Friday, October 24, 2014

At The Mercy of the Tax Office

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It could be anyone’s nightmare. For one woman, it is her reality. According to this story , the city of Norcross, Georgia, has sold a woma...
Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Tax Complications Often Mask Tax Breaks

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On Monday, a reader of the Albuquerque Journal sent an inquiry to a columnist who carefully answered the question . The reader wanted to kno...
Monday, October 20, 2014

Putting the Brakes on Tax Breaks

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Philadelphia City Council has approved legislation giving yet another tax break to employers. According to this story , city officials are u...
Friday, October 17, 2014

Fighting Over Pie or Baking Pie?

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Four months ago, in When the Poor Need Help, Give Tax Dollars to the Rich , I criticized the decision by New Jersey’s Governor Christie to d...
Wednesday, October 15, 2014

A Bad Tax Pun

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I like puns, and word games. The other day I came across one that meshed with taxation. It’s bad, so it’s appropriate for hump day. We kno...
Monday, October 13, 2014

So What Would You Have Advised?

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A recent Tax Court case, Kalapodis v. Comr. , T.C. Memo 2014-205, presents an opportunity to explore how the tax law affects the manner in w...
Friday, October 10, 2014

Who’s to Blame for Failure to Withhold?

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Many Pennsylvania towns impose a local services tax, which is limited to $52. Most localities have opted to impose the maximum amount. The t...
Wednesday, October 08, 2014

The Tax-and-Spending Thing

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My last comment concerning the Philadelphia cigarette tax was two months ago, in Delaying a Questionable Tax . Aside from my criticism of a ...
Monday, October 06, 2014

Do Squatters Have Gross Income?

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A reader pointed me in the direction of an article about an Indiana woman who has been living rent-free for eight years in a house that she...
Friday, October 03, 2014

What to Do with Old Tax Receipts

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Thanks to a reader alerting me to this story , I now know what someone 1500 years ago did with an old tax receipt. Perhaps this discovery wi...
Wednesday, October 01, 2014

So Who Really To Be Helped with Taxpayer Dollars?

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One of the arguments advanced by the anti-tax, anti-government crowd is the supposed inappropriateness of using taxpayer dollars to help peo...
Monday, September 29, 2014

When Two Are Cheaper Than One

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Many years ago, while discussing entry-level law practice jobs, I suggested that it would make more sense for law firms to hire two law scho...
Friday, September 26, 2014

Tax Protesting: A Bad Idea No Matter How One Views It

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More than two and a half years ago, in Tax Advice With No Teeth , I pointed out that one of the risks encountered by tax protesters who rely...
Wednesday, September 24, 2014

The Dangers of Earmarking General Tax Revenue

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Earlier this month, in Tax-Exempt Status Benefits Aren’t Necessary Unless There is Net Income , I noted that calls to tax the NFL, and other...
Monday, September 22, 2014

Yet Another Danger of Tax Complexity

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When the phrase “tax complexity” shows up in a conversation, most people think about the complications of a particular tax. It’s no secret t...
Friday, September 19, 2014

An Epidemic of Tax Ignorance

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Of course it’s not the worst mistake someone can make, if in fact it is a mistake. But when a person makes a mistake with respect to a simpl...
Wednesday, September 17, 2014

The Scary Specter of Code Size Ignorance

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It’s one of my favorite examples of how tax ignorance afflicts the nation. When something simple about tax cannot be understood, what happen...
Monday, September 15, 2014

The Persistence and Danger of Tax and Other Ignorance

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Facebook is a wonderful window into the minds of Americans. Examining the posts that show up provides insights that shatter many of the ster...
Friday, September 12, 2014

When They Talk About “Cutting Spending,” Why Is This Sort of Outlay Ignored?

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The other day, I read a Philadelphia Inquirer article that gave me yet another reason to question the wisdom and cerebral skills of certain...
Wednesday, September 10, 2014

How the Rich Get Richer, Technique No. 49323

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It just doesn’t stop. And it won’t stop, until the people adversely affected make their objections known rather than assuming someone else w...
Monday, September 08, 2014

Tax-Exempt Status Benefits Aren’t Necessary Unless There is Net Income

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In a Room for Debate commentary , Ryan Alexander questions the need for, and the appropriateness of, the tax-exempt status of the National F...
Friday, September 05, 2014

Placing Blame for the Tax Mess

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In a letter to the editor of the Philadelphia Inquirer, titled Rewrite, Don't Blame , Michael Colgan, chief executive officer of the Pen...
Wednesday, September 03, 2014

Fixing Tax Messes

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On Sunday, Mark Zandi published a commentary in the Philadelphia Inquirer in which he shared some thoughts about corporate inversions. A fe...
Monday, September 01, 2014

The Frequent Flyer Flap Follow-Up

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A little more than two years ago, in The Frequent Flyer Flap , I discussed the tax consequences of receiving frequent flyer miles. The discu...
Friday, August 29, 2014

Principal Residence Principles

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A recent Tax Court decision, Oxford v. Comr. , T. C. Summ. Op. 2014-80, delivers an interest insight into the intersection of the first-time...
Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Bridges, Tunnels, Privatization, and Taxes

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Not quite a year ago, in Tolls, Taxes, and User Fees in a Public-Private Context , I wrote about a decision by the Supreme Court of Virginia...
Monday, August 25, 2014

The Lap Dance Tax Dance Marathon

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Earlier this month, in Philadelphia Lap Dance Tax Effort Bumped Up to Court, Which Grinds It Down , I continued the saga of the attempt by P...
Friday, August 22, 2014

Collecting Taxes Requires Funding

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Though the report of the U.S. Treasury Inspector General on the collection of the medical device tax carries a July 17 date, it was issued ...
Wednesday, August 20, 2014

“Give Us a Tax Break and We’ll Do Nice Things.” Not.

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Almost two years ago, in Public Financing of Private Sports Enterprises: Good for the Private, Bad for the Public , I pointed to the fiasco ...
Monday, August 18, 2014

Campaign Promises of Cheap Gasoline and No Taxes

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Last week, on a visit to my son and daughter-in-law in Rhode Island, we drove past a campaign billboard on which the candidate’s promise was...
Friday, August 15, 2014

Tax Is More Than Numbers: Words Matter

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A recent case, Chapel v. Comr. , T.C. Memo 2014-151, illustrates why the “tax is numbers” mentality that convinces too many law students to ...