Friday, July 29, 2016

Subject to Tax? Yes and No

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There are many reasons why taxation is confusing. One of those many reasons is the willingness of legislatures to exempt someone from one ta...
Wednesday, July 27, 2016

How Not to Help Your Tax Return Preparer

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A recent Tax Court case, Probandt v. Comr. , T.C. Memo 2016-135, presents a good example of how not to help your tax return preparer. The ta...
Monday, July 25, 2016

What to Do With Fireworks Excise Tax Revenues?

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Usually, taxes are enacted or increased to provide funds for specific purposes or to provide resources for general funds used for a package ...
Friday, July 22, 2016

When Does a Tobacco Tax Not Apply to Tobacco, and Why?

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As part of its most recent budget deal, Pennsylvania has increased the tax on cigarettes, snuff, chew tobacco, and loose tobacco . However l...
Wednesday, July 20, 2016

The Tax Break Parade Continues and We’re Not Invited

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There’s a parade underway. Unlike most performances, in which those watching pay and those performing are paid, this parade is special. Thos...
Monday, July 18, 2016

Move In Together, Buy a House, Beware of the Tax Consequences

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A recent Tax Court case, Jackson v. Comr. , T.C. Summ. Op. 2016-33, demonstrates why couples who decide to live together in a house that the...
Friday, July 15, 2016

Another Reason We Need Better Tax Education

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It’s no secret that I’m a strong advocate of education. It’s also no secret that I’m a strong advocate of tax education in high school, so t...
Wednesday, July 13, 2016

When Tax and User Fee Increases Cost Less Than Tax Cuts and Tax Freezes

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One of the flaws in the anti-tax philosophy is the tendency of emotions to override rationality. “They want to raise our taxes” becomes a ra...
Monday, July 11, 2016

Disallowance of Deduction for Law School Tuition Affirmed

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Law school tuition is expensive. Claiming it as an income tax deduction reduces the financial burden on the taxpayer. The difficulty is that...
Friday, July 08, 2016

Taxes for Revenue and Taxes for Behavior Modification

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Readers of MauledAgain know that I am not a fan of using tax systems to encourage or discourage behavior. Advocates of behavior-focused taxe...
Wednesday, July 06, 2016

A Not So Hidden Tax Increase?

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When a person lives in one state and works in another, the usual pattern is for the state of residence to require the person to compute an i...
Monday, July 04, 2016

Does the “No New Taxes” Crowd Think Tax-Financed Public Goods Are Free?

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Readers of MauledAgain know how dedicated I am to the proposition that the only viable and sensible solution to the highway funding crisis i...
Friday, July 01, 2016

Defining Metropolitan Area for Tax Purposes

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A recent Tax Court case, Haag v. Comr. , T.C. Summ. Op. 2016-29, sheds some light on how metropolitan areas are defined for tax purposes. Mo...
Wednesday, June 29, 2016

Sharing Taxes, Pennsylvania Style

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Pennsylvania localities have a tax problem. They’re not good at sharing taxes, and the rules imposed on them by the state give Philadelphia ...
Monday, June 27, 2016

Losing a Tax Deduction When Finances Go Bad

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When taxpayers decided to purchase rental real estate, one of the factors that affects selection of property and the amount to offer for pur...
Friday, June 24, 2016

How Unsweet a Tax

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So Philadelphia now has a so-called “soda tax , though legal challenges could postpone or eradicate the enactment. And, as I pointed out in ...
Wednesday, June 22, 2016

Wheeling and Dealing the Wheel Tax

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As the nation’s infrastructure, particularly roads, bridges, and tunnels, continues to deteriorate thanks to tax hate, states and localities...
Monday, June 20, 2016

Geography, Community Values, and Tax Compliance

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A recent New York Times article focusing on tax compliance by small businesses shared information from a several-years-old IRS Taxpayer Adv...
Friday, June 17, 2016

Unnecessarily Complicating a Simple Tax Rule

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Almost every person teaching a basic federal income tax course requires students to learn the income tax consequences of divorce. In additio...
Wednesday, June 15, 2016

Bait-and-Switch “Sugary Beverage Tax” Tactics

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My objections to so-called “soda taxes” are well known. The stated goal does not match the scope of the tax, which is touted as a means of r...
Monday, June 13, 2016

Is It Free If It Is Tax-Funded?

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A reader, after reading this article , contacted me with several questions. Before turning to the questions, I summarize the article. Beca...
Friday, June 10, 2016

Prove That You Filed Your Tax Return

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A recent Tax Court case, McAuliffe v. Comr. , T.C. Summ. Op. 2016-25, demonstrates the importance of creating and maintaining proof that tax...