Taxable retail sales posted strong gains in the first quarter of 2022, including in Benton, Franklin and Walla Walla counties.Retail sales rose 5.5% in Benton County, 37% in Franklin and 9.3% in Walla Walla, according to the most recent figures released by the Washington Department of Revenue. Statewide, taxable retail...
CPA / PartnerPorterKinneyChris PorterNumber of employees you oversee: 18Brief background of your business:Soon after moving to the Tri-Cities in 2006, I started a small, home-based tax preparation company in addition to my full-time job. In 2012, I quit my day job and transitioned my company to a full-time CPA firm....
Deadline coming for Benton, Franklin property taxesOct. 31 is the deadline for property owners to pay the second half of their property tax bill.In Benton County, property owners can pay online by electronic check, credit cards or Visa debit cards. Transaction fees are charged.Avoid the fees by leaving payments in...
Will my taxes go up or down in retirement?Sneaky sneaky, asking such a loaded question, when everyone knows the answer is, “it depends.” But it’s a very interesting question to ponder, so let’s take a look at some key issues that could impact the answer.The answer centers on one thing:...
As Benjamin Franklin once said, “In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.”Taxes come in a wide variety of flavors – income taxes, property taxes, sales taxes and gift taxes.But, perhaps one of the most misunderstood taxes is colloquially called the “death tax” –...
The pandemic threw the greater Tri-Cities a series of curve balls. Consider known deaths in 2020 due to Covid-19: 217 residents. As Benton-Franklin Trends data shows, this amounted to 9.4% of all deaths in the two counties that year. The rate, unfortunately, was nearly twice as high as that of...
If you have watched the news lately, you may have noticed that saving and paying for college tuition is a stressful part of the American experience.Since the jury is still out on whether leveraging the public debt to pay for private fragility (2008 banks, auto companies, airlines, and student loans)...
With autumn in the air, people are craving bowls of warm, cozy comfort food.At Richland’s Stone Soup, pots are always simmering, no matter the time of year.A different soup is offered daily (tomato pasta, baked potato, creamy mushroom, broccoli cheese, clam chowder and southwestern corn chowder were in rotation recently),...
“Anything you can think of that’s fun in a house, that’s what we do.”That’s how Bryan Brooks describes the services offered by his family’s business, Traffic Jams.The Kennewick-based shop is locally owned and offers more than car audio, including security systems, cameras, central vacuums, network connections and home theater or...
Using a beach analogy, when it comes to change that you aren’t leading, are you more like:Putting your toe in the water and scurrying away if it’s uncomfortable?Wading in, slow to adapt, watchful?Swimming in it, rolling with the current, making it happen?A deep-diver, all-in?Often the reality of change for many...
