Okay, so I'm dating myself a bit here, but I always loved ABC's Schoolhouse Rock.
Kris Wales posted a terrific post about the need for us to be responsible and, more importantly, informed before posting information that may be inaccurate, incomplete or misleading to our readers. Active Rain has been awash with posts regarding the $8,000 tax credit. As of this morning, it is my understanding that the extension of the $8,000 first-time buyer's credit is not yet LAW.
Again...the extension of this tax credit is NOT A LAW....It's just a BILL. Because of all the apparent confusion, I thought a little refresher to explain the process was in order.
While it appears that this BILL will be signed into LAW, that hasn't happened yet.
If and when it does, we can then start singing Etta James' classic "At Last" or Pink Floyd's "Money" or the timeless "Home on the Range". As Kris illlustrated in her post, misinformation can lead to one of our readers getting a visit from the "Taxman". I, for one, don't want to be responsible for that. Active Rain is a wealth of information for members and for consumers...we don't want to diminish that value by making erroneous statements, do we?
It appears that the tax credit will be extended...HOWEVER, In the meantime...let's not get ahead of ourselves.
***UPDATE 11/5/09 2:35pm EST***
The bill has now passed in the House and is on its way to the President for signature. Still not LAW, but one step closer.
***UPDATE #2***
President Obama signed the bill into LAW on Friday, November 6, 2009.
I strongly urge everyone to educate themselves on the LAW...there are various requirements, etc. which are very important to understand. Check here for the updated IRS publication regarding the extension.
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I have that song stuck in my head now! ".... and I'm sitting here on capitol hill ... hoping to be a law some day...."
Great post it is just a bill and hopefully it will go through soon.
Thanks for the information. Folks are already rolling it out as a done deal. I love schoolhouse rock!
Hi Kim ~ What a great video! And thanks so much for posting this - the level of confusion is amazing. We all received an email last week (!) from a local attorney about the new tax credit - as though it was a done deal. Yeegads!
Liz
Robert--sorry for the "ear worm"...I loved that show! I included some links to other songs just in case you need to "clear your head" ;-)
Wendy--It looks like it will...BUT IT HASN'T YET! Time will tell!
Bob--I've been seeing it all over the place...people (including news outlets) making it sound as if it's been signed into law....which it has not. (But I loved having the opportunity to stroll down memory lane with the schoolhouse rock video!)
Liz--Misinformation has been coming from all directions, including supposedly "trustworthy" sources. It may happen...but we're not there yet!
Thanks for keeping us in check Kim!!! I had posted a link regarding the Bill but after reading this, I felt the need to comment on the link with the clarification for those who wouldn't take the time to read the whole article...as we know there are some who won't.
There's a lot of confusion out there, Dawn! We can't make folks read everything thoroughly, but we can do our best to make sure the info we put out there is accurate. I love the Schoolhouse Rock video because it explains WHY it's not a law yet in simple (and memorable) terms. Thanks for stopping by!
Kim, thanks so much for sending me an email with the link to this. First, I sang along with the song :-)) (I watched SchoolHouse Rock with my boys when they were young!!!)
I can understand posting about the bill as it makes it way, but oh my to see the headlines "It's passed!!!" makes me want to throw my monitor.
Make the headline the truth, and then write about the rest. Sounds easy enough..
Thanks for everything Kim, and I've enjoyed your post and your comment on mine.
Thanks, Kris...the feeling is mutual! Congrats on your feature and thanks for inspiring this post!
Rockin' Kim, knew you would be the one to clarify it for the peeps. LOL I have been getting texts all morning as a result of folks posting it on their Facebook pages that the bill was passed. Amazing the amount of disinformation out there!
Is that your little cabin in the pic? Or perhaps where the chickens reside? :-) Regardless, love the photo.
Susan--I just saw two more posts right here on AR proclaiming that it's been extended...<rolling eyes> To be fair, one was simply quoting an Associated Press article, which does, in the body of the article, mention that the Senate has passed it. However, the titles are misleading, at best. All I can say is "AAARRRRGGGGHHHH!"
By this time tomorrow it may be a moot point, but it's still not extended yet! The internet is a wealth of information...good, bad, and just plain wrong. *sigh*
The cabin is actually the little playhouse my neighbors across the street built for their girls years ago. I snapped the pic a couple of weeks ago and just loved it! They might be willing to rent it out, if you're interested...no waterfront, and no windows either, for that matter. But I'd bet they'd give you a great rate. I'll put in a good word for you ;-)
Schoolhouse Rock was awesome. My kids are getting into it now because we found some DVDs of it. Stellar!
Thanks J...it's timeless stuff! I loved it then and still do! I'm glad it's available to the next generation of kids, too. It's nice to see that a few things from our generation have stood the test of time rather than getting swept under the technological rug!