| Volume 132 Number 10 |
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The People’s Lawyer’s Tip of the Day
Prize scams—don’t pay to play. You get a phone call from an excited caller saying you’ve won a trip, a car, or a lot of money. Next, they ask you to send some money before you get the prize. That is a sure sign of a scam.
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Third-party iPhone screen repairs no longer void warranty, Apple says
In an apparent policy shift, Apple recently notified store technicians that third-party iPhone screen repairs no longer void the handset's standard warranty as long as the unauthorized fix does not damage the casing or other related components.
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Your Money
How to drop into a lower tax bracket. The IRS provides quite a few ways to transform taxable income into nontaxable income through the use of deductions. It's how the federal government rewards you for spending money in ways that it deems beneficial to society. Consider the following: (1) contributing to a retirement account; (2) contributing to an HAS; (3) pay interest on certain kinds of debt, including mortgage, student loans, debt used to purchase investments, and interest on business debt—however these interest payments are only available for itemized deductions except for student loan interest payments; (4) pay state and local taxes which qualify as an itemized deduction; and (5) charitable contributions up to 50% of your AGI are deductible if you itemize. Click here for more.
For the Lawyers
Washington law prohibits discrimination against legal same sex couples. After their florist refused to provide flower for their same sex wedding the couple and the state sued. Each alleging violations of the Washington Law Against Discrimination and the Consumer Protection Act (CPA). The florist defended on the grounds that the WLAD and CPA did not apply to her conduct and that, if they did, those statutes violated her state and federal constitutional rights to free speech, free exercise, and free association. The superior court granted summary judgment to the State and the couple, rejecting all of the florist’s claims. Finding no reversible error in that judgment, the Oregon Supreme Court affirmed. State v. Arlene Flower’s Inc. (Wash. 2017). Click here for more.