Wednesday, October 31, 2018

If Halloween Candy Isn’t Food, Is it Medicine?

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From the outset of this blog, I have made it a point to work Halloween into MauledAgain, usually looking for the silly or goofy but occasion...
Monday, October 29, 2018

A Tax I Do Not Support

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Perhaps the title of this commentary should be A Tax I Have Not Supported and Still Do Not Support, but that’s probably a bit too long. If I...
Friday, October 26, 2018

What to Do When Drowning in Money and Hauling in Tax Cuts

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The idea of trying to amass tens of millions or billions of dollars has never appealed to me. What would I do with it? I don’t need it. But ...
Wednesday, October 24, 2018

Mileage-Based Road Fee Enters Illinois Gubernatorial Campaign

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For almost a decade and a half, I have advocated the enactment of mileage-based road fees to replace the increasingly less effective and les...
Monday, October 22, 2018

The Dangers of Ignorance, Present and Eternal

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Ignorance is high on my list of dislikes. Unlike some things that I don’t like, ignorance can be avoided, and in most instances it is easily...
Friday, October 19, 2018

Surrender of Tax Breaks Not a Philanthropic Move

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Three years ago, in When the Rich Beg, for Tax Breaks , I wrote about the request by Disney Corp. to extend by 30 years a tax break it negot...
Wednesday, October 17, 2018

So How’s That Supply-Side Trickle-Down Theory Working Out For You?

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Readers of this blog know that I am not a fan of supply-side trickle-down economic theory and the tax policy based on it. One of my many co...
Monday, October 15, 2018

How Not to Solve a Tax Issue: Don’t Talk About It

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A few days ago, the Philadelphia Inquirer ran an article that discussed how the two candidates for the state’s governorship were dealing wi...
Friday, October 12, 2018

Don’t Want a Crumb? Here’s Dessert But Give Back Your Appetizer and Beverage

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In my criticism of the 2017 tax legislation that handed large tax breaks to big corporations and the wealthy at the cost of exploding federa...
Wednesday, October 10, 2018

If Trickle-Down Works, Why the Huge Increase in Consumer Borrowing?

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So now comes the latest report on consumer spending, as discussed in this article . The increase in consumer borrowing in August was much mo...
Monday, October 08, 2018

If a Person Pays One Tax, Does That Prove the Person Did Not Evade Another Tax?

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Reactions to the New York Times story about the Trump family alleged tax fraud and related tax schemes has brought a flood of demands for r...
Friday, October 05, 2018

Tax Law Poses Difficult Wedding Question

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Several days ago, Carolyn Hax was presented with a question that she answered in her advice question . The question caught my eye because th...
Wednesday, October 03, 2018

Return of Overpayment Not Subject to Income Tax (and a ReadyReturn Lesson)

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When I taught the basic income tax course, one of the questions that popped up early in the semester was, “What is income?” That question mu...
Monday, October 01, 2018

Tax Cheats, Toll Cheats

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Readers of this blog know that I am an advocate of user fees in situations where user fees make more sense and are more efficient than using...
Friday, September 28, 2018

Giving Back a Tax Break

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A reader pointed me to an article describing something that rarely happens. The author of the article points out that when someone does wha...
Wednesday, September 26, 2018

Tax and Budget Ignorance Goes Global

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Most American anti-tax advocates understand and usually admit that they have a choice. Cutting taxes requires increasing budget deficits, cu...
Monday, September 24, 2018

Yet Another Easy Tax Issue for Judge Judy

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Now it’s getting closer to “from famine to feast.” After going quite some time between opportunities to comment on television court show epi...
Friday, September 21, 2018

Getting Exercised About A Sales Tax Exercise Exception

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Reader Morris contacted me last week with a question and a controversial answer. He asked, “Is yoga considered exercise for sales tax purpos...
Wednesday, September 19, 2018

Goofy Tax Proposal Withdrawn in the Nick of Time

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Some months ago, Philadelphia’s City Council passed legislation, by a bare 9-8 vote, described in this article , to impose a one percent tax...
Monday, September 17, 2018

Tax Court Declines to Rewrite Statute

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In a recent case, Gartlan v. Comr. , T.C. Summ. Op. 2018-42, the taxpayer asked the Tax Court to create an exception to the statute based on...
Friday, September 14, 2018

More Tax Breaks for Those Who Don’t Need Them

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Several weeks ago, according to this report , the corporation that owns the New York Islanders National Hockey League franchise has been giv...
Wednesday, September 12, 2018

Another Easy Tax Issue for Judge Judy

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It’s not unlike “from famine to feast.” After going quite some time between opportunities to comment on television court show episodes, I wa...