Saturday, October 31, 2015

When Candy Isn’t Candy

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From the outset, I have made it a point to work Halloween into MauledAgain, usually looking for the silly or goofy but occasionally taking a...
Friday, October 30, 2015

Where Do the Poor and Middle Class Line Up for This Tax Break Parade?

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There is a tax parade, and apparently the poor and middle class haven’t been invited. For those struggling to get by, if they can get into t...
Wednesday, October 28, 2015

God’s Blessing Can’t Save Prohibited Deductions

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Section 280E of the Internal Revenue Code prohibits the deduction of “any amount paid or incurred during the taxable year in carrying on any...
Monday, October 26, 2015

What Tax Cuts Have Done

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When the wealthy, or at least the tax-hating segment of the wealthy, and their advocates push for tax cuts that benefit the wealthy, their j...
Friday, October 23, 2015

A Hidden Tax Twist?

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Recently, a Philadelphia Daily News reader posed a question to the paper’s personal financial columnist. The reader’s mother owns a home on...
Wednesday, October 21, 2015

Beachfront House Rental Deduction Washed Out

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A recent case, WSK & Sons, Inc. v. Comr. , T. C. Memo 2015-204, offers lessons on what not to do on a tax return with beachfront house r...
Monday, October 19, 2015

Will Taxpayers Sleep Well When They Read This Report?

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At the end of last month, the Office of the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration issued a report on its audit of the IRS proje...
Friday, October 16, 2015

Taxes, Consumption, Soda, and Obesity

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Readers of this blog know that I am not a fan of a tax aimed solely at soda or soda and sugary drinks. I’ve written about this issue in a se...
Wednesday, October 14, 2015

Taxes, Benefits, Freedom, and Greed

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When I read this article by someone identified as “Dennis S” about a story published on the Brietbart web site, I was delighted to note tha...
Monday, October 12, 2015

A Federal Income Tax on Everybody? How Would That Work?

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According to this report , Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, one of more than a dozen individuals seeking the Republican presidential nominat...
Friday, October 09, 2015

A Crappy Tax Idea?

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A reader directed my attention to a story that was published about six months ago. I missed it, perhaps because I was not using “poop” in m...
Wednesday, October 07, 2015

Putting More Tax Information “Out There” for the Tax Database Thieves

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In User-Friendly Taxpaying , Kathleen Delaney Thomas suggests that tax compliance can be increased if the tax paying process is simplified. ...
Monday, October 05, 2015

Analyzing Income Inequality

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I came across an interesting article focusing on the relationship between tax evasion and income inequality. The article reviews Gabriel Z...
Friday, October 02, 2015

Taxation of Prizes, Question Three

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Several questions were posed at a sweepstakes site . Here is another one that caught my attention: Since the prize values are reported as ot...
Wednesday, September 30, 2015

Taxation of Prizes, Question Two

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Several questions were posed at a sweepstakes site . Here is another one that caught my attention: I won concert VIP tickets, there is no va...
Monday, September 28, 2015

Taxation of Prizes, Question One

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Several questions were posed at a sweepstakes site . This is one that caught my attention: Hi I have won a travel sweeps worth (ARV) $26,000...
Friday, September 25, 2015

In What Year Should a Prize Be Reported as Gross Income?

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The question is simple. When a person wins a prize, in what year should the person report the income on the federal income tax return? The q...
Wednesday, September 23, 2015

When Escaping Tax Isn’t Enough: Grab Some Tax Giveaways

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It’s bad enough, isn’t it, that the gas extraction industry has managed to escape taxation in Pennsylvania that every other state in which i...
Monday, September 21, 2015

More Tax Fraud, This Time in Judge Judy’s Court

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Slightly more than a month ago, in More Tax Fraud in the People’s Court , I described a case in which the parties disclosed that they had un...
Friday, September 18, 2015

Tax Simplicity and Complexity in One Case

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A recent case, Okonkwo v. Comr. , T.C. Memo 2015-181, illustrates how the tax law sometimes is simple to apply and sometimes rather complica...
Wednesday, September 16, 2015

When Crime Does Not Pay and Tax Makes It Worse

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A recent Tax Court decision, Rodrigues v. Comr. , T. C. Memo 2015-178, should serve as a warning of how badly things can go when someone is ...
Monday, September 14, 2015

A New Tax Specialty: Porn

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Yes, you read that correctly. According to this report , the Alabama House Ways and Means Committee, trying to deal with a budget shortfall,...
Friday, September 11, 2015

Tax Client and Tax Return Preparer Meet Up in People’s Court

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Readers of this blog know that I find interesting tax topics when I watch television court shows. Today I add another to the parade that beg...
Wednesday, September 09, 2015

It’s a Failure of Some Sort, But It’s Not a Tax Failure

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Last week, as I browsed my Facebook news feed, I noticed that someone had shared a post called “History Lesson on Your Social Security Card....
Monday, September 07, 2015

“Who Knows Taxes Better Than Me?”

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No, I am not the one asking the question. And if I did ask the question, it would not be delivered in a manner suggesting that the answer is...
Friday, September 04, 2015

A Truth of Taxation

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Controversy is swirling about the posting of a sign by a Shippensburg, Pennsylvania, property owner that stated a $10 parking fee charged fo...
Wednesday, September 02, 2015

When Tax Maneuvering Goes Bad

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The politicians outdid themselves this time. According to this story , a gerrymandering stunt has backfired, leaving the outcome of a vote o...
Monday, August 31, 2015

The Tax and Benefits Conundrum

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The anti-tax crowd, along with those who are willing to tolerate minimal taxation but want to cut significantly government spending, must no...