Wednesday, August 30, 2017

Another City Cuts Soda Tax Revenue Estimates

›
Though advocates of soda taxes view them as pots of revenue gold offering funding for a long list of programs, those advocates justify the t...
Monday, August 28, 2017

Revoking Targeted Tax Breaks When Recipient Fails to Deliver

›
Readers of this blog know that I do not support targeted tax breaks. These are special tax law enactments that benefit a particular recipien...
Friday, August 25, 2017

For Tax Purposes, Age Is Not “Just a Number”

›
It was not until I was well into adulthood that I encountered adults who did not know how old they were. I’m not referring to people with am...
Wednesday, August 23, 2017

Does Refusal to Provide a Receipt Suggest Tax Fraud Underway?

›
Once again, a television court show has come through with a tax angle to the case. The list gets longer. It started with Judge Judy and Tax ...
Monday, August 21, 2017

Court Cannot Address Tax Issue When Issue Doesn’t Exist

›
Several days ago, in Taxing a Tax , I discussed litigation commenced in Cook County, Illinois, by an individual who alleged that McDonald’s ...
Friday, August 18, 2017

A Good Guess In a Tax-or-Fee Prediction

›
The email arrived a few days ago from a reader with the simple subject line, “you were right.” For a moment, before opening the email, I sca...
Wednesday, August 16, 2017

Taxing a Tax

›
Cook County, Illinois, enacted a one-cent-per-ounce tax on sugary drinks. The county also imposes a sales tax, which together with the state...
Monday, August 14, 2017

Taxes, Passwords, and the Consumption of Hours

›
I’ve been using computers, in one way or another, since 1972. I have owned a personal computer of one sort or another since 1983. I have bee...
Friday, August 11, 2017

What Can I Buy At a Tax Sale?

›
Most adults have probably seen or heard the phrase “tax sale,” and some probably have an idea of what that means. Others surely know what it...
Wednesday, August 09, 2017

When Someone Else Claims You as a Dependent on Their Tax Return and You Disagree

›
Tax is everywhere, so it ought to be no surprise that it pops up in television court shows more frequently than many people might guess. Tha...
Monday, August 07, 2017

Claiming Depreciation and Expensing Deductions on Property Owned and Leased by Others

›
It is a general principle of tax law that a taxpayer is not permitted to claim depreciation or expensing deductions on property owned and le...
Friday, August 04, 2017

Ignorance of Any Kind, Aside from Tax

›
The other day, while reading the Philadelphia Inquirer, a headline, “One professor's general knowledge test: ‘They don’t know as much as...
Wednesday, August 02, 2017

Reaching New Lows With Tax Ignorance

›
Ignorance has become an epidemic. Ignorance with respect to tax issues has not been spared. Sometimes I wonder if tax ignorance is in the fo...
Monday, July 31, 2017

Earrings, Jet Skiing, and Casualty Loss Deductions

›
A reader asked me two questions about the tax consequences of an unfortunate event that befell Atlanta Falcons’ wide receiver Julio Jones. A...
Friday, July 28, 2017

Getting Tax Facts Correct: Is It Really That Difficult?

›
George Will tried to prove a point about the federal income tax system . The point he tried to prove is a simple one, and one with which alm...
Wednesday, July 26, 2017

Preparing Someone’s Tax Return Without Permission

›
Five years ago, I wasn’t seeing as many television court shows as I do now, in part because I was teaching full-time. So I’ve certainly seen...
Monday, July 24, 2017

Should Tax Increases Reflect Populist Sentiment?

›
True, polls aren’t necessarily accurate barometers, but a new poll from Bloomberg indicates more Americans favor an increase in the federal...
Friday, July 21, 2017

Gross Income from Dating?

›
A reader has added another television court show episode to the list of those on which I cannot help but comment. The list is getting longer...
Wednesday, July 19, 2017

When “Taxpayer” Means “Taxpayer”

›
A recent Tax Court decision, Gregory v. Comr. , 149 T.C. No. 2 (2017), provides an excellent, though long, primer on statutory interpretatio...