Friday, December 30, 2011

How Politics Generates Tax Complexity

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Earlier this week, in Punting on Taxes , I noted that the two-month extension of the payroll tax reduction “leaves businesses, hiring manage...
Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Tax Ignorance of the Historical Kind

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This time, the tax ignorance takes on an historical flavor. In a Philadelphia Inquirer article comparing the Great Depression with the curre...
Monday, December 26, 2011

Punting on Taxes

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On Friday, the Congress decided to resolve the conflict over the payroll tax cut extension by punting the issue two months into the future. ...
Friday, December 23, 2011

Two Tax Questions

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Will the members of Congress so adamantly opposed to preventing the expiration of the payroll tax cut hold fast to that approach when the Bu...
Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Using User Fees Responsibly

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For the past several years, I have reacted negatively to the policies and practices of the Delaware River Port Authority (DRPA) that funnel ...
Monday, December 19, 2011

Who Should Change the Tax Law?

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Late last week, a TaxProf blog story explained that the Sentencing Law & Policy Blog had reported on a $2.3 million award to a wrong...
Friday, December 16, 2011

The Price of Not Raising Taxes

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The real estate property tax rate in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, is the same as it was ten years ago, although there was a miniscule in...
Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Not All Wealthy Individuals Support Tax Cut Preferences for the Wealthy

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A little more than a year ago, in Job Creation and Tax Reductions , I pointed out that the best way to stimulate the economy is to put money...
Monday, December 12, 2011

Confusing Commentary Confuses Tax Discussions

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In more than a few posts, including The Value of Tax Education , The Consequences of Tax Education Deficiency , Tax Education is Not Just f...
Friday, December 09, 2011

Who Is a Farmer? A Taxing Question?

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Many students bring to their first basic federal income tax class a deep anxiety and sometimes overwhelming fear that they will be immersed ...
Wednesday, December 07, 2011

Taxes and Faux Dollars

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As the nation struggles with a deficit caused by a combination of unfunded war expenditures and unwise tax cuts, yet another goofy budget su...
Monday, December 05, 2011

Taxes: A Price for What?

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The anti-tax movement, at least some of which is an anti-government movement, objects to government having access to resources collected thr...
Friday, December 02, 2011

Taxes and Small Business

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The debate over extension of the payroll tax reduction involves a dispute over the funding of its cost. A proposal to impose a surtax on tax...
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 ...