Recession forcing people to tackle their own taxes: Tax firms are reporting drops by as much as 19% in the number of returns they’ve prepared this year, according to USA Today. At the same time, Turbo Tax, the leading tax software firm, says its sales have gone up by almost 10%. Analysts say the shift away from companies such as Jackson Hewitt and H&R Block is caused by the weak economy. While the average cost to hire a professional to do income taxes is $229, tax software can be purchased for between $20 and $70, reports the newspaper.
Significant labor shortages predicted by 2018: Despite the 10% national unemployment rate, a labor economist at Northeastern University says there could be as many as 5 million job vacancies in the U.S. by 2018. Barry Bluestone, dean of the School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs at Northeastern, says keeping employees over 55 in the workforce will be the key to filling the labor gap. Bluestone’s report, which was prepared for the MetLife Foundation and Civic Ventures, says the fields that will have the biggest demand for older workers are health care, education, nonprofits and government, and the clergy.
Prepares for Masters: Tiger Woods acknowledged “living a lie,” saying he alone was responsible for the sex scandal that caused his shocking downfall from global sporting icon to late-night TV punch line. “It was all me. I’m the one who did it. I’m the one who acted the way I acted. No one knew what was going on when it was going on,” Woods told the Golf Channel in one of two interviews Sunday night. A second one was aired on ESPN, which will also televise during the first two rounds of the Masters. Woods plans to end four months of seclusion and return to golf at the tournament next month. Talking about those plans marked the only time he smiled during either interview. “I’m sure if more people would have known in my inner circle, they would have stopped it or tried to put a stop to it,” he told the Golf Channel. “But I kept it all to myself.” Later in the same interview with reporter Kelly Tilghman, Woods refers to his serial adultery by saying, “I tried to stop and I couldn’t stop. And it was just . . . it was horrific.”
