Wednesday, December 30, 2015

Chickens and Taxes

›
No, this has nothing to do with the income taxation of profits from raising chickens. Nor does it have anything to do with excise taxes on e...
Monday, December 28, 2015

Can Taxes Reduce Sexually-Transmitted Diseases?

›
For decades if not centuries, taxes have been used in attempts to influence behavior. Whether it is encouraging behavior by handing out dedu...
Friday, December 25, 2015

Christmas and Taxes

›
In the telling of the Christmas story, the focus, aside from Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, almost always is on angels, shepherds, magi, a stable,...
Wednesday, December 23, 2015

Is the Soda Tax a Revenue Grab or a Worthwhile Health Benefit?

›
When a person favors both good health and fairness in tax policy, as I do, the soda tax presents a conundrum. If, as its proponents argue, a...
Monday, December 21, 2015

Winning Back Your Tax Payments

›
A reader made me aware of a recent suggestion that every taxpayer who files a timely and honest tax return, along with timely payment, be e...
Friday, December 18, 2015

You Mean That Tax Refund Isn’t for Me? Really?

›
Readers of MauledAgain know that when I have the opportunity I watch television court shows. Actually, I am usually doing something else at ...
Wednesday, December 16, 2015

I Got Mine From a Tax Break, So Let’s Repeal It Before You Can Get Yours From It

›
When I was a child, I remember being told by various adults that it was not uncommon for someone, or several people, once they climbed to th...
Monday, December 14, 2015

The Wonderful Wacky World of Taxes and Politics

›
For the past several decades, the Republican Party has been closely tied to tax reduction advocacy and to anti-tax groups. The Grover Norqui...
Friday, December 11, 2015

Tax versus Fee: Barely a Difference?

›
A reader sent me an email with the contents of this link and a question. Going through the material, I was grateful that he did not pose to...
Wednesday, December 09, 2015

A Tax Break That Deserves to be Sunk

›
Sales taxes generally are regressive. That’s because people with relatively little income spend most of their income on items subject to the...
Monday, December 07, 2015

When Congress Dilly-Dallies on Tax Issues

›
It’s no secret to those familiar with tax practice that the inability or refusal of Congress to stay on top of tax issues and move legislati...
Friday, December 04, 2015

Rubbing Tax Penalty Salt Into the Tax Liability Wound

›
A recent case, Yguico v. Comr. , T.C. Memo 2015-230, demonstrates how a tax problem can spiral out of control. By the time the dust settled,...
Wednesday, December 02, 2015

Tax Credit Giveaways Don’t Deserve Credit

›
According to this this story from last week, the state of Michigan and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles have agreed to limit the tax credits avail...
Monday, November 30, 2015

No Money to Pay Tax Debt? Say Goodbye to Overseas Travel

›
One of the surface transportation funding bills pending in the Congress contains a provision that would permit the State Department to with...
Friday, November 27, 2015

Tax Challenge: Keeping Up With Technology

›
Many years ago, New Jersey enacted a business personal property tax. Among other things, it applies to telephone poles, telephone wires, and...
Wednesday, November 25, 2015

Thanks Again!

›
It is not uncommon for someone who has been the beneficiary of a gift, a favor, or a helping hand not only to say “Thank you!” but to close ...
Monday, November 23, 2015

Old Tax Returns Have Value

›
Recently on the ABA-TAX listserv, the “how long must I retain past years’ tax returns?” question resurfaced. And again, all sorts of advice ...
Friday, November 20, 2015

Flat Tax Flat Lines

›
We are told by Katie Pavlich that “Carly Fiorina has proposed a three page tax code” and that ”This is what it looks like.” Curious, I took...
Wednesday, November 18, 2015

The Fallacy of “Job Creating” Tax Breaks, Yet Again

›
Readers of this blog know that I am not a fan of tax break giveaways to wealthy corporations as rewards for moving jobs from one state to an...
Monday, November 16, 2015

Not a Surprise: Tax Ignorance Afflicts Presidential Candidates and CNN

›
The CNN Reality Check Team fell down when it fact-checked the latest Republican Presidential Debate . Among the many assertions made by the ...
Friday, November 13, 2015

Federal Government Inflation Adjustments: They’re On the Congress

›
Several days ago, a Philadelphia Inquirer reader expressed bewilderment at the different inflation adjustment rates used for different fed...
Wednesday, November 11, 2015

So What Would You Do With a Duplicate Tax Refund?

›
A recent tax case, not unlike many other tax cases, provides a disappointing insight into human nature. Unlike cases involving improper exc...
Monday, November 09, 2015

So Why Are Workers Struggling?

›
Tom Giovanetti, of the Institute for Policy Innovation has released a commentary criticizing the myRA, Treasury’s latest retirement saving...
Friday, November 06, 2015

Income and Wealth Inequality Becoming a Disaster

›
Everyone who reads MauledAgain knows that I consider the increasing income and wealth inequality in this country to pose serious short-term ...
Wednesday, November 04, 2015

Are Sellers of Cheap Pizza Tax Scofflaws?

›
According to a recent story from Finland , authorities in that country are cracking down on restaurants that sell pizza for less than six Eu...
Monday, November 02, 2015

Taking and Giving Back

›
It’s a familiar story. A private sector business asks for special tax breaks and taxpayer funding for an enterprise that already is extremel...
Saturday, October 31, 2015

When Candy Isn’t Candy

›
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?

›
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...