Wednesday, March 30, 2016

Tax Fears

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When I was teaching the basic tax course, at the beginning of almost every semester during which the course was offered, at least one studen...
Monday, March 28, 2016

Taxes, Penalties, Additions to Tax, and Additional Amounts

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A recent Tax Court decision, El v. Comr. , 144 T.C. No. 9 (2016), presented an issue of first impression, specifically, whether section 7491...
Friday, March 25, 2016

Tax Perspectives of the Wealthy: Observing the Writing on the Wall

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It’s easy to put all wealthy individuals into one tax policy basket, accusing them of wanting nothing but lower taxes. But as I have pointed...
Wednesday, March 23, 2016

When a Tax Theory Fails: Own Up or Make Excuses?

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The call for tax cuts for the wealthy continues. More than several candidates for the Presidency, including some who have since dropped out ...
Monday, March 21, 2016

Deficit-Haters Enable Deficits

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There is a group of voters, and politicians representing them, who decry state and federal budget deficits. Yet most of these deficit-haters...
Friday, March 18, 2016

Soda Tax Debate Bubbles Up

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The re-introduction of a soda tax proposal in Philadelphia has triggered a outpouring of objections, support, questions, criticisms, and re-...
Wednesday, March 16, 2016

Backing up Tax Break Promises

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One of the reasons I object to using the tax law to distribute economic benefits to particular individuals and businesses, aside from comple...
Monday, March 14, 2016

The Russian Sugar and Fat Tax Proposal: Smarter, More Sensible, or Just A Need for More Revenue?

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Last week, in What Gets Taxed If the Goal Is Health Improvement? , I commented on a suggestion that Philadelphia’s re-emerging soda tax prop...
Friday, March 11, 2016

Why Not Sell Losing Lottery Tickets?

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Why would someone want to sell losing lottery tickets? The answer is simple. Those losing tickets have value to someone who wins a lottery, ...
Wednesday, March 09, 2016

Buying and Selling Dependency Exemptions for Tax Purposes

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A reader alerted me to this story . It fits into the “we don’t need to make things up” category that I often mention when posing questions t...
Monday, March 07, 2016

What Gets Taxed If the Goal Is Health Improvement?

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Several days ago, in Philadelphia’s Latest Soda Tax Proposal: Health or Revenue? , I questioned whether the latest soda tax proposal in Phil...
Friday, March 04, 2016

Estate Tax or Inheritance Tax, Which Is It?

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According to several reports, including this one , New Jersey is considering repealing its estate tax as part of a larger proposal to increa...
Wednesday, March 02, 2016

Philadelphia’s Latest Soda Tax Proposal: Health or Revenue?

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It was more than seven years ago when I first wrote about the soda tax, in What Sort of Tax? . Since then I have revisited the issue at leas...
Monday, February 29, 2016

Should Candidates Be Required to Release Tax Returns?

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It was with a reaction of “huh?” that I read the news of Mitt Romney criticizing Donald Trump, Marco Rubio, and Ted Cruz for not releasing t...
Friday, February 26, 2016

Section 280A and the Tree House

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One of my readers read and article and sent it to me, along with a question. After reading the article, I understand why it caught his atten...
Wednesday, February 24, 2016

Economic Civil War Poses No Less of a Threat Than A Shooting Civil War

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A little more than three months ago, in The Fallacy of “Job Creating” Tax Breaks, Yet Again , I shared the news that recent studies demonstr...
Monday, February 22, 2016

Yes, Damages for Emotional Distress Are Gross Income

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One of the basic principles that students in the basic tax course must learn and understand is that damages for personal physical injuries a...
Friday, February 19, 2016

One Person’s Sin Is Another Person’s Tax Revenue

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Louisiana faces a huge budget deficit. Though I could explore how it ended up with a deficit that threatens cutbacks in essential services ,...
Wednesday, February 17, 2016

The Tax Runaway

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In a letter to the editor in Sunday’s Philadelphia Inquirer, which I could not find on the newspaper’s web site, asserts that Pennsylvania s...
Monday, February 15, 2016

Relying on Incorrect IRS Advice Spares Taxpayer Penalty

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A recent case, Co v. Comr. , T.C. Memo 2016-19, demonstrates the challenges for taxpayers who rely on advice from, and decisions by, IRS emp...
Friday, February 12, 2016

More Evidence That False Promise Tax Breaks Fail

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Readers of MauledAgain are well aware that I dislike tax break giveaways to wealthy corporations as rewards for moving jobs from one state t...
Wednesday, February 10, 2016

Stupid Criminals, Tax Version

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A reader sent me a story that I probably would have otherwise missed. According to several reports, including this one , a woman and her son...
Monday, February 08, 2016

Backups, Anyone?

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It was the sort of news that spreads so quickly that notices came to me from multiple directions. There was a posting on a tax listserv, an ...
Friday, February 05, 2016

The Biggest Tax Refund?

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The headline to this article caught my eye. It caught my eye primarily because I could see it catching the eye of many people. It appeals t...
Wednesday, February 03, 2016

“Can a Clone Qualify as a Qualifying Child or Qualifying Relative?”

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Yes, that’s the question a reader posed to me. The reader also commented, “You think your taxes are complicated, try having a dependent who’...
Monday, February 01, 2016

Will Diverting Tax Payments to Escrow Funds Motivate the Pennsylvania Legislature?

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Bill Dingfelder, a Philadelphia Inquirer reader, is fed up with the failure of the Pennsylvania legislature to approve a budget. He’s not al...
Friday, January 29, 2016

A Form 1099 Disclosure Oops

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According to several reports, including this story , drivers contracting with ride-sharing outfit Uber were surprised when they logged into ...
Wednesday, January 27, 2016

“Who Knows the Tax Code Better Than Me?”

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No, it’s not ME asking that question. Who asked it? According to this story , Donald Trump did. Trump added that rhetorical quip to the end ...
Monday, January 25, 2016

Will Providing a Driver’s License Number Reduce Tax Return Identity Theft?

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In a recent announcement , the IRS has explained how it is attempting to reduce tax return identity theft. It revealed that some states, dea...