It was big news for tax geeks like me back in early 2011 when the federal government released new regulations controlling garnishments of bank accounts that contain certain federal benefit payments.  The regulations made banks responsible for determining if a garnished account contained Social Security payments or other protected federal benefits and, if so, to make sure that those benefits were not garnished.

 It was big news for tax geeks like me back in early 2011 when the federal government released new regulations controlling garnishments of bank accounts that contain certain federal benefit payments.  The regulations made banks responsible for determining if a garnished account contained Social Security payments or other protected federal benefits and, if so, to make sure that those benefits were not garnished.

The United States Supreme Court recently upheld a provision in the state of Virginia’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), which allows only Virginia citizens to request  public records under the act. The case is McBurney v. Young.  Could a North Carolina local government impose a similar limitation? The answer is “no”.

The United States Supreme Court recently upheld a provision in the state of Virginia’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), which allows only Virginia citizens to request  public records under the act. The case is McBurney v. Young.  Could a North Carolina local government impose a similar limitation? The answer is “no”.

A city manager sends and receives the following text messages from a city resident on the manager’s personal smartphone:

A city manager sends and receives the following text messages from a city resident on the manager’s personal smartphone:

With this week’s men’s and women’s championship games (neither of which featured my beloved Blue Devils, alas), the college basketball season came to a close.  But don’t despair—you won’t need to wait a full year for another Final Four.  After much number crunching and bracketology, I’ve

With this week’s men’s and women’s championship games (neither of which featured my beloved Blue Devils, alas), the college basketball season came to a close.  But don’t despair—you won’t need to wait a full year for another Final Four.  After much number crunching and bracketology, I’ve

Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary defines “synthetic,” among other things, as “devised, arranged, or fabricated for special situations to imitate or replace usual realities.” As the definition suggests, a “synthetic project development financing” (more commonly referred to as a “synthetic tax increment financing” or “synthetic TIF”) is a local government borrowing scheme that is “fabricated” to “imitate” a real TIF. If that does not totally clear things up for you read on….

Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary defines “synthetic,” among other things, as “devised, arranged, or fabricated for special situations to imitate or replace usual realities.” As the definition suggests, a “synthetic project development financing” (more commonly referred to as a “synthetic tax increment financing” or “synthetic TIF”) is a local government borrowing scheme that is “fabricated” to “imitate” a real TIF. If that does not totally clear things up for you read on….