Wednesday, August 31, 2016

What Happens When the IRS Tax Data Repository Contains Unverified Data?

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Recently, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) released a report with the tongue-twisting title, “The Integrated Pr...
Monday, August 29, 2016

It’s a Tax, and It’s Not Deductible

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A recent letter to the editor of the Philadelphia Inquirer illustrates why taxpayers are more confused than they need to be when it comes t...
Friday, August 26, 2016

More Evidence That Film Tax Credits Are an Ineffective Giveaway

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Readers of this blog know that I am not a fan of targeted tax credits ostensibly designed to generate more tax revenue than they cost, in pa...
Wednesday, August 24, 2016

Would You Report Your Neighbor’s Unregistered Vehicle?

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Fairfax County in Virginia imposes a personal property tax on motor vehicles (and some other items). To collect the tax, the county requires...
Monday, August 22, 2016

Does Getting a Tax Deal Done Require This Sort of Action?

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New Jersey has a problem, though I doubt it’s the only state with this sort of challenge. The federal government also faces a similar issue....
Friday, August 19, 2016

Can Voters Be Given Too Many Tax Propositions?

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A reader alerted me to this story and asked if voters can be given too many tax propositions. According to the story, voters in Amarillo, T...
Wednesday, August 17, 2016

What’s the Remedy for This Income Tax Mess?

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A recent Tax Court case, Cappel v. Comr. , reminds taxpayers that tax danger lurks in every child support situation. Usually, divorcing coup...
Monday, August 15, 2016

To Test The Mileage-Based Road Fee, There Needs to Be a Test

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The future of highway, bridge, and tunnel maintenance, repair, and expansion rests with the mileage-based road fee. Why do I make that claim...
Friday, August 12, 2016

Imagine ReadyReturn Afflicted with This Sort of IRS Error

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Recently, the IRS sent a tremendous number of Failure to Deposit Notices to employers, treating monthly and daily deposits of payroll taxes ...
Wednesday, August 10, 2016

What is The Remedy for a Flawed Tax?

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When the Pennsylvania legislature enacted the most recent budget for the state, it included not only increases in the cigarette and tobacco ...
Monday, August 08, 2016

The Kansas Trickle-Down Tax Theory Failure Has Consequences

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The saga of how the tax cuts for the wealthy enacted at the behest of Kansas governor Sam Brownback has hurt the state now has a parallel ta...
Friday, August 05, 2016

Kansas Trickle-Down Failures Continue to Flood the State

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Anti-tax and anti-government advocates argue that tax cuts for the wealthy will increase private sector jobs. This argument appeals to those...
Wednesday, August 03, 2016

What’s the Best Income Tax Base?

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A reader recently noted a several-years-old proposal in Portland, Oregon, to collect a tax based on adjusted gross income. The reader asked,...
Monday, August 01, 2016

Is All Tax Ignorance Avoidable?

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The question posed by a reader was simply that simple. “Is tax avoidance avoidable?” The reader, a long-time follower of this blog, knows th...
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...