Wednesday, April 05, 2006

So Why Not Just Come Right Out and Say, "Do Not Sell Tax Return Data"?

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The IRS has issued a press release in defense of its proposed changes to the regulations dealing with disclosure of taxpayer information. I...

Tax Complexity Rx: Treat the Causes not the Symptoms

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Is there anyone who thinks the tax law is not complex? Chris Edwards, director of tax policy studies for the Cato Institute has published ...
Monday, April 03, 2006

Going to the Library Becomes a Tax Question

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A summary opinion decision issued by the Tax Court near the end of February, Berge v. Comr. , has been sitting in my "to blog" dig...
Friday, March 31, 2006

Casting Blame for Bad Tax Law

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According to several reports, some unpublished, but this one published , Representative Bill Thomas, Chair of the House Ways and Means commi...
Wednesday, March 29, 2006

Making Tax Data Public: Part Two

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My post last week about the proposed IRS regulations that would permit tax return preparers to sell taxpayer data to third parties so long ...
Monday, March 27, 2006

An Unhappy Law Professoriate?

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Michael Livingston, who teaches tax across the river at Rutgers-Camden, has shared a friend's his explanation for why law professors are...
Friday, March 24, 2006

To Allow Laptops or Not to Allow Laptops: That is the Question

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Law faculties and law professors across the country are struggling with the impact on classroom dynamics of students using laptop computers ...
Thursday, March 23, 2006

Tax Charts for Sections 367 and 954(e)

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So long as there is a tax law that continues to change, the TaxChartGuy, Andrew Mitchell, will continue to develop and share his tax charts....
Wednesday, March 22, 2006

Your Confidential Tax and Financial Information for Sale?

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Indeed, that could happen unless you are VERY careful. And even if you are careful, you might still fail to avoid such an outcome. When I sa...
Monday, March 20, 2006

Special Low Rate = Higher Compliance? No.

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Senator Evan Bayh of Indiana has introduced S. 2414 , the "Simplification Through Additional Reporting Tax Act of 2006." This STAR...
Friday, March 17, 2006

Bar Exam Failures: A Reprise

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When I wrote the other day, in posting about the increase in bar examination failure rates , that "California's complex maze of leg...

Inventing Tax Deductions

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One of my favorite aspects of tax filing season is that it generates all sorts of "new" deductions, such as the one for personal g...
Wednesday, March 15, 2006

Failing the Bar Exam: A Bad Thing?

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A National Law Journal story reports that "Bar Exam Failures Are on the Rise." As a member of a law school faculty, I pay close a...
Monday, March 13, 2006

Phishing for a Tax Refund

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It looks so inviting. To the untrained eye and uninformed mind, that is. What is it? It's one of those messages designed to appeal to hu...
Friday, March 10, 2006

Digital Security Practices for Tax Practitioners

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Sometimes tax practitioners can learn from the experiences of people working in other industries who handle client financial information. So...