Harry Chen Thinks Aloud

US government policies are full with surprises. Illegal immigrates is a hot topic on the Capital Hill when the context is social responsibility. However, it’s a rather simple issue when the context is taxation. In the US, almost everyone is required to file Federal incoming tax. This includes US citizens, permanent residents (Green Card holders), legal residents (visa holders) and illegal residents.

How do you count illegal residents as taxpayers? To IRS, no matter what your legal resident status, as long as you live in the US and receive incoming, you must pay taxes.

Here is the rule:

You can be a resident under substantial presence if you are in the U.S. for more than 30 days in the current year and if the sum of the current year’s days plus one-third of the previous year’s days plus one-sixth of the second preceding year’s days exceed 182 days.

The surprise continues with tax deduction — i.e., when you try to pay less taxes.

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Monex, a Japanse online broker, now offers a new service that will pay fees to customers who are willing to “rent” out their stock shares. This business model allows the broker to borrow a large number of shares, which they don’t really own, for short-selling or for covering trades.

This news comes to me as a big surprise. As it described in this IHT article, there are usually only two types of income associated with stocks: dividends and stock appreciation. This new service offered by Monex opens the door to a third type of income: “rental” fees.
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For those who paid long-distance phone bills in the past few years will be entitled to receive a special telephone tax refund. This refund is available this year only (i.e., 2006 federal tax filing).

[This refund] came about after court decisions found the excise tax, first levied in 1898 to fund the Spanish-American War, should no longer apply to telephone service as it’s billed today. Taxpayers can claim a refund based on the 3% excise tax they paid on long-distance calls from March 2003 through July 2006.

How should you file if you’re eligible for this refund?

• Option 1: Add up all that federal excise tax you paid based on your old phone records
• Option 2: Take a standard refund amount, based on the number of personal exemptions you claim. If you claim one exemption, you can claim a $30 refund; two exemptions, $40; three exemptions, $50; and four exemptions, $60.

For additional information, see the following personal finance articles from MarketWatch.com:

• No-so-easy money?
• Deductions and credits you’re likely to overlook

Wiimote Music is a wiki page on WiiLi.org that showcases the use of Wii remote controls for playing and mashup music. In those showcased YouTube videos, Wii-motes sometimes are used a replacement for traditional music instructions (e.g., a guitar), and other times are used as input devices for mixing and mashup tunes.

• Dj wiij — Wii-motes for DJ and skratch.
• The Wiitar — Use wii-motes as a guitar

In his speech at a recent conference, Larry Page, the co-founder of Google, urge scientists to better market themselves, so that the world might have a better chance to solve hard problems like energy consumption, poverty and global climate change. Many scientists don’t value the importance of marketing — this is a big mistake.

In my experience, successful research projects, especially those with the most profound influence, often require as much effort in building marketing as in conducting research. Scientists can spend years in the research labs and produce ground-breaking results. However, if they can’t make the world understand their research, they can’t really help the world to progress. This is why Page is urging scientists to budget fundings for marketing and universities to encourage an entrepreneurial research culture.

If you are a scientist, how should you market yourself?

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Kotaku has some photos of chocolates that are made in the shape of Wii-motes. Don’t rush to your nearby supermarket yet. No candy company has yet declared partnership with Nintendo to make Wii candies.

What you see in the photos are made from empty plastic packaging of Wii-motes and Nunchunk controllers. It’s a very creative idea.

In 2005 and 2006, Daylight Saving Time begins for most of the United States at 2 a.m. on the first Sunday of April. Time reverts to standard time at 2 a.m. on the last Sunday of October. Beginning in 2007, the schedule of DST will be changed.

Beginning in 2007, Daylight Saving Time is extended one month and begins for most of the United States at:

• 2 a.m. on the Second Sunday in March to
• 2 a.m. on the First Sunday of November.

The new start and stop dates were set in the Energy Policy Act of 2005.

Source: nationalatlas.gov

If you wonder about the reasons to observe DST or the history of DST, check out the following web pages:

• Daylight Saving Time Saves Energy
• History of Daylight Saving Time
• Daylight Saving Time on Wikipedia