Last Minute Tax Advice & CEO Defends Bank

Last Minute Tax Advice & CEO Defends Bank plus Food Forethought. I'm Greg Martin with today's Northwest Report. Well it is coming down to the wire for submitting your taxes. Dr. Joanne Bankston says even if you are using a well known tax preparing service, you should take some precautions against errors, accidental or otherwise. BANKSTON: Do not leave the original documents with a tax preparer to work on while you are not present. You know there are all kinds of things – identity theft you don't need to do that, you need to be present. Do not sign a blank tax return. Don't do it and sign with a pen, don't sign with a pencil. Check your names, addresses, social security numbers and wage information before you sign, don't just sign. Check that the tax preparer signs the tax return with a pen and finally make sure that you have a copy of your completed tax return and make sure you have the tax preparers phone number and other information. You will be responsible for any errors in the form. The former CEO of Washington Mutual, the biggest U.S. bank ever to fail, on Tuesday defended the bank's actions to reduce risks from the looming housing bust. Kerry Killinger, who led the Seattle-based thrift, also argued that WaMu had adequate capital and shouldn't have been seized by the government in September 2008. The bank "should have been given a chance to work its way through the crisis," Killinger said in testimony prepared for a hearing by a Senate panel. Now with today's Food Forethought, here's Lacy Gray. As a famous English writer once stated, "me thinks thou doth protest too much", or something along those lines. With the possibility of voters legalizing marijuana the already existing pot growers are starting to complain bitterly of being trampled and put out of business by the "big guys". They claim that with its' legalization pot will be growing "like weeds" across the country, as if it isn't already, and corporate farmers will take over leaving them, the "little guys", out of business. Oh, pshaw. Under all that talk about the fear of corporate farming takeover lies the real reason behind their whining, they'll have to enter the legitmate world of farming, which means state and federal taxation and regulation, certifications, labor laws and disputes, and health inspections, not to mention having to report to good old Unlce Sam every year. For years illegal marijuana growers have claimed they only wanted their crop to be legalized so they could grow and sell it without fear of reprisal. Someone should have told them to be careful what they wish for; looks like they just might get it. Leave it to the feds to come along and take all the fun out of pot growing. Thanks Lacy. That's today's Northwest Report. I'm Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.