Subject:

Taxes

  • Blogs

    April 16, 2012

    Tax Day: The 5 Best Things About It

    Tomorrow is deadline day for filing your federal income taxes. Normally, that's a terrible thing. No one except Warren Buffett is eager to pay taxes. And it's worse for us members of the hoi polloi, for while we're handing over a big chunk of our wages, we do it knowing some one-percenter member of ... More >>

  • Blogs

    January 20, 2012

    Taqueria Arandas Owner Gets Year in Prison on Tax Charges

    Jesus Huerta, the owner of two Taqueria Arandas restaurants in Houston, has been sentenced to a year and a day in federal prison for filing false tax returns that underestimated income by $4.6 million over five years. Huerta was also ordered to pay $543,646 in restitution; he's already repaid $276 ... More >>

  • Blogs

    October 20, 2011

    HISD Joins the Lawsuit Against State's Educational Funding Plan

    Taking it to the courthouse.​The Houston school board voted unanimously this morning (with four absentees) to join the burgeoning lawsuit against Rick Perry's latest funding scheme for public education, which cuts $5 billion over the next two years. HISD's state funding was cut $78 million th ... More >>

  • Blogs

    July 13, 2011

    Christian Lopez, Overtaxed Yankee Fan, The Sequel (Where He Becomes A Charity)

    Christian Lopez: Now sponsored by the champagne of bottled beers​That's it, you win, Christian Lopez. I give up. You all remember, Christian Lopez, right? (It's only been like 24 hours since I last wrote about him. Please tell me you remember.) Just in case, Lopez was the ample Yankee fan wh ... More >>

  • Blogs

    July 8, 2011

    Protest Your Drainage Fee Via the World's Most Boring How-To Video

    The city has announced the procedures it will use to hear protests over assessed drainage fees, and they look like they're about as much fun as protesting your property tax assessment. Worse, they involve watching the above, five and a half minutes of instruction on how to use the "You think you ca ... More >>

  • Blogs

    July 1, 2011

    Jimmy Mitlo: Incredibly Successful Machine Repairman Gets Two Years. Owes IRS $550,000

    Repairmen just don't rock the cool hats anymore.​Jimmy Mitlo is one industrious guy, but he's going to have a lot of time on his hands pretty soon. He'll be in a federal prison, perhaps contemplating how he's going to come up with the $550,000 he needs to reimburse the IRS for unpaid taxes. ... More >>

  • Blogs

    June 9, 2011

    Sherwood Oaks Eyesore: Owners Aren't Talking

    Welcome to Sherwood Oaks​We were intrigued by reporter Emily Akin's story on a long-vacant Sherwood Oaks strip mall that residents say is an unwelcome hangout for vandals and crackheads -- intrigued mostly because her story stated that "it's unclear who owns the property since the owner on rec ... More >>

  • Blogs

    April 26, 2011

    Comment of the Day: Back to the `50s, But All The Way

    ​We have some great commenters here on Hair Balls, and it's time we paid some damn attention to them. So we'll be highlighting a Comment of the Day each morning, from the previous day's work. Maybe two comments, even. This will all be determined by a highly rigorous scientific formula involv ... More >>

  • Blogs

    April 14, 2011

    Celebrity Tax Cheats: Five Pieces of Crap Produced to Pay the IRS

    Tax time is looming, and even though you get a weekend reprieve this year -- the deadline is April 18, not the 15th, because of an obscure Washington, D.C. holiday -- you'd no doubt like to skip the whole thing altogether. Some famous people have taken that same route. Unfortunately for them, they ... More >>

  • Blogs

    April 8, 2011

    Sheila Jackson Lee is Fasting for a Budget Deal

    Fasting for a "moral budget"​You probably didn't know that people are fasting as a call for a fair budget deal in Congress. Among them: our own Sheila Jackson Lee. (We didn't know of the fast until we read about it in the Houston Chronicle's religion blog.) We cannot begin to imagine what so ... More >>

  • Blogs

    February 24, 2011

    Higher Taxes, Fewer Teachers: HISD Readies Itself for a Tough Sell

    Margaret DowningTerry Grier and the board face tough financial decisions​Higher taxes, a sweeping change in bus times, a cut in the number of police officers in the schools and an end to special school adjustments that for the noted T.H. Rogers elementary and middle school alone would mean a l ... More >>

  • Blogs

    February 8, 2011

    HISD Says All Presents Aren't Good Ones, Rejects Deeds

    Not one of the houses donated to HISD​While going through their normal delinquent tax collections business, Houston ISD tax staff members discovered three separate property owners had gifted them with parcels of land. Wow, Hair Balls was thinking, isn't that nice? Nope. Or as Donald Boehm, ... More >>

  • Blogs

    January 7, 2011

    Social Security Tax Cut: How You Should Spend It

    It's Natty Light time!!!​You're getting a tax cut!!! You may even notice it. A cut in Social Security taxes in 2011 means you should be seeing more in your paycheck. Since it involves taxes, however, it is all incredibly complicated and makes our heads hurt. The "Making Work Pay" tax credit ... More >>

  • Blogs

    November 4, 2010

    Bob Hudgins Leaves Texas Film Commission, Unpleasantly

    The head of the TFC is gone​A couple of months ago, when we examined why there was so little fim and TV production in Houston as opposed to Dallas and Austin, some of the commenters blamed Bob Hudgins, who heads the Texas Film Commission. Well, they won't have him to kick around anymore -- he ... More >>

  • Blogs

    September 24, 2010

    Harris County Tax Rate: Shockingly, No Increase In An Election Year

    Renovated courthouse to open in August​Harris County's mid-year budget review is out, and it recommends no change in the tax rate from what it has been since 2007.There will be a little juggling involved: the tax rates for the port and the flood control and hospital district will go up, while the ... More >>

  • Blogs

    September 17, 2010

    Two-Thirds Of Texans Blow Off Church; Even More Don't Want No "Social Justice" With Their Religion, Thank You

    Two-thirds of those polled knew who this guy was?​The latest UT/Texas Tribune poll shows some stuff to give Democrats hope (Rick Perry polling at his usual 39 percent, etc.), but there are also some interesting things in the throw-away questions on the survey.UT/TT polled 800 registered voters, an ... More >>

  • Blogs

    July 15, 2010

    Game Time: George Steinbrenner's Death Raises Anxiety of Billionaires

    You may be rich, but your heirs may be dangerous come December​If you're one of those people that has tried a thousand different ways to take off weight, somewhere along the way you've probably tried Bill Phillips "Body For Life" program. It's a pretty popular one because (a) it works and (b) it ... More >>

  • Blogs

    June 24, 2010

    No Raises For HISD Employees

    That paycheck ain't changing next year​There won't be any raises for employees of the Houston ISD the next school year.Houston ISD trustees adopted a 2010-11 budget totaling  $1.613 billion Thursday night that Chief Financial Officer Melinda Garrett termed  a "survival" budget, adding th ... More >>

  • Blogs

    May 14, 2010

    City Budget Includes Getting More Bucks From Metro

    ​In the mayor's proposed budget, released earlier this week, Metro is on the hook for almost twice as much money than it had to pay the city in previous years.The money comes from an agreement that gives the city a portion of Metro's sales tax revenues, and the city used the money for building and ... More >>

  • Blogs

    April 15, 2010

    Gimme (A Tax) Shelter

    ​Even if Uncle Sam took a great big bite out of your wallet this year, there are still ways to enjoy a good meal today -- several, in fact -- thanks to local restaurants taking advantage of your newfound poverty to offer free or reduced-price goodies today. It's like a crack dealer giving you ... More >>

  • Blogs

    March 17, 2010

    The Big Secrets In Bill White's Tax Returns, Revealed

    ​You know things have gotten off on the wring foot challenging Rick Perry when the state's leading political writer compares your operation to Kay Bailey Hutchison's.Here's how things have gone in the Texas governor's race since the primaries: Rick Perry has been in Patton mode, ostentatiously "ac ... More >>

  • Blogs

    November 24, 2009

    A Bad Weekend For Gene Locke

    Who would have thought that after it was revealed that the "anti-gay" activist Dave Wilson donated $2,000 to the Gene Locke campaign that it would be the catalyst for a bad, bad weekend for the candidate?It didn't help that Locke forgot to attend the first highly anticipated debate since the Novembe ... More >>

  • Blogs

    April 9, 2009

    Texas Salutes You, Mr. (or Ms.) Beer Drinker!

    Photo courtesy of Randy OHCWhy do we salute you?  Because your enjoyment of a cold mug of suds has contributed $16 billion to the Texas economy in the last year, far more than our budding entertainment industry (only $409 million), and provided over 78,000 jobs at breweries and distribut ... More >>

  • Blogs

    March 11, 2009

    Ron Paul, Crusading Against All Pork But His

    Photo courtesy Ron PaulOf all the Republicans in the US House of Representatives, who do you think has the most earmarks in the omnibus spending bill? Some RINO from up north?Nah. It's our own Ron Paul, stalwart criticizer of government spending (that's not in his district.)Fox News is touting the s ... More >>

  • Blogs

    January 21, 2009

    People Rich Enough To Own Boats Find It Easy To Evade Taxes

    Galveston County is getting screwed out of about $33,000 in property taxes from a League City marina. The county knows about it, but doesn't seem to care. On the Wharf Marina web site, it says plain as day (if you don't take into account spelling and grammatical errors) that wet slip owners "must pa ... More >>

  • Blogs

    December 22, 2008

    All I want for Christmas is My ... Tax Receipt

    Do the arts community and the bottom line on your taxes some good with a contribution to one of Houston's non-profit arts organizations. Hurricane Ike really kicked some organizations in the pants; some are close to closing and others have all their plans on hold.The sluggish economy means corporate ... More >>

  • Calendar

    November 6, 2008

    Fic at NiteBoomsday

    Web exclusive

  • Blogs

    November 5, 2008

    Sugar Land, Missouri City Get Into The Entertainment Business

    Web exclusive

  • Blogs

    September 8, 2008

    Taqueria Arandas Offers Tax Fraud On The Side (Allegedly)

    Web exclusive

  • Culture

    April 12, 2007

    Mexican-American Culture

    Web exclusive

  • Blogs

    January 5, 2007

    Passing a Buck to the Smokers

    Web exclusive

  • Calendar

    May 4, 2006

    Lagaan to This One

    Web exclusive

  • Best of Houston

    September 25, 2003

    Best Pre- or Post-Theater Restaurant

    Bistro Lancaster

  • News

    August 14, 2003

    Menacing Mayor?

    A water district director wants police to protect him from Kemah's King

  • News

    October 24, 2002

    Food Fight Indigestion

    A losing lobbyist claims a councilman switched after failing to get his pals in on the deal

  • News

    September 6, 2001

    More District D Footprints

    Airing out Darryl Carter's dirty laundry, with the help of Womack's campaign

  • News

    October 5, 2000

    NoDo Invades; Rebels Skirmish

    A downtown taxing zone flushes the Warehouse District from its quaint quarters

  • Best of Houston

    September 21, 2000

    Best Gadfly

    Dan Hart

  • News

    February 3, 2000

    Letters

    From the week of February 03, 2000

  • News

    January 20, 2000

    Doug's Deals

    Real estate consultant Williams continues to serve two masters

  • News

    October 21, 1999

    Ad Nauseam

    Despite what the campaign says, that new arena will cost plenty

  • News

    July 29, 1999

    Trash Talk

    Condo groups want the mayor to pay up on a campaign promise

  • News

    January 14, 1999

    Raising a Red Flag

    Former Bellaire High School student shakes things up in the Capitol

  • News

    May 14, 1998

    Embarrassing Little Secrets of Hotel Six

    Getting to Know You, Getting to Know All About You ...

  • News

    April 16, 1998

    Tales From the IRS

    Three stories of taxman terror

  • News

    September 4, 1997

    Sweet Deal

    Why did county commissioners agree to subsidize a swanky golf resort that will benefit a wealthy Harris County developer?

  • News

    April 18, 1996

    Stadia Watch

    Why did county commissioners agree to subsidize a swanky golf resort that will benefit a wealthy Harris County developer?

  • News

    June 8, 1995

    The Rule of Men, Not Law

    Who gave Lanier & Co. permission to loot Metro? They did.

  • News

    June 1, 1995

    Term limits and a domineering mayor have combined to make the City Council little more than a rubber stamp. And Houston may pay dearly for that down the line.

    Who gave Lanier & Co. permission to loot Metro? They did.

  • More >>
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