited be exercise thereof. >> what does it mean?

>> the establishment clause is basically about noaa establishment. we will not set up an official state religion. it is about individuals being free to exercise their beliefs. >> the establishment clause is there to protect religion from government, and government from religion. >> it celebrates church from state, but not religion from politics or public life. it keeps the government from taking sides in religion. the government is required to be neutral. >> you can see the entire video and all the winning document is at student cam.org continue the conversation on facebook and twitter. >> "washington journal" continues. host: it is time for our annual look at taxes, and trying to help our viewers and listeners get through the process.

joining us as kevin mccormally of the "kiplinger letter," and we will ask him about changes that have come from legislation that was not passed the last time we did this. guest: the good news is it is almost nothing. the people reporting gains and losses, there is a new form they have to file. that came out of the law 3 or four years ago. we have heard from a lot of people but say they do not understand the form. it only applies to people who have sold stock in 2011 that they purchased in 2011. it does not apply to mutual funds or stocks purchased earlier. for those few people, this form has to report what they got when they sold the stock, but the broker also has to tell them how much it paid, so the irs can't figure out whether the gain or

loss is accurate. mutual fund purchases are covered by this. 10 or 15 years ago it will simplify everybody's life, but this year is confusing. host: kevin mccormally, should you be taking one of these forms when you go to your office? guest: you need to take that to your accountant's office so they can use the information and apply it to this 89-49. host: also joining us is robert baldassari, a certified public accountant. what is been the biggest change from the 2011 tax season? guest: i think the biggest change is the capital gains and reporting gains and losses on this new schedule. the irs requires all capital

gains and losses to be separated into six different categories. it used to be two categories, now is six categories. host: mr. baldassari, we are about one weekend a half away from when the taxes are due. if you are just sitting down and starting the process, what needs to be in your mind? guest: the most important thing is to be sure you are paying tax on all of your income. a lot of times, people will forget some income. at this stage, they should get an extension, because it is so complicated sometimes that this is way too late to be trying to get all of the tax work done and finalized and having a good number. host: kevin mccormally, the irs, the government, is actually giving us a two-day extension this year.

guest: that is right. the 17th is the deadline. the 16th is emancipation day, a holiday that nobody knows existed. abraham lincoln released the slaves in washington d.c. -- washington, d.c., before the rest of the nation. host: we are talking with kevin mccormally, editorial director at "kiplinger," and robert baldassari, a certified public accountant. if you want to get involved, and you have some questions regarding your 2011 federal taxes, here are the numbers.

host: you can also send us e- mail and tweets and the conversation goes on on facebook. talk to us, kevin mccormally, about standard and personal deductions. have they basically remain the same? guest: they are up a little because of inflation. about 75% take the standard deduction. a lot of them think they're cheated, but really they're not because the standard deductions cover all of your expenses, like state taxes. the only reason you claim it is all of your qualified expenses are less than this amount, so you always get more than you deserve. for married people, it is

$11,600. so, unless you have more than that in more -- charitable contributions and state income taxes, you'll want to take the standard deduction. host: dallas, texas, robert, you are on. go ahead. caller: i have a question about box one of the form the university provides. it has $1,601, and this translates into a form 1040a. the best i could do was $800, on 31a. moving down to line 40, is another $800. and i correct? guest: i think that shows you paid tuition.

that should not be reported as income. i did not have the form in front of me. guest: i am not familiar with that, either. guest: if you have to be careful with forms of come out of student programs. usually, they will get a form showing the money was paid to them during the year. a lot of people did confused, they may have to pay tax on the money, but if it was for qualified expenses, it can be free. you want to make sure your report of the income, and you do not want to report anything you do not have to report. host: california. go ahead. caller: thank you. i have a little property, and i am paying a young man to maintain the yard, cut the

grass, etc. am i right or wrong in that i need to do a 1099 for him if he is being paid more than $600 a year? host: robert baldassari? guest: but there used to be a rule that came out about a year ago that the answer would be yes, but i think that was overturned just for 2011, and just for rental properties, as opposed to businesses, and also for 2012. is that right? guest: i think it was overturned completely. it was part of the health care reform law to raise money to prevent people from not reporting this income. the 1099 form is not required.

the big question is in is this person an independent contractor, in which case it is his responsibility to pay the taxes, where is he your employee. if this person is considered your employee, you are responsible for social security taxes. does he work for other people? if he only works for you, he is probably your employee. he did not to the 109942011 -- you do not have to deduct -- do the 1099 for 2011. a lot of this never gets reported because the irs does not get a report of it. the issue of the broker reporting and capital gains, the reason the irs wants broker reported on capital gains is they know the more information they get from somebody else about your income the more likely you will report your income and they will get the

taxes due. host: the legislation on capitol hill, what stage is it at? guest: nothing is happening on this now. at "kiplinger" we do not think anything is going to happen until next year. there will be talk about tax reform, but this is the kind of thing that could come up in 2013-2014. host: after the election. guest: after the election, but then there will be another election. host: illinois. hugh, go ahead. caller: i am talking about a couple the has an income of approximately two hundred thousand dollars, they all approximately $125,000 on student loan costs. is there a way to itemize the interest expense on this college loan? thank you. host: robert baldassari?

guest: the interest on a student loan is not deductible. the interest on a home mortgage is deductible. guest: just up to $2,500 can be deductible -- deducted. with this kind of debt, i'm sure the interest is higher. host: we have a tweet. host: robert baldassari, is that the smart thing for her to do, filed in february, or take some time and make sure you have the in david biggar material you need to file a complete return? -- have all of the material to file a complete return?

guest: they have a tendency to reassure them, maybe twice, once in february, when some early- march, and sometimes in later- march. if you do not have any investments, then it is ok to file as soon as you get your w- 2, but if you have investments you might be getting dividends on, i would say wait until the middle or the end of march. host: if you have already filed, electronically, and you find more paper work, is there a process you can use to add this new material? guest: there is a form called 1040x, and that is an amended return. guest: one thing we have learned from the irs is is the first return requested a refund, you should wait until you get the

money before you file the amended return because it can confuse the system. if you owe more money, you should do it as soon as possible to avoid late payment. host: we are talking about your 2011 federal taxes with kevin mccormally of "kiplinger" and robert baldassari, a certified public accountant. georgia. eric. caller: good morning. i have a question about income levels. i have been taxed, normally at an income level that has been pretty good, and i would usually either not to pay any taxes or get a refund, but for some reason, the tax level i am being taxed on it is going down. i did not know if it is because i'm making more money, or because they changed the law. i'm one of those guys that bought a stock in 2011 and also sold a stock in 2011, and i am

also confused about this law reform. guest: the -- about this form. guest: the form is confusing. the key question is does it report a basis or not? there are up to six different versions, and it is those three for a long-term and short-term gains that are itemized for the year. it drives you crazy, but if you follow the instructions, you will get the right answer. now, as to the question of having less withholdings, i cannot answer that. withholding is determined by a form filed called the w-4, in which you claim allowances. if your withholding has gone down, maybe you changed your w-

4. do not worry about a refund. 75% of people get refunds. half of $1 trillion has gone from the irs to tax payers. people have too much money withdrawn from their paycheck. the vast majority of people get a refund in the spring, and they get excited, but it is their own money. most people can claim extra allowances, and if they do that on monday when they go to work, they will get a pay raise because withholding will go down, and take-home pay will go up. host: we have some sound from the irs commissioner who was discussing good and bad tax preparation, and how the taxpayer is taking the vantage

of by bad tax preparers. tweet -- [video clip] >> so, the vast majority of tax preparers are honest, ethical, hard-working, and provide a great disservice to both the tax system and the country. the problem is there are unscrupulous prepares out there who won, bring down the reputation of those great prepares, and the real problem is with the taxpayer left holding the bag at the end of the day. if you go to a preparer, they jack up your refund, tell you you will get this big refund and you deserve it when you do not. you get $3,000, you spend it, we figure that out, the preparer has packed up shop, and you are left holding the bag. so, it is a small number of people that are unscrupulous,

but those are people that we need to make sure we are focused on self the taxpayers get good treatment. host: we have good tax preparers here, and good folks that report on taxes, kevin mccormally, and robert baldassari. our next call comes from columbus, indiana. joe, you are on "washington journal." caller: good morning. i have a question about 1099b. what is reported from the brokers, they try to put in watched sales, but they do not do any between securities and options, nor between my other accounts or tax-deferred accounts. none of the numbers -- i use a sophisticated third-party tax software to keep track of all of this, and i have done it for a

few years, and it is a very good product. i know it is calculating things right, but the reconciliation between what my brokers are giving me and the form is way off. can i put a general explanation of where i think it is coming from, or should i -- i've written my congressman asking for relief, but i wonder if i should not file, file for an extension, and hope something better comes along between now and six months? i appreciate your comments. host: robert baldassari, go ahead. guest: this has been a tough year, especially with the washed sales, which means if you have a loss, that is not deductible. if you have multiple brokerage accounts, the brokers to not know you have bought the same stock back in a different account. you have to do that manually.

it takes a long time to do this manually, because you have to go to each piece of the stock sale, and separate what is deductible and what is not deductible. host: if a loss is not deductible, what is the incentive for buying the stock back? guest: it is ok to buy it back, but just do not within 30 days. some people might, thinking that maybe they should not have sold it. days so that, and something they sold it, something else happens, and they think it will go back up. guest: the loss really is not a lost forever in that there is an adjustment to the basis of the new stock. is really complicated -- it is really complicated. what do you think about attaching a statement like the taxpayer suggested to explain

why the numbers do not add up? i assume the irs will get a lot of them. guest: i assume they will get a lot of them, and it is ok for a -- to attach a statement, because once the irs will see these, if there is a statement attached, saying this is what the brokerage statement says and this is the real answer, hopefully that will prevent some correspondence from the irs. host: our next call comes from texas. paul. is that right? caller: yes, sir. my question is my mother is a retired teacher, and she has been helping my brother for less four years with his car payment and insurance coverage because he was not working full-time or

making enough to sustain himself in his household. is there anything she could do for those years the she has been assisting him with $500 a month, is there some way to claim that money as a contribution or assistance, and maybe get some kind of a tax credit? host: kevin mccormally? guest: probably not. generally, someone can be declaimed -- claimed as a dependent only if they're under the age 24. for older people, if they make more than $3,700, they cannot be claimed as a dependent. your mother would have to show they provided more than half of the support. it is difficult. you might as to check instructions on what is called a qualified relative. the best that would do is give her an opportunity to claim an

exemption which reduce her income by about $3,700. there is no charitable contribution when you are helping a family member. host: marcel, arlington, virginia. go ahead. caller: to the comment made earlier by one of your professionals on the student loan interest deduction, according to the tax guide, 2011, and this also won fourth 2010, anyone with a nagi of over $120,000 gets a much lower tax deduction. if you have a hundred $50,000, you essentially get 0 -- 150,000, you essentially did 0. i did not anywhere close to what

i did $50,000, and when you go to the form, i have zero. my experience with the income tax changes over the many years has been that slowly the irs has diminished many of the deductions that you could take earlier, but you cannot take now. student loan interest deduction is rather recent. i did not think it is that old. for example, many people on the a form could take certain deductions that you cannot take now, also for improving your house. host: marcel, we will leave it there. yet given us a lot to work with. bob baldassari, give us some insight on his situation, and explain what end nagi is.

guest: it is agi and is adjusted gross income, which includes dividends, wages, if you have retirement plans, or social security -- all of those things add up to what is called the adjusted gross income, and then there is the itemized deductions after that. when the caller was talking about the interest deduction being phased out, that is something we typically call the hidden tax increase, because sometimes people would say the tax rates have not gone up, but some of the deductions have been limited. so, people end up paying more taxes, even though the rates have not increase. host: the next call comes from the emmy, florida.

-- miami, florida. caller: good morning. i have a question. i have already filed by texas, and i filed them as married, even though my husband has been unemployed and he has no income. i am a mother as well. i have a child. my question is, is it better for me to send in a correction as married, head of household, or lead it passed is, and jointly -- lead it as is, and jointly, or is there any advantage for the future if the situation changes, which we all hope it does. guest: you can only -- you can not filed for head of household if you are married.

the only reason to do it separately used to reduce your tax bill. the only way we have ever seen this happen here is if one spouse had huge medical expenses and the other spouse did not. there is a 7.3% threshold. if one spouse had low-income and huge medical bills, may be would be deductible, but he does not need the deduction because he does not have any income. you are better office leaving it alone and going forward, continuing to file married. part of the rule is you cannot be married to be ahead of the household. you have to be providing a household for independent as well. that host: so if i was a single person and i was taking care of a parent, living with me, could by a head of household? guest: you could if your parent were your dependent.

host: we've got an e-mail from kourtney who says 6 guest: the -- we've been on for how long? now we're getting to the amt. guest: the that tax is just a tremendously complex area and there's lots -- people talk about the flat tax. this is very similar to a flat tax because you don't get very many itemized deductions but you get to deduct your charitable donations but that's ok, you get to deduct your home mortgage but there's no deduction for taxes, there's no deduction for your dependents and so the alternative to minimum tax can be complicated. one of the things that's a hot

topic now is that when the first -- when the alternative minimum tax first came out like in 1963 or something like that, very, very few people were subject to it. but now a lot of people are subject to it. a lot of people. host: what is the income threshhold that triggers the amt? guest: it's something like 40 or $45,000 that if you have more than that, then there's a possibility that you can be subject to amt. because the first $40,000 is not subject to amt. so if there's a husband and wife and they have more than that and they have a lot of state tax deductions because they're in a high tax state, like new york or california, or they live in a big house and they have a lot of real estate taxes then you can be subject to the alternative minimum tax.

host: also big families with a lot of kids because it reduces your income and you don't get those deductions in the a.m.t. land so it can raise your income. and you only pay if it's more than your regular tax would be. host: kevin mccormly is editorial director of the kip linger washington editors and overseas the letter and personal finance magazine. he also overcease the tax letter, agricultural letter, retirement report and the website. you're a busy guy. bob, the principle of matthews carter and boice joining the firm in 996. bob has extensive knowledge of the health care industry and medical practice management serving this industry for over 35 years. back to the phones. rockford, illinois. you're on the "washington journal." go ahead. caller: i have a question regarding supplementry income and loss.

property. this year they have different forms. and at the bottom it changes. so i was trying to figure out how to get the total amount. host: bob? guest: the actual form, some of the line numbers have changed and they're asking for different numbers in different orders. but if you just hold the form and it will say enter here the number from line four, or the number from line ten. it will come out exactly the same as the form did last year. host: next call from new jersey. michelle, you're on the "washington journal." caller: good morning. i have two questions. is there any case where you can file for a refund earlier than four years ago? and the second question is, the federal reserve board of

governors is a federal agency but the 12 regional banks are international stock corporations. do they pay u.s. taxes? thank you. host: bob, you take the first half regarding filing for refunds past four years. caller: there's a statute of limitations if you've already filed a return then you cannot get money back after about three years. there's the three year statute of limitations and the three years starts when you file your return or the due date if the due date is april 15th. so if you file your return say in march then you go to april 15th, at three years and within that three years that's when you can get a refund. if you wait until in the u.s. to file your return with an extension then that starts when you file your return. so you have three years from that date.

host: and kevin, talk to us about her question regarding the feds. guest: i can't help on that at all. i don't believe that the fed pays taxes. i don't see why it would. most federal government agencies don't and this is an issue that i'm just not familiar with. sorry. host: then let's move on to our next call. patricia, you're on the "washington journal." caller: good morning. i want to ask about the 1099 c. i had to go through foreclosure and it -- [inaudible]

caller:

guest: i don't think that's correct. i think that they still have to go through the form and if you have made some capital gains or some other -- well, guest: i think it's highly unlikely that you're going to lose deductions. but if you have any stock options could be thrown into it. generally most people would have to. guest: there's a lot of what they call tax preferences when it comes to the alternative minimum tax. one of which kevin said there's the stock options and you work for a big company and give you stock. if you have rental property and you have depreciation on that. if you have an interest in a partnership that could be an adjustment.

file tax returns only 4 million will have to pay a.m.t. so in other words there's a lot more than there used to be it's still a small percentage who get trapped. host: florida, al on the "washington journal." go ahead. caller: thank you for your program. it's very nice. the social security disability, three and a half years to be able to pay and they deny you and you have to go through the appeals, and unfortunately this happened last year they went ahead and paid me in december and it was a large sump sum. i was told that i couldn't deduct the attorney's fees and i had to pay and unfortunately it got added to my wife's teacher's salary and bumped us up into the 28% bracket. is there anything i can do? even though it took us three and a half years and with no interest. and i feel like the i.r.s. gave

me a double whammy because of this. host: kevin. guest: i'm not sure why your attorney frees not deductible if it was to produce taxable income. it's taxed the same way. if that became as a lump sum i don't think there's any way you can't reach back and say you got some in previous years or say you carry that forward. but i would question generally legal fees in the pursuit of taxable income are deductible. unfortunately they're not deductible against what you receive. they're deductible as a miscellaneous itemiesed deduction. it's 2% of your agi so it might be limited. host: let's go on to brook haven, mips. david, you're on the "washington journal." e caller: as i understand,

trading activities then you don't really have to concern yourself with the sale just attach a note to your trading and explain what happened. guest: i don't understand the question. host: explain. caller: the sale requires if you trade within 30 days. now, if you trade within 30 days, but at the end of the year you sell, clear all your trades to where you hold no stock then all wash sales are washed out so therefore you should be able to explain that with just a note in your -- without going through all this complicated book keeping. guest: and you don't even have to attach a note because if you are going to be clearing out all of your sales, like kevin said earlier, the loss that you

were not allowed to take on your first sale gets added to the basis of your second sale. so at the end of your year you file your return and there's no statement that you need to attach. host: we've got an e-mail from clist -- kris. guest: that's absolutely right. i like to say the ira is a lot like vegas. what goes on in ira stays in the ira. host: go ahead. caller: good morning. i worked for a company for about 10 years and i was putting money into an account with them. they have a 3% match. and about 2008 i had $17, almost $18,000 in there. by -- i think that was like by

2006. by 2008, the middle of the year i had less than $6,000 in there. my husband was having fits. so we rolled it over to a different ira. now that the company i work for only made a 3% match. so in effect i lost over $10,000. and was told there's no tax deduction because it was in an ira. it just doesn't seem right. host: bob. guest: well, there's no that tax deduction. whenever the money went in it was not taxable. if your employer gave 3% you did not have to pay tax on that so the fact that you lost it there's no tax deduction. if you put some of your money in that went in before it was taxed so the fact that it went down in value, although it's very sad and we see it all the time but there's no tax

deduction. host: this is an extension of what happens in the ira stays in the ira. guest: exactly what kevin said. right. host: illinois, steve you're on the "washington journal." go ahead. caller: i'm starting a new business. i'm a carpenter, sole proprietor. and i've been told if i start my business and i pay myself from my company a small wage and take the remainder as a dividend as the ebbed of the year, that that way the taxes are lower. is that correct? guest: it could be correct. the i.r.s. does not like this at all and it's something they're cracking down on. if you range it properly the dividends are going to be taxed at 15%. but the i.r.s. is very suspicious of businesses where the owner earns $20,000 in wages and gets $150,000 in dividends. this is a real red flag. it is certainly legitimate to

set up a business this way to pay dividends but if the goal is tax avoidance that drives the i.r.s. crazy and they will come down on your hard . host: is this a situation that might or generally triggers an audit from the i.r.s.? guest: well, there's several different ways of doing business and if you're set up as a corporation and you make what's called the s-election, then the i.r.s. has said to us, meaning the tax professionals, that if they see a corporation where the owners take a very small salary and a very big dividend that they will zaut you and they made it very clear. but if it's an unincorporated business, like what's called a schedule c or sole appropriator, then there's no difference between a salary and a dividend so to speak on the self-employment schedule c. host: florida, robert, you're on the "washington journal"

with kevin and robert. caller: thank you c-span for all that you do. i have a question on the roth ir afrpblt i'm over 59-1/2. i'm considering rolling over a roth ira into a trading account and i'm wondering if that's permissible or whether or not the taxes are gained on that account would be considered tax exempt. guest: the i think the question, you can always trade inside a roth ira if you've got one in a mutual fund you can roll and trade as much as you want. but if you're talking about taking it out of the roth ira completely now, if you're over 59 and a half and the account has been open for more than so many years you can take it out. i don't know why you would want to because as long as you maintain the roth there's no tax consequences on your trades and all the income is tax free. in the traditional ira

sometimes you want to get the money out because capital gains earned outside the ira are taxed at 15%. anything in the ira is taxed as high as 35% when you get it out. so you can get it but i'm not sure you want to. host: next up, nevada. dan on our line. caller: good morning, gentlemen. i have a question regarding a schedule c. i have a small business here and i had some losses from theft. is there anywhere on that profit and loss that you know where you can write off theft? guest: if it's a theft of some of your property, some of your equipment or g if you have inventory, office supplies, office furniture, office equipment, all that will be deductible right on the schedule c and it will be either deductible as what they

call cost of sales or a deductible in abandonment of assets or deduction in terms of office supplies, things like that. if it's a theft of money then that's a little bit different. i think there's a different form or a different way to show that. you have to separate between money and everything else. host: back to the phones. pennsylvania, on our line. go ahead. caller: good morning gentlemen. thanks for take mig call. i have a question regarding the i.r.a. contribution that i made. in 2010 i contributed $5,000 to the ira. but when i actually went to a brokerage account and put the money, i put in 2001 -- 2011. is there any way to fix that situation? guest: you should be ok because

you can make a 2010 contribution up until april 15 of 2011. you always get until the due date of the return for the year you're making the contribution for o to make the contribution. so if you deducted it on your 2010 return you should be fine if you got the money in by april 15. so the dates could matter but i would just take a look at that. but you always have that extra 3 and a half months. host: we've got an article here.

so if i give one of these noncash donations, who determines the value of those donations and how i can write them off? guest: well, it's the actual taxpayer that will have to decide. the charity itself will almost never value it because they just don't do that. so you have to value it. and you value it based on the condition of it. if you have really nice clodses that's in good condition, that would have a higher value than not so nice clothes. if you have a piece of

furniture that was an expensive piece of furniture that's in good condition that has a higher value then furniture that's all beat up. now, there are places on the web sites on various web sites that will show you what the average used value is. and it's usually what they call a thrift shop value. host: back to the phones. roneert park, california. merlee is our next call. where is ron ert park california? guest: it's a little below santa rosa. host: ok. that clear skies up. guest: santa rosa is wine country. host: what's your question or comment for kevin and robert? caller: you know how you're allowed, i think it's up to $13,000, you're allowed to give a gift or you can give a family member, whatever, cash up to

$13, no tax consequences either way? do you have to do it in a lump sum or can you do it monthly? host: anybody in particular you're thinking about giving this money to? caller: no. host: i think rob was asking for himself. guest: if it's like an allowance for a dependent child, somebody who is in college, somebody like that? caller: well, i work for a man that used to do that. they used to give back then $10,000 to each of his grand kids. but my understanding is i could write you a check for that amount of money and it is nontaxable to you and it's just of no tax consequences. so my question is, do you have to do it in lump sums or can you just every month give them like $1,000 if you wanted to? guest: i'll take my check in a lump sum. go ahead. guest: it does not have to be

in a lump sum. it can be spread out, in any dollar amount, early in the year, late in the year, all at one time. it makes no difference whatsoever. host: our next call comes from mike in michigan. go ahead. mike, you're going to need to turn your television down. i can hear feedback there. caller: thanks for taking my call. i have a question as far as filing my taxes. because i'm unemployed, thanks to barack obama. host: we're going to move on to ed in silver springs, maryland. you're on the "washington journal." caller: i got a wedding present of silver ware about 40 years ago and i want to sell it. do i have to pay income on it? sfoo host: have you run this by your wife?

guest: it was a long time ago. host: all right. guest: if he's going to sell a wedding gift after 40-year-olds, what's the situation there? guest: well, the general rule is that anything that you sell, if you sell it at a profit you do have to pay taxes on it. so even if it's a personal item, even a wedding present, if you make money on it. now, if it has gone down in value then there's no loss you can take but if it goes up in value you do have to pay tax. host: we've got about another 35 minutes in the program. if you've got any questions regarding your federal taxes for 2011, give us a call.

victor is in san diego, california. and is our next caller. go ahead. caller: with reference to a 1099 c for rental property. what is happening is this property there were several loans taken during the life of the asset. the property was lost. what is going to happen to that income -- not income but refinancing income that was taken out of the property? is that a taxable item or is it a person that sold it -- is that money totally tax free? guest: my understanding is the 1099 c, which is cancellation of debt which we talked about earlier having to do with principle rezz dents, that it's not taxable. but the rental properties that is considered taxable income by the i.r.s. and that's why the bank or lender sent you the 1099 c the i.r.s. got a copy and will expect that to show up

as income on your return. host: brian, you're on the "washington journal." caller: good morning, gentlemen. my wife and i filed for our income tax every year and i have questioned about the disabled tax credit, what is it and what do you have to do to qualify for it? because i cannot get a straight answer from anybody i ask. guest: i'm not familiar with what the disabled tax credit. guest: i think the dependent care credit. so it's the same rules that applies for dependent care for kids. if you're paying for a disabled person to be cared for so that you can work, the credit is there. i'm not sure what the definition of disability is. i'm sure it's in the i.r.s. public quation. i would go to i.r.s..gov. it is dependent and disabled care cret and will explain what the qualifications are to be considered debend nt. and your spouse would have to be working and earning an

income. because the only way you get this credit is if it allows somebody else to work to make money for the i.r.s. to tax. that's why they allow it. host: next up, is harold in nunal. you're on the "washington journal." caller: hello. i have a question after i've done my 2011 taxes i received a k-1 form from the accountant from an estate. there was income in 2011 that wasn't paid until 2012. i wonder what type of forms i'm going to have to fill out. guest: well, bob and i were talking before we came on the show about k-1 forms which is a lot of reason people need to file extensions. i'm confused by this because you say the income was paid in 2012. i believe that if you didn't get the income until 2012 it won't be income until you report it on 2012 return. but the k-1 is just like any

other income reporting statement. the i.r.s. gets a copy they expect to see it and the estate is passing income through to you so if the estate has handled it properly it is taxable income to you. guest: there's one very, very narrow exception is that if the trust pays you within the first 65 days of the following year, then it can be considered paid in the previous year. but when you said that you received something in 2012, if you received it by like march the 4th where we're 65 days, then it would be considered part of the 2011 taxable income. guest: so if you already filed before you got that you would be expected to file an amended return. host: i've got an e-mail here.

guest: well, it's one of those things where you cannot go back. so wherever you were in 2011 then if you're self-employed in 2011 that's how you have to file. so you cannot go back and say in 2011 i was a corporation. guest: he also has to file as an employee. he has to report the wages on a w-2. a lot of people have side income that they have to fill out a schedule c for that but at the same time they have to report their wage income on line 7 or whatever is a 1040 as

wage income. so you were both an employee and self-employed and you file as both. just one tax return but you have to attach a schedule c. or as bob said unless you're a corporation. then it's even more complicated. host: and even to complicated things even further he says that my business is an llc. what and how much can i deduct in terms of food entertainment gas and travel? guest: well, if it's an llc there are special rules for how it's filed. and if it's just a one person llc then it's i guess technically for a single member llc and it's disregarded and you have to file a schedule c. now, when it comes to travel and entertainment there's no limit as to how much you can deduct but you have to have good records and you have to follow the rules as to, it has

to be business related. host: we've got about another 28 minutes. so if you haven't had a chance to call in, by all means do. our next call comes from massachusetts. stanlly, you're on the "washington journal." caller: i bought a car before i left new york, a 70 olds mobile converitible from a friend of mine whose father died. and i sold it and made $8,000 on it. now, i hope that's not taxable. guest: why would you think that it wasn't taxable? caller: i don't know. host: kevin. guest: i think bob answered the question earlier on the silverware. the i.r.s. is going to -- the i.r.s. isn't going to know about this but the law says you should report as a gain the difference between what you paid for it and what you sold it for. and it sounds like you owned it for less than a year so it

would be taxed at the top tax bracket. that's what the law says you should do. that's considered an extension to wealth and that's what the i.r.s. wants to tax. host: again, going to five little known tax deductions and credits that we have from investa peedia.

is it smart to go with this seller paid points system? guest: if you have the option of having the seller pay the points or you pay the points, certainly it would be bet tore have somebody else pay the points. but all this is really a negotiated amount and a lot of times the seller might want a higher sales price so they'll agree to pay some points but you might be able to get a lower sales price if they don't pay the points. host: back to the phones. california, matt you're on the "washington journal." caller: good morning. thanks for taking my call. i have a probably simple for you guys question but somewhat complex for me. i work a regular job where i get a regular salary and i contribute about $1,000 a month

to an annuity. and then i also have a job where i teach part time as a professor and receive that income monthly. and then i also have a job as a potry teacher at a community center and have that income. all wages. and then i also received some interest on some investments that i had made. and i also received a k-1 form for a trust i was part of. and i'm just wondering exactly what forms i should be filling out and how to write off any of the kind of expenses that i accrued as an employee. and if i have any other kind of deduction that is i can write off. host: before i allow these guys to answer your question, it sounds like you've got your fingers in a lot of different

pies. are you doing your taxes yourself or are you having them prepared for you by somebody else? caller: i like to do them myself so that i can learn how to do them and be smart with it. and i would also -- but if i to deal with a preparer i would. but i think i can probably figure this out. host: give him the good news and the bad news. guest: well, with all your different sources of income, all it will be shown on your tax return so it sounds like you have maybe three w-2s and some interest incomes and then the k-1 income. and so it will go on form 1040. the interest that you see will go on schedule b. and the k-1 income there's a schedule e and it's on the second page of schedule e is where you would show the k-1

income. host: cincinnati, ohio, cindy. go ahead. caller: yes. i have a question if a couple buy as house together but they're not married, do they have to file jointly to take credit for the interest and the property tax? or can one of them file separately and take it all? host: kevin, if they're not married they can't file jointly? guest: they can't. and when it comes down to who gets the deduction it depends on what your ownership interest is. if you buy it jointly but one person pays all the interest and principle and property taxes i think that person should take it. if you split it you should actually take the deductions in the way that you're actually paying the deductible expenses. but you cannot file jointly if your not mashied. it can get complicated because you're probably going to get a single 1098 from the bank on

that mortgage interest that will show that full amount. you're going to have to divide it . host: is there a special form you have to file? guest: no. there's no special form. but the form 1098 will only have one social security number on it and so the other person who wants to claim the interest expense deduction for the part that they paid, it's likely that the i.r.s. will contact them and say we dent have any record of receiving a 1098 so you should attach a statement to your return. host: is somebody like cindy, would she be in her partner be less libel for various taxes if they were married? or are they going to have a lower tax bill if they stay single but living in the same house? guest: generally speaking, if two people are married and they file jointly, that's going to be combined less tax than if

the two of them are single and file single. but that's not always the case because it really depends on the income and if one is a high income and the other person is a low income then it can be better filing jointly. so there's so many variables. host: back to the phones. article yeen from marina del ray is our next caller. go ahead. caller: i want first to thank c-span for such an intelligent show. i love it. i listen to it every day. gentlemen, i'm retired. i have a minimal amount of iras. i go the bank and take out the minimal amount. the bank charges me $40 to take out the minimal amount from my ira. is that legal for a bank to do

that? guest: a bank does something people don't like. host: are you still with me? caller: i'm with you. host: when you say you take out the minimal amount, what's the minimum? caller: this time i took about -- you're going to laugh. i took out i think it was $1300 or something like that. they're holding my money, you know. host: and every time you take the money out they charge you $40. ber you get hit with the tax bill. guest: that's correct. guest: i would ask switch banks. caller: isn't that illegal? guest: no. they can charge you anything they want to maintain the account. i've never heard of anybody doing this. i'm stunned. but it's not illegal but i would certainly switch to another bank or credit unions.

we find credit unions are offering great deals. i have never heard of nb charging to do the required minimum distribution and that's what she's talking about the amount she has to take out. most firms or more are more than happy to figure out how much you have to withdraw and send you the check or move it into a taxable account. i would get a different bank. host: if she rolls that into another account at another bank or credit union, is she going to have to pay any sort of bill or penalty? guest: no if she has it directly transferred, and that's what she should do. just have them move it from bank a to bank b nothing gets reported and everything is fine. host: next up, fairfax, virginia. john you're on the "washington journal." caller: good morning. my wife inherited some property after her father passed away. he was not a u.s. citizen and the property was overseas. after we sold the property last year, will she have to pay tax

on the money? caller: where did you buy the property? caller: well, her father owned the property in south africa. host: bob? guest: if i understand the question, you said that somebody bought property in south africa and then they sold it? or was there a death in there someplace? somebody died? would you repeat that? guest: he said that the father died and left the property to the wife then the couple sold the property. so i think it is inherited property with the step of a basis i would assume. guest: i don't know if there's special rules for inherited property that is foreign located or not. guest: in general in this kind of situation when you inherit property the tax basis of that property is stepped up to the value on the date of death that the father died. and then only if they sell the

property for more than that amount is there a taxable gain. if they sell it for less there could be a loss. and i'm not sure if there's special rules for foreign property or not. i think it's treated the same. so that's what the viewer has to look into is whether special rules for south african property. but in the united states of america if that had happened they would only owe a gain if they sold it for more than it was worth. and if they got less than this they would have a tax deductible loss. a friend had a situation where his wife inherited a home and it declined in value they got a substantial tax deduction. host: kevin, and robert, our guests for about the next 15 minutes. john in fairfax. let's move on to stephanie in buoy, maryland right outside of washington, d.c. caller: good morning. i have a question.

we owe $3700 this year and i wanted to figure out how much to increase our -- well, i was going to increase to have them take an additional 75 out of each check. is that enough? guest: well, what you would have to do is if you think that the 2012 taxable income on your tax deductions will be about the same and you owe $3700 you would look at how many paychecks are left here it is thises april already. you look at how much has already been deducted for the first three or four months a year, how many pay checks you have left and then you increase it so that you will have a total of $3700 more withheld for 2012. host: what are the red flags that the i.r.s. looks for or what is it that triggers an audit and people should be careful not to try and trip

those triggers? guest: well, the i.r.s. really has a very sophisticated system of actually grading the tax returns. they look at a lot of things. they look at your income and compare it to the deductions. so if you have a very low income but a big mortgage, the i.r.s. is going to say well how can you pay such a big mortgage if you're only making a small amount of money? they also look at the office in home rules if you're self-employed and you wanted to take a deduction for your home or a portion of your home, that's a red flag. if you have a large charitable donation that's out of the norm or out of the sort of standard for your income level, then they look at that. and especially if it's a noncash charitable contribution that they would look at the

valuation. guest: bob's absolutely right that these are red flags. but if you have a large mortgage or large charitable contribution or any of these things you should never not take a tax benefits because the worst that's going to happen is they'll say prove it. and if you've got records to show it. we hear all the time about home office deductions being a red flag for an audit. if you look at the statistics more people claim home offices every year. so it's not true it automatically triggers an zaut. the only reason you have to worry about red flags is if you're cheating. if you're cheating i hope the i.r.s. catches you. if you're not cheating i hope you get your tax bill down. host: san antonio, texas. you're on the "washington journal." caller: my question is regarding the affordable care act. i'm retired and of course placed on medicare.

my income is $37,000. and my cpa has told me that when the affordable care act kicks in in 2013, i will be charged an extra 3.8% as an extra tax to pay for obama care or the affordable care act. is this true? and the second question is, i'm already charged 1200 per year for medicare. will i have to pay that also? thank you. guest: no, it's not true. what a surprise something about the affordable care act that's not true. the 3.8% would never kick in at 370,000. it kicks in at a way higher level. it's -- don't worry about it. 37,000 you're not going to be hit by that. your premiums will not go up at that level. there is a surcharge for medicare b premiums but again

it's much higher than 37,000 than it kicks in. so i don't think you have anything to worry about. i would ask your cba to double check the rules. host: we have a tweet. when it comes to windows or insulation the most you could get a credit for was $500. but when it comes to solar wind or geothermal no dollar cap on the limit and i believe that credit goes through 2011 2016

and i don't know if that was a obama move or bush move. i think it was obama. so that's a pretty big tax break to encourage alternative energy. host: our next call comes from ah med in minneapolis. go ahead. guest: good morning. thanks for taking my call. i have two questions. the first question i have is how -- [inaudible] well, some nontax -- tax preparers did something wrong. for many immigrants. and then from that they earned, we hear that they audit

everybody from immigrants from east africa. and then my second question is, many immigrants here in the united states especially in minneapolis, people like from somalia, they have families in somalia, in kenya, talking about children, spouses. can they claim as their children if they -- because every month they send money to them? host: thanks for your call. kevin, regarding the tax preparation and the audit. if you have a tax preparer and you get auditted, what's your best move? guest: well, i think your best move is to talk to the preparer and see if you should go to the audit. a lot of preparers prefer to go

by themselves. the cpas i talk to, the biggest problem they have with audits is with a client who talks too much. so often they may want to go by themselves. the other issue is a bad tax preparers. you're not going to find them by the time you get auditted. they're going to be gone. the clip you had earlier, the i.r.s. will send out 90 refunds this year before they ever see anybody's w 2 form. you get your form months before the i.r.s. sees it. that's why there's this huge problem with the fraudulent returns is people file fraudulent returns, they have a phony w 2. the i.r.s. doesn't know better. they send the check out usually to the preparer gets ahold of the check so by this time it's a real problem. but so i think that's that issue. host: regarding the second half of his question. does it matter where your dependent lives in order for

you to claim that dependent if you're living here in the united states your dependent lives overseas is that going to present a problem? guest: i don't think there's a problem if everything else qualifies as for the dependency exemption i don't think there's a problem with whether they're overseas or not. host: guest: don't you have to be a citizen of the united states, or a resident of the u.s., canada or mexico? i think there's a citizen or residency qualification. check the i.r.s. instructions. that's one of the first things when it comes to who can qualify as a de pendnt. guest: i think that there is a rule that says you have to provide a place of abode for them for more than one half of the year. so maybe that's where the thing comes in about you have to be here in the united states. host: all right. we've got about 1 minutes -- 5 minutes left. why i don't do my own taxes.

connecticut, john you're on the "washington journal." caller: i had a structured settlement with my employer for damages. i incurred on my job. i subsequently sued and i was awarded out of court a sexenstri damage settlement. this was 20 -- sexenstri settlement. i did not receive any 1099 for 15 years. then they started sending me 1099 rs which is for retirement income. i am not 66 yet and i wonder how i should handle this. host: bob sounds like this guy is in trouble. guest: you said you received a structured settlement and that's usually in lump sum as opposed to an annuity. and it's like 20 years ago. i'm not sure.

guest: i'm lost on this one. i'm sorry. host: if he did receive a lump sum settlement, would it have been his responsibility to seek out that 1099 form before 15 years had passed? guest: it's not up to him to actually seek the 1099. this is sort of a common misconception is that even if you do not receive a 1099, you have to pay tax on the money that you have to pay tax on. so if you received income and it's tammable income, you have to pay tax on it even if the payor does not give you a 1099. host: we hear this all the time on independent contractors because there's a rule that you have to get a 1099 i can't tell you how many people i know who try to keep their payments to people under 600 and they think the money is not tax free. it just means the i.r.s. doesn't know about it . host: pennsylvania, pete, you're on the "washington

journal." go ahead. guest: as a widower, 65 years of age, how do i file under the , for the standard deduction? do i file as a single person, a qualified widower or head of household? which one do i file under? host: do i ask how long -- could i ask how long you've been a widower? caller: almost two years. host: do you have any children? caller: they're grown. guest: the almost two years is the key. if you're a widower and for two years after the year of death, if you have a dependent child, you could still use the married filing jointly return, or married filing jointly tax rates. but if the child is not a dependent when you say he's 65, if he's an older child, then you have to file as a single

person. host: i've got an e-mail here from a woman. guest: i'm not sure. the head of house hold rules are complicated when you have a child and you're married but if you're separated for the entire year sometimes that's considered unmarried even though you're still married. >> host: our last call comes from ohio. russell, on the "washington journal." caller: gentlemen, i've got a couple of questions i would like to ask if i may. i have a daughter who is about 40 years old who i put through college, robert morris university it's a real good

school and she graduated sumea cum laude in accounting and she worked for the rooney family in pittsburgh. i don't know if you're familiar with them or not. they're in the pittsburgh steelers. host: i'm running out of time. caller: this is all pertinent to the question. i put $85,000 in her education out of my pocket. i just wondered will i have any recourse to go back to be able to collect on any of that taxwise? and another question i would like to ask you if i may, i'm thinking about i'm retired now and i have about a $50,000 income from retirement and i was wondering if there's any way that -- or what would be the best way to send her on to get her cpa, the most economic way to do that? guest:

guest: there are all sorts of tax breaks for paying for a child's college education. but this sounds like this was in the past. so no. and the only thing you have to rely on is the kindness of strangers or at least your daughter. but the taxpayers aren't going to help out. host: robert, any advice for future cpas? guest: no real expense of additional cost to become a cpa. so if your daughter already has a degree, all she has to do is to take the test. there's one thing now that is, just came out in the last few years. to become a cpa you have to have the equivalent of five years of college. so four years plus a master's or what they call 150 hours requirement. so if she can get another 30 hours of college all she has to hours of college all she has to do is