Monday, March 30, 2015

Battle Over Highway Infrastructure Taxation Heats Up in Alabama

›
The highway funding situation in Alabama isn’t all that different from what exists in most other states. Roads are falling apart, funding is...
Friday, March 27, 2015

Yes, Tax Uncertainty Hurts

›
In a recent commentary , Tom Giovanetti of The Institute for Policy Innovation explains that tax uncertainty causes economic harm. Tax unce...
Wednesday, March 25, 2015

When Social Security Benefits Aren’t Social Security Benefits: When They Meet Tax

›
A recent case, McCarthy v. Comr. , T.C. Memo 2015-50, illustrates why it is easy to become confused when retirement plan benefits, social se...
Monday, March 23, 2015

Tax Credit for Purchasing a Residence Requires a Purchase

›
A recent case, Pittman v. Comr. , T.C. Memo 2015-44, hammers home the point that a taxpayer is not entitled to claim the credit for purchasi...
Friday, March 20, 2015

Moving to Prison? Let the IRS Know Unless It Helped Put You There

›
Last week, in Moving? Let the IRS Know , I explained why it is important for taxpayers to keep the IRS informed of changes in address. Becau...
Wednesday, March 18, 2015

Back to Taxes and Potholes

›
It amazes me that Americans, given the choice between paying $100 in some sort of road use tax and paying $500 for uninsured vehicle repairs...
Monday, March 16, 2015

Who’s to Blame for Tax Fraud?

›
A recent commentary by Tom Giovanetti of the Institute for Policy Innovation takes the position that it is wrong to blame tax software for...
Friday, March 13, 2015

Moving? Let the IRS Know

›
A recent case, Gyorgy v. Comr. , No. 13-3363 (7th Cir. 2015), provides a good example of why taxpayers need to let the IRS know their new ad...
Wednesday, March 11, 2015

Tax Courses and Food

›
A reader directed me to an article reporting the results of a study examining the connection between food consumption and the type of movie...
Monday, March 09, 2015

Federal Income Tax Filing: Fewer Than Half Have Filed

›
On March 4, the IRS released information on the progress of the 2015 income tax filing season. The highlight is the IRS estimate that “thre...
Friday, March 06, 2015

The IRS and the Taxpayer: Both Wrong

›
The facts in the recent case of Morles v. Comr. , T.C. Summ. Op. 2015-13, at least as they related to one of the issues, are simple. During ...
Wednesday, March 04, 2015

It’s Not Your Principal Residence If You’ve Never Lived There

›
A recent case, Villegas v. Comr. , T.C. Memo 2015-33, demonstrates a very basic principle applicable to the section 121 exclusion from gross...
Monday, March 02, 2015

Tax Revenue and Structural Deficits

›
As mentioned in this article , Pennsylvania faces a deficit of $2.3 billion in its budget. The deficit is structural, that is, it reflects r...
Friday, February 27, 2015

Testing Tax Knowledge

›
According to a report on a recent NerdWallet survey , “[m]ost American adults get an ‘F’ in understanding income tax basics.” The survey pos...
Wednesday, February 25, 2015

So Who Should Pay for Roads?

›
According to a recent report , the decision by the Michigan legislature to come up with road repair funds by asking voters to approve an inc...
Monday, February 23, 2015

Using the Tax Law to Administer Health Care: An Unwise Idea Again Proves Itself Unwise

›
Almost five years ago, in a series of posts including IRS Ought Not Be the Health Care Enforcement Administrator , Health Care: Enlarging th...
Friday, February 20, 2015

The Parade of Tax Horribles Never Ends

›
The depreciation deduction is not one of my favorites. Too often, it permits taxpayers to report, and pay tax on, a taxable income amount th...
Wednesday, February 18, 2015

You Can’t Save What You Don’t Have

›
Last week, in a CNN Money commentary , Jordan Wathen compared what he described as getting rich the easy way with getting rich the hard way....
Monday, February 16, 2015

Are the Cuts in Education Funding Part of a Plan?

›
Last week, in Priorities, Priorities: What to Do With Tax Revenues , I explained how Wisconsin’s Governor Scott Walker plans to cut educatio...
Friday, February 13, 2015

Self-Employment Income Not Offset by NOL Carryforward

›
Sometimes a principle of tax law is uncomplicated, easy to understand, and easy to apply. This can be the case even if taxpayers don’t like ...
Wednesday, February 11, 2015

Priorities, Priorities: What to Do With Tax Revenues

›
The anti-tax crowd claims to dislike taxes because, among other reasons, they enable government spending. To these folks, government spendin...
Monday, February 09, 2015

So Who Gets Taxed on the Super Bowl Truck?

›
The facts are easy. Tom Brady, by being named MVP of the Super Bowl, becomes the winner of a truck given by Chevrolet as a prize to the play...
Friday, February 06, 2015

So Does Anyone Pay Taxes?

›
It’s time to ponder the tax issues in another Judge Judy episode. Readers of MauledAgain know that television court shows are among the vari...
Wednesday, February 04, 2015

So Why Would a Senator Dish Out Misinformation?

›
When I first read the claim by Senator Rand Paul that the earned income tax credit is afflicted by a 25 percent fraud rate and deprives the ...
Monday, February 02, 2015

When Is A Building Placed in Service?

›
After the Katrina disaster, Congress enacted section 1400N(d), a provision permitting taxpayers to claim more generous depreciation deductio...
Friday, January 30, 2015

Voting for Tax Refund Delays

›
The IRS Commissioner has disclosed that because “It takes longer to process paper returns and in light of IRS budget cuts resulting in a sm...
Wednesday, January 28, 2015

The Taxation of Egg Donations

›
Almost two years ago, in Getting Smart About Tax Questions , I expressed agreement with the advice given to an individual who donated eggs t...
Monday, January 26, 2015

No Agreement? No Alimony Deduction

›
A recent Tax Court case, Milbourn v. Comr. , T. C. Memo 2015-13, teaches an important lesson to spouses working their way through divorce pr...
Friday, January 23, 2015

Halfway There?

›
Social media is all aflutter, or should I say, atwitter, reacting to news that by 2016 the top one percent will own nearly half the world’s...
Wednesday, January 21, 2015

Getting the Tax Facts

›
When I finished reading this recent story , my first thought was, “Well, what REALLY happened?” According to the story a person identified...
Monday, January 19, 2015

Still Puzzled Four Years After Conviction to File Income Tax Returns

›
Almost four years ago, in Why Teaching Isn’t Just a Matter of What One Knows or Understands , I commented on the conviction of a then Hamlin...
Friday, January 16, 2015

Does Rejection Block a Deduction?

›
It’s a simple tax question with a complicated response. The facts that raise the question aren’t difficult to understand, though they do rai...