2021 was a boom year for cryptocurrencies and NFTs, with many investors realizing massive financial gains when selling crypto or NFTs. Meanwhile, this has moved so fats that we have some uncertainty as to how the IRS will treat these gains. Of course investors will need to declare realized gains, but the applicable tax rate may be different between crypto and NFTs:

Specifically, an investor who sells an NFT, such as digital art, may owe a top 31.8% federal tax rate on any earnings. By comparison, appreciation in bitcoin, ethereum and other digital coins is subject to a 23.8% top rate.

That’s because NFTs are likely collectibles, for tax purposes. Collectibles carry a higher maximum tax rate on capital gains relative to assets like stocks, bonds and cryptocurrencies.

The IRS has not made a formal announcement, but tax experts are fairly confident that NFTs will be treated as collectibles. Keep this in mind as you plan your finances for 2022.

Free image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net

The Internet has changed the way that we communicate with each other and how we perceive each other as well. To some people, the Internet exists as its own world that does not affect the events that take place in the outside world. But the information on the Internet can have a significant effect on your personal reputation and how you are treated by strangers, as well as the people you have known for years. It is extremely important to protect your online reputation and ensure that what is being said about you is true.

Internet Information Doesn’t Fade

Prior to the Internet, people who made mistakes would pay for those mistakes and then wait for those mistakes to be forgotten. But on the Internet, information stays indexed forever and can be found by anyone willing to do an Internet search. If someone tells a lie on the Internet about you now, then that lie will be around 10 years from now unless you take action to get rid of that lie.

Anonymous Sources

When someone spreads a rumor outside of the Internet, it can often be easier to attach their name to the rumor by tracing it back to its source. The Internet allows people to post information and remain completely anonymous. Complete websites can be created to spread lies about you, and the person could remain anonymous. Experts like Reputation CEO Michael Fertik can help to find those anonymous sources and put an end to the rumors.

Why Should You Care?

Lies created and spread to ruin your personal reputation can cause problems in your personal life as well as your professional life. If someone in your family sees a lie about you on the Internet, it can be difficult to dispel that rumor. When employers go through a background check on an employment candidate, they will do a general Internet search to see what kinds of information is attached to your name. The lies they find can seem like truth to them because they were found on the Internet.

The Internet is cataloging the activities of mankind each and every day. The problem is that the Internet does not have a way of telling what is the truth and what is a lie. In order to protect yourself from people who try to spread lies and false rumors about you, it is important to hire an Internet reputation specialist and put the lies and rumors to rest.

How low can home mortgage rates go? They keep falling.

The interest rate for a 30-year mortgage fell for the eighth time in nine weeks, according to a widely watched survey, with the record lows triggering the highest volume of home refinancing in 15 months.

Freddie Mac’s weekly report on lenders said solid borrowers with 20% down payments or home equity were being offered 30-year fixed-rate loans at an average of 4.42% this week, down from 4.44% a week earlier. The borrowers would have paid 0.6% of the loan amount in upfront lender fees.

The average 30-year interest rate recorded by the survey has not risen in nine weeks, although it remained flat at 4.57% for the weeks ending July 8 and July 15.

One reason is the terrible housing market. Homeowner confidence in the real estate market has dipped again.

Homeowners(i) are more pessimistic about the short-term future of home values in their local market than they have been in the past three quarters, according to the Zillow second quarter Homeowner Confidence Survey(ii). One-third (33 percent) believe home values in their local housing market have not yet reached a bottom, while 38 percent believe they have already reached a bottom.

Clearly, the foreclosure crisis has a long way to go.

Where do things stand now with U.S. banks? It’s been quite a roller coaster ride for the past 3 years, and now we may be heading into a new phase with the passage of financial reform.

In many ways it’s too early to gauge how FinReg will impact the banks in the long run, let alone the U.S. economy and ordinary Americans. But it looks like the consumer protection agency may be a game-changer. Banks have relied on hidden fees for a long time to prop up their profits, so that easy money will likely be reduced in the future.

Meredith Whitney was on CNBC the other day, and she remains skeptical of bank profits with the passage of the new law, and the disturbing fact that the banks still need time to remove toxic assets from their books.