• The portion of the law that requires an officer make a reasonable attempt to determine the immigration status of a person stopped, detained or arrested if there’s reasonable suspicion they’re in the country illegally.

• The portion that creates a crime of failure to apply for or carry “alien-registration papers.”

• The portion that makes it a crime for illegal immigrants to solicit, apply for, or perform work (i.e. does not include the section on day laborers).

• The portion that allows for a warrantless arrest of a person where there is probable cause to believe they have committed a public offense that makes them removable from the United States.

Senate Bill 1070 was passed by the Legislature and signed into law by Governor Jan Brewer in April. It made it a state crime to be in the country illegally and stated that an officer engaged in a lawful stop, detention or arrest shall, when practicable, ask about a person’s legal status when reasonable suspicion exists that the person is in the United States illegally.

The preliminary injunction on SB 1070 is just that – temporary. For now, the District Court says, “The balance of equities tips in the United States’ favor considering the public interest.” Senator Russell Pearce, a conservative and author of SB 1070, was not too concerned with the injuction. Pearce stated, “We will appeal this immediately and we will win on appeal. This will be to the Supreme Court eventually, and I expect a 5-4 decision in our favor, perhaps even 6-3.”

Regardless if SB 1070 becomes law or not, the issue is receiving the attention it deserves. Most agree that illegal immigration is a problem and that reform is necessary. Whether SB 1070 is the “right” reform for Arizona is still to be determined. But the attention SB 1070 has created puts pressure on the federal government to finally take action. And that is why SB 1070 is good for Arizona and the country. Not the bill itself, but the attention it has created. Now it’s time for the federal government to legislate illegal immigration and Arizona to stop meddling in federal issues.

Although this case does help substantiate a deduction for MBA expenses, taking the deduction highly increases the likelihood of audit.  Case law in tax court is not a primary rule of law like Internal Revenue Code and Treasury Rulings and cannot be, according to Section 7463(b) of the Internal Revenue Code, used as precedence for any other case.  However, regardless of Section 7463(b), this case does help substantiate such a deduction in some circumstances.  The problem is the IRS will likely audit a taxpayer who takes the deduction and the burden of proof is on the taxpayer.  That is, the IRS will ignore this case, audit the taxpayer, rule against her, and issue a tax liability.  And then it’s up to the taxpayer to file suit against the IRS and substantiate the deduction.

Here are things to consider:

Deductions are a matter of legislative grace, and taxpayers must satisfy the statutory requirements for claiming the deductions.

Taxpayers may deduct ordinary and necessary expenses that they pay in connection with operating a trade or business.

The taxpayer must not have the right to obtain reimbursement from his employer.

Education can be expensed if (1) It maintains or improves skills required by the individual in his employment or other trade or business, or (2) Meets the express requirements of the individual’s employer, or the requirements of applicable law or regulations, imposed as a condition to the retention by the individual of an established employment relationship, status, or rate of compensation.

Now here’s the tricky part:

If the education qualifies the individual for a new trade or business then the education expenses are not deductible because the education is a personal expense or constitutes an accumulation of personal capital.

That is the crux of this case.  The Opinion states “the decisive factor generally is whether the taxpayer was already established in their trade or business.”  The court found that an MBA is a general degree and, although the education improved the taxpayer’s skill set, it did not necessarily qualify her for a new trade or business.  This taxpayer was already established in her field.  The Opinion clearly provides that if the taxpayer was not established in her trade, then she could not deduct the MBA expenses.  Therefore, if you are working at Wendy’s flipping burgers while getting your MBA and then take a management job with Google after graduation, you probably cannot use this case to substantiate the education deduction.  However, as in this case, the taxpayer was established in the field of nursing and the MBA degree helped her along her chosen career path, not a new trade or business.  And under these circumstances, the Court found that Ms. Singleton can expense her MBA expenses.

Disclaimer: Since such IRS determinations are highly fact-specific, the advice of a competent tax professional should be obtained before proceeding to claim such a deduction for tuition expenses.

To read the full press release, click here.

Not only is Laura beautiful and intelligent, she is also the most positive, gentle, and kind person I know. And while I get wrapped up in tireless projects and individual goals, I often forget that I wouldn’t be able to complete anything without her. My relationship with Laura is my biggest task and I will not lose sight of that. She is everything to me and I wouldn’t be where I am today without her.

I love you Laura Leveque!

Many believe the comma in a series is optional or a matter of style. I personally use the comma in a series because both APA and MLA support the use, but I also don’t believe it is incorrect to leave it out. However, if I had to choose which application is correct, I would include the comma in a series simply because the two leading publication manuals support the use. Therefore, my love, it’s incorrect to leave out a comma in a series.

P.S. Don’t blame me. You can call the American Psychological Association at 800.374.2721 or the Modern Language Association at 646.576.5000.

Deposit@Mobile is a great mobile feature that saves people time and the cost of travel, which no other bank currently provides. And since the majority of USAA’s members are from the military community, mobile banking, particularly the ability to make mobile deposits, demonstrates USAA’s commitment to provide services that members appreciate.

Below is a demonstration of the app by Jeff Dennes – the Executive Director supporting Financial Transactions and the Mobile Channel.

President Obama spoke at ASU’s graduation on May 13th and I was lucky enough to attend the ceremony.  ASU’s Sun Devil Stadium was packed near capacity with students, family, and friends waiting hours in the Arizona sun to hear the President’s speech.

The President talked about the controversy over ASU’s decision not to give him an honorary degree.  Obama said the controversy was “much ado about nothing,” and that he did not come to “dispute the suggestion that I haven’t achieved enough in my life.”  Obama used the controversy to make his point that everyone, including the President of the United States, must persistently “add to their body of work.”

It was really exciting to see the President in person.  Regardless of his political ideologies, the man is an amazing speaker who delivers powerful messages.  I can’t remember who spoke at the last graduation I attended, but I will not forget this one.

On April 17th, a Swedish court found Pirate Bay founders guilty of “assisting making available copyrighted material.” Pirate Bay indexes and tracks Bit Torrent files, including music, movies, and software often protected by copyright laws, that can be easily downloaded with a Bit Torrent client. The court found all four of Pirate Bay’s founders guilty of the copyright related offense and sentenced each defendant to one year in prison.  The court also ordered defendants to pay around 30 million Swedish krono ($3.6 Million).  Shortly after the decision was rendered, Pirate Bay vowed to appeal the decision posting to the Pirate Bay Web site, “As in all good movies, the heroes lose in the beginning but have an epic victory in the end.”

Pirate Bay does not host copyright material, but directs users to the source of the information (both copyright and non-copyright materials), which, according to the Swedish court, helps make copyright material available for illegal use.

It will be interesting to follow Pirate Bay as they appeal the legal decision. One thing is for sure, file-sharing sites, even those who index and track Bit Torrent files, are not going to the wayside. Pirate Bay recently moved their servers to the Netherlands protecting the site’s continuance throughout the appeal process and possibly beyond. Competitors, such as isoHunt, are operating as usual.

• Search your iPhone
• Cut, copy, and paste
• Send photos, contacts, audio files, and location via MMS
• Read and compose email and text messages in landscape

The release of OS 3.0 also includes a new SDK, which provides 1,000 new APIs for developers.  The new SDK enables developers the flexibility to create even more functional apps.  As Apple promised with the release of OS 1.0, the software will get better and better.  With the release of iPhone OS 3.0, Apple is keeping their promises.  OS 3.0 is scheduled to be released this summer.

The AIG debacle is getting stranger by the minute.  This major misstep by the democratic leadership has turned into a finger pointing game that does nothing more than confuse the average American.  It doesn’t matter who you ask, they will tell you AIG should take back the executive bonuses.  If they can’t take them back, then the executives should give them back.  It’s simply the “right thing to do.”

From an idealist point-of-view, sure, it is the “right thing to do.”  A company that is leveraged by the American taxpayer, a company that would not exist without the assistance of the federal government, a company that acted irresponsibly by insuring sub-prime loans that were loaded with risk, should not be handing out millions of taxpayers’ dollars.  It is nothing short of rewarding bad behavior.  Again, this is the idealistic, or Obama, point-of-view.

With that said, the reality of the situation is the Obama administration and the democratic leadership in Congress made this whole circus possible.   That is, a last minute provision in the spending bill by Democrat Chris Dodd, which excluded executive bonuses included in contracts signed before the bill’s passage, made this whole controversy possible.  On March 18th, Chris Dodd denied his role in the provision that allowed the AIG bonuses.  But on March 19th, Dodd changed his story saying, “As many know, the administration was, among others, not happy with the language.  They wanted some modifications to it.  They came to us, our staff, and asked for changes, and the changes at the time did not seem that obnoxious or onerous.”  Again, a provision Dodd denied a day earlier.

Democrats are outraged because it is the popular thing to do, which is not necessarily the “right thing to do.”  They have ignored the fact that they created this mess in the first place.  So what was their response?  Instead of admitting their mistakes, they passed emergency legislation to tax the bonuses at an effective rate of 90% – legislation that is unprecedented and most likely unconstitutional because it is the “right thing to do.”  Now let me get this right, creating a rule and saying you’re going to honor existing contracts, and then when those contracts are honored, changing your mind and saying no, no, no…that’s not what we meant.  And since we can’t legally take it back, we’ll do it illegally.  Sure, that’s the “right thing to do.”