Monday, December 31, 2007

When is a 15% Tax Rate Not a 15% Tax Rate?

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Last Wednesday, the Tax Court issued its opinion in Weiss v. Comr. , 129 T.C. No. 18 (2007). The case highlights the dangers of using sound ...
Friday, December 28, 2007

Tax Relief = Return to Serfdom?

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The challenges faced by people on fixed incomes when local property taxes increase has been widely reported. For example, I explained one fa...
Wednesday, December 26, 2007

A Tax on Christmas? Really?

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According to this Daily Express political commentary , people in England face a 225 pound "stealth tax bill" for this Christmas. ...
Monday, December 24, 2007

A Holiday "Gift" from the Congress

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Two years ago, in Legislatures Take a Holiday From Taxes , I carped about the unwillingness and inability of legislators to schedule their t...
Friday, December 21, 2007

Taxation of Kidney Swaps: Dispelling the "Ivory Tower" Myth

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Almost two years ago, in The Taxation of Kidney Swaps , I concluded that taxpayers who swapped kidneys for transplantation into their respec...
Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Raising Revenue Through Tolls Isn't Simple

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As reported in this story , the Federal Highway Administration in effect told Pennsylvania to revise its request for approval of the I-80 to...
Monday, December 17, 2007

Deadlines for Turning In Grades

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The faculty at Wayne State Law School has a very strict grade due-date policy , which came to my attention thanks to Paul Caron's TaxPro...
Friday, December 14, 2007

Lawyers Are Just Like People: Some Good, Some Bad

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People don't like lawyers. So I'm told. People like their own lawyers but not the other person's lawyer. So I've also been t...
Wednesday, December 12, 2007

IRS Issues Medical Expense Deduction Ruling But It Has No Surprises

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The IRS has released Revenue Ruling 2007-72 , in which it rules that the following three expenses qualify as medical expenses, and are deduc...
Monday, December 10, 2007

A Closer Look at a Technical Self-Employment Tax Issue

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My posting late last month, Social Security Email: Nonsense Breeds Nonsense triggered several inquiries from a reader. He pointed out that ...
Friday, December 07, 2007

The Social Security Reform Game

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Jonathan Barry Forman, who is the Alfred P. Murrah Professor of Law at the University of Oklahoma College of Law, passed along a link to the...
Wednesday, December 05, 2007

Deconstructing Tax Myths

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Not too long ago, an email arrived in my inbox that made me chuckle and then made me think. I often refer to the need to teach core tax prin...
Monday, December 03, 2007

Consult Your Tax Advisor

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Last week I received a letter from Ford Motor Company's Regional Sales Manager for the Philadelphia Region. It was addressed to me in my...
Friday, November 30, 2007

Revisiting How Lawyers Communicate

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My post Monday a week ago on the difficulties clients have understanding their lawyers, Clients to Lawyers: We Don't Understand You , br...
Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Revisiting IRS Compliance Audits

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Several weeks ago, in Congress and Tax Audits: Criticizing Others for Its Own Mess , I explored the ramifications of the news that the IRS h...
Monday, November 26, 2007

Social Security Email: Nonsense Breeds Nonsense

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Someone sent me an email last week, on the topic "Social Security." I'm not going to republish the entire message, particularl...
Friday, November 23, 2007

Hi, I'm NOT from the Government But I'm Here to Audit Your Tax Return

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The story of a recent federal income tax case begins as one expects a federal income tax case to begin. A taxpayer files a return, the IRS a...
Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Actio Gratiarum

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Tomorrow is Thanksgiving. I don't plan to post tomorrow, and I have a feeling many regular readers won't be checking in. So though i...