Uncle Sam’s Payday

 

Well – That expensive tax date which many of us have been dreading is now behind us – unless you filed for an extension. In that case you may still be wrestling with the myriad of details involved. I have gotten calls on the topic from all over the country, mostly from retirees or their relatives, hoping to find that silver bullet of a solution to their version of this complex situation. Sorry to say I’m all out of silver bullets. To reduce the chance for errors I went outside for professional tax help this year. That is not normal.

The magnitude of this tax event was undoubtedly different for everyone. In several cases the tax bill from Uncle Sam and The Governor combined, were more than they ever earned in a whole year from Johnson Controls. While we never discussed specific dollars, some folks have had bills that well exceeded a year’s pay. I’d be curious what the total impact was on our group of retirees, but we will never know. Those who sold their stock earlier, or have it in a 401k or IRA – keep grinning and appreciate what you missed out on.

One of our fellow retirees was disappointed to find out that the Johnson Controls Foundation has changed some of its rules and wanted to let others know. The limits regarding how much it will match have been reduced. While this may not be an issue for many, it would be prudent to check out the changes at http://www.johnsoncontrols.com/corporate-sustainability/social to see if any of those changes will affect you.

Another topic that some of our members have asked about is the law suit filed against Johnson Controls by some shareholders, relative to the recent merger. We (as your Board) have discussed this and decided to remain neutral on the issue. Neither For -nor- Against. But as with other topics, in the interest of sharing what information we know, so you can form your own opinion and course of action, the legal entity working on this from Minneapolis, does have a web page for further information. It is: https://jciinversionlitigation.com/

Until next quarter;
Gene