February 1, 2018 Page 7
Marinated Garlic and Lemon Roasted Chicken
Drumsticks with Honey Mustard Sauce
Ingredients
Preparation
• In a bowl, mix together lemon juice, zest, olive oil,
chopped garlic, paprika, oregano, salt and pepper. Add
chicken drumsticks and toss to coat evenly. Cover bowl
with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator for at least
30 minutes. When ready to cook, let chicken come to
room temperature for about 20 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• Arrange chicken on oiled foil-lined sheet pan.
• Bake uncovered for 20 minutes. Flip chicken pieces
and cook another 10 minutes until chicken reaches 165
degrees and is no longer pink.
• Make sauce in a small bowl by whisking together the
mustard and honey.
• Add water as needed for a workable consistency.
• With a small pastry brush, brush sauce over chicken
and broil 5 minutes until bubbly.
• Place chicken pieces on a serving platter and sprinkle
minced parsley over all.
• 10 chicken drumsticks
• 1 large lemon zested and juiced
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 3 whole cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1 pinch each salt and pepper
• Minced parsley for garnish
Honey Mustard Sauce:
• 3 tablespoons melted butter
• 1/2 cup each honey and mustard
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
Source: Nestle’s Balance Your Plate
IRS from front page
Feb. 15, 2018,” the IRS said.
Whether taxpayers really see any extra
money depends on whether
they read their pay stubs.
A finding by the Electronic
Payments Association suggests
There’s no need for employees to make changes to their W-4 withholding forms, according to the IRS.
that any slight change
could go unnoticed by the
majority of U.S. workers.
The association reported
that 82 percent of U.S.
workers use direct deposit
instead of a paper check.
If they read their electronic
pay stubs, they’ll see a
difference.
There’s an added bonus
in the tax rate change for
workers. Employees do not have to do
anything at this time, though the IRS is
revising the standard W-4 withholding form
that each employee fills out at time of hire.
“The new withholding tables work with the
Forms W-4 that workers have already filed
with their employers to claim withholding
allowances. This will minimize burden on
taxpayers and employers,” the IRS said.
The tax code changes took effect on Jan.
1, just days after the House and Senate approved
the biggest tax reform legislation in
decades. Companies since have announced
bonuses for employees because Congress
did away with the previous corporate tax
rates and created a new rate of 21 percent.
Several airlines are among the employers
who are passing along the corporate
tax cuts. Alaska, American and Southwest
Airlines all pledged $1,000 bonuses to their
employees. Alaska went a step further and
offered $118 million in incentive bonuses
to its 23,000 workers nationwide.
Other companies and entities that do business
in the South Bay that have promised
tax cut bonuses include:
- Bank of America: $1,000 bonuses to
about 145,000 of its workforce.
- FedEx: $200 million
in raises, about two-thirds
of which will go to hourly
team members. The delivery
service giant also
plans to contribute $1.5
billion to its pension plan.
- Home Depot: Gave
one-time cash bonuses of
$1,000 for hourly associates
before Jan. 1.
- Honeywell: Increased
the 401(k) match for
employees in the U.S.,
Canada and Puerto Rico.
Financial institutions
and banks, including Wells Fargo and
Washington Federal, raised staff salaries
and bumped the company minimum wage
to $15, using the corporate tax savings.
Verizon gave employees, excluding its top
management, 50 shares of the telecom
company’s restricted stock. Apple was even
more generous, handing out $2,500 in stock
to most of its employees.
Not everyone will enjoy a tax reduction
under the new law. While most taxpayers
will pay less, some taxpayers will pay a
slightly higher tax rate for 2018, according
to Executive Director Kathy Pickering
with The Tax Institute. High-earners with
a marginal tax rate of 35 percent (up from
33 percent) will be most affected.
Even if you didn’t receive a celebratory
bonus, the IRS said that 70 percent of taxpayers
are expecting refunds this year. The
tax season opened Monday and runs Jan.
29 through Tuesday, April 17. The filing
period is five days shorter than last year,
putting added pressure on tax preparers and
self-filers to make the deadline.
The IRS says 90 percent of refunds are
issued in under 21 days, but to expect delays
with returns that claim the Earned Income
or Additional Child Tax Credits. The Earned
Income Tax Credit is for working people
with low to moderate income. To qualify
for this refund, you must file a tax return,
even if you do not owe any tax. According
to the agency, “The IRS expects the
earliest EITC/ACTC related refunds to be
available in taxpayer bank accounts or on
debit cards starting on Feb. 27, 2018, if
they chose direct deposit and there are no
other issues with the tax return.”
For the second consecutive year, April 15
falls on a weekend -- so the tax return filing
deadline falls two days later on a Tuesday. •