Wednesday, April 30, 2014

A Painful Way to Evade Taxes

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This recent story about tax evasion is a candidate for the tax-believe-it-or-not hall of fame. More details appeared in another version of...
Monday, April 28, 2014

The Secret to Getting (Tax) Work Done: Pay Us More and We’ll Do More Work

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I last discussed the saga of Philadelphia’s Board of Revision of Taxes in Philadelphia’s BRT Encounters a Provision That Bars Solving the Pr...
Friday, April 25, 2014

Just About Everything Involving a Home is Affected by Tax Law

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Eight years ago, in A New Book on Taxation of Residence Sales: Don't Leave Home Without It I reviewed Julian Block’s book, “THE HOME SE...
Wednesday, April 23, 2014

When It’s Too Late to Change One’s (Tax) Story

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A recent Tax Court case, Henson v. Comr. , T.C. Summ. Op. 2014-36, demonstrates how unwise it is to say one thing and then to say something ...
Monday, April 21, 2014

When Taxes Sneak Up on the Inattentive

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A recent Reuters report discloses that, according to tax return preparers, at least some wealthy clients “have been surprised” to learn tha...
Friday, April 18, 2014

Know Your Tax Return Preparer

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A recent Tax Court decision, Johnson v. Comr. , T.C. Memo 2014-67, indicates why it’s important to screen one’s tax return preparer. Althoug...
Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Once Again, What’s a Tax?

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Six years ago, in What’s in a Tax Label? , I noted that calling a tax increase a “loophole closer” doesn’t change the reality that a tax inc...
Monday, April 14, 2014

Can a Dead Person Be a Dependent?

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As the April 15 deadline approaches, it seems appropriate to take a look at one of the more “interesting” attempts at a tax deduction to hav...
Friday, April 11, 2014

More Tax Colors

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On Wednesday, in The Colors of Making and Taking , I noted the correlation between states that pay in fewer federal tax dollars than they ta...
Wednesday, April 09, 2014

The Colors of Making and Taking

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A column several days ago in the Philadelphia Inquirer, Where’s the money go? Often, to other states , caused me to think a bit about the gr...
Monday, April 07, 2014

How Shocking is Tax Evasion?

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A few days ago, I heard a story on the local news radio about tax evasion charges being brought against the owners of a pizza shop. I didn’t...
Friday, April 04, 2014

Is Changing One’s Mind on Taxes a Foolish Joke?

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The other day, I noticed a headline in a PhillyClout blog post that required me to stop and read it several times. Superficially, it made n...
Wednesday, April 02, 2014

Tax Court and Eleventh Circuit Disagree on Interpretation of Section 36 Language

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In November of 2012, the Tax Court, in Packard v. Comr. , held that a married couple qualified for the first-time homebuyer credit because t...
Monday, March 31, 2014

One Way the Rich Get Richer: Makers and Takers

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The cultural debate over makers and takers has focused on arguments by one side trying to prove that welfare recipients are mooching off the...
Friday, March 28, 2014

Pennsylvania’s Ban on Graduated Income Taxes: Credits and Exemptions

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According to this report at least one candidate for the Democratic nomination for governor is in favor of making changes to the Pennsylvani...
Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Tax Law Complexity Contributes to Federal Budget Ignorance

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Almost three years ago, in Americans Still Don’t Grasp Federal Budget Realities , following up on The Grand Delusion: Balancing the Federal ...
Monday, March 24, 2014

Philadelphia’s BRT Encounters a Provision That Bars Solving the Problem that the Provision Created

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Last Monday, in Sometimes, They Cannot Win , I commented on the strange outcome of the proposal to increase the salaries of some members of ...
Friday, March 21, 2014

Worried About the Wrong Tax Collector

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A recent story about an architect taking selfies to prove that he is not in New York for more than 182 days. He is doing this, according to...
Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Are the Rich Less Altruistic or More Altruistic Than the Poor?

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Last week, I received an email from Queendom , which is a outfit that provides tests and surveys for a variety of purposes and users. Accord...
Monday, March 17, 2014

Sometimes, They Cannot Win

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On Wednesday, in Is a Tax Appeal Delayed a Tax Appeal Denied? , I discussed how an attempt to reduce city expenditures by reducing the pay o...
Friday, March 14, 2014

Cigarettes, E-Cigarettes, and Taxes

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I don’t smoke, so there are limits to what I understand about cigarettes and e-cigarettes. I do know that cigarettes are subject to special ...
Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Is a Tax Appeal Delayed a Tax Appeal Denied?

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A tax appeal delayed is not a tax appeal denied if the taxpayer making the appeal is not required to pay the disputed tax until the disagree...
Monday, March 10, 2014

Are the Rich Different When It Comes to Discussing Money?

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The topic of the email caught my eye. It simply stated, “Money is the last social taboo for the rich, reveals deVere study.” Curious, I look...
Friday, March 07, 2014

Cracking the Tax Protest Movement

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Few people delight in paying taxes, though some people pay them with the same sort of acceptance that people project when stopping for a red...
Wednesday, March 05, 2014

Tax Fun and Tax Hilarity

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Last Wednesday, in Making Taxes Fun , I reacted to a quip by Harry Gross in which he asked and answered a question, “Fairest [tax] of all? ...
Monday, March 03, 2014

Find Some Money, Pay Some Tax

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Every now and then we read of someone finding something valuable. This time, it’s a California couple who found a stash of gold coins on the...
Friday, February 28, 2014

The Decline in a City’s Middle Class

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According to this story , a study sponsored by the Pew Charitable Trusts has determined that the percentage of people in Philadelphia who be...
Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Making Taxes Fun

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This one is clever. A reader wrote to Harry Gross, finance columnist for the Philadelphia Daily News, complaining about the complexity of th...
Monday, February 24, 2014

Why Does Deep Inequality Matter?

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It is important to understand that objections to income and wealth inequality, such as those I’ve shared in Getting to the Root of the Probl...