Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Debunking Tax Myths?

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In two recent posts, Tax Policy, Elections, and Money and If the Government Collects It, Is It Necessarily a Tax? , I have explored the unw...
Monday, November 28, 2011

If the Government Collects It, Is It Necessarily a Tax?

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Sometimes an article about tax can hit the surely-you-jest trifecta. That was my reaction after reading a Philadelphia Inquirer article abo...
Friday, November 25, 2011

“Small Change” Tax Noncompliance?

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Many taxpayers, tax commentators, and tax practitioners think that the IRS, or any other revenue agency, doesn’t focus on “small change” tax...
Thursday, November 24, 2011

Two Short Words, Thank You

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Like turkey, cranberry, and football, sharing a moment of thanks on the fourth Thursday of November has become a tradition on the MauledAgai...
Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Tax Policy, Elections, and Money

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One of the benefits of my regular attendance at the gym, aside from the obvious health advantages, is that I have an opportunity to address ...
Monday, November 21, 2011

Revisiting a Dependency Exemption Problem

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Five years ago, in Maybe There is A Dependency Exemption Problem After All , I re-examined a dependency exemption hypothetical that was one ...
Friday, November 18, 2011

The Tax Consequences of Exorcism

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A reader wrote to me recently, asking an interesting question and demonstrating how taxes can pop up anywhere, anytime. After watching what ...
Wednesday, November 16, 2011

More Tax Ignorance, With a Gift

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Usually when there is a manifestation of tax ignorance, it leads to bad tax policy, ill-advised votes, or some other sort of economic proble...
Monday, November 14, 2011

What Sort of Tax Increase?

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Headlines, like sound bites, can be so misleading because they are so short. Sometimes succinctness is not a virtue. Consider this headline:...
Friday, November 11, 2011

The Fallacy of Taxes and Job Creation

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Jobs are created when there is a need for work to be done. If every owner of property with a lawn did the lawn mowing, there would be no law...
Wednesday, November 09, 2011

Flat Tax Plans Should Fall Flat on Their Faces

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In an article in Monday’s Philadelphia Inquirer, Small Matters: Don't Make the Mistake of Overtaxing Wealth , Bill Dunkelberg tries to m...
Monday, November 07, 2011

The Tax and Spending Stalemate: Can It Destroy the Nation?

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The nation’s bridges and highways are falling apart. I’ve not seen or read anything to the contrary, certainly no one claiming that the tran...
Friday, November 04, 2011

Undressing the Sales Taxation of Costumes and Accessories

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In response to my recent Halloween post, The Scary Part of Halloween Costume Sales Taxation , Thomas A. Haines, CPA, of Tax Matrix , offers ...
Wednesday, November 02, 2011

Taxes by Any Other Name

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About a year and a half ago, in Don’t Like This Tax? How About That Tax? , I criticized a proposal to revamp Philadelphia’s business privile...
Monday, October 31, 2011

The Scary Part of Halloween Costume Sales Taxation

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Two years ago, in Unmasking the Deductibility of Halloween Costumes (2009), I examined the deductibility, for federal income tax purposes, ...
Friday, October 28, 2011

A Tax Complexity Contest?

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One of my readers, noting that I had disclosed having read the Internal Revenue Code, asked if I agreed that all of the Code, and even the r...