• 78% of American workers live paycheck to paycheck according to a 2017 report by employment website CareerBuilder.
• $6,741 is the average revolving credit card balance for U.S. households, according to a NerdWallet 2019 Survey.
• 42% of workers with adult children over 21 provide them with financial support and more than half are willing to sacrifice their own financial well-being to do so, according to a 2018 (PwC) PricewaterhouseCoopers survey.
  

There is no denying the worldwide wave of populism hit America last night.  The push-back from the common man against the establishment is real.  There is evident global frustration with those in the political class who are viewed to be out of touch with the average person.  It started in the Philippines in May, continued in the United Kingdom in June and now the ultimate insider candidate of Hillary Clinton has been deposed by a candidate never to have held elective office previously, Donald Trump. 

These are political waves though, not economic waves and the lessons learned in the Brexit vote are quite applicable to our own markets. 

Congress once again waited until the final hours to provide tax clarity by passing the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act of 2015 (PATH). The Act does considerably more than the typical tax extenders legislation seen in prior years. It makes permanent over 20 key tax provisions. Here are some of the more popular provisions. 

For Individuals:

Charitable Distributions from IRAs

The Act permanently extends the provision for individuals age 70 1/2and older to be allowed to make tax-free distributions from individual retirement accounts (IRAs) to a qualified charitable organization. The treatment continues to be capped at a maximum of $100,000 per taxpayer each year. Therefore, amounts in excess of $100,000 must be included in income, but may be taken as an itemized charitable deduction, subject to the usual adjusted gross income (AGI) annual caps for contributions.

Points to note about the IRA charitable rollover:

• Married individuals filing a joint return may jointly exclude up$200,000.
• You can use an inherited IRA to donate but you have to be at least 70 ½
• The charity receiving donated IRA funds may not be a donor advised fund, supporting organization, or most private foundations.

IRA assets are particularly favorable when donating to charity, rather than leaving to heirs, because