Friday, September 30, 2022

When Tax Troubles Never Go Away

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It’s been quite some time since I wrote about the tax troubles of former Pennsylvania State Senator Vincent Fumo. In Real Property Tax Asses...
Friday, September 23, 2022

Need a Question for the Exam in a Basic Federal Income Tax Course?

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If I were still teaching a basic federal income tax course, I would use a quotation from this press release to set up one of the examinatio...
Monday, September 12, 2022

Numbers and Logic

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Today I received an email from the utility company that supplies me with electricity and natural gas. The email was titled, “Your monthly en...
Wednesday, September 07, 2022

The Price of Low and Lowering Taxes

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When reader Morris sent me a link to this story , he gave the email an appropriate subject line. He wrote, “You get what you pay for!” He ma...
Wednesday, August 31, 2022

Sadness on Multiple Levels: Financial Literacy, Factual Understanding, Legal Comprehension

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This commentary isn’t about tax law, legal education, the First Amendment, religion, genealogy, theology, music, model trains, or chocolate ...
Friday, August 26, 2022

Who Should Be Sued, and Where, If Employer Fails to Issue Form W-2?

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A recent Southern District of New York decision, the text of which is presently behind a paywall, involved an employee suing his employer be...
Wednesday, August 17, 2022

Fear Mongering, Tax Style

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What happens when someone wants to stop an activity, a proposal, or the consequences of a decision that adversely affects that person? One a...
Tuesday, August 09, 2022

It’s Not Just Law Enforcement That Confronts Misbehaving Tax Return Preparers

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During the past many years, I have written about some of the tax return preparers who have gotten into trouble because of their misdeeds, in...
Tuesday, August 02, 2022

Insufficient Explanation of Estimated Tax Legislation Impacts

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I must admit I was surprised when I saw the headlines claiming that the pending Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 will increase taxes on all o...
Thursday, July 28, 2022

How Better to Mitigate the Effects of Inflation

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So the Congress appears to be ready to pass a a compromise bill designed, among other things, to combat the impact of inflation on consumer...
Sunday, July 17, 2022

Tax Can Be, And Often Is, Confusing

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The headline in this morning’s Philadelphia Inquirer caught my eye: "City tax-relief programs cause confusion" Curious, I read th...
Saturday, July 09, 2022

A Small Step in Correcting a Warped Tax-Benefit Imbalance

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Five years ago, in So Who Should Pay Taxes for Police Protection? , I discussed a proposal by the governor of Pennsylvania that Pennsylvania...
Saturday, July 02, 2022

Tax Law, Like All Law, Is Everywhere

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When I saw the story in this morning’s Philadelphia Inquirer, I thought to myself, “If Reader Morris sees this story, and I don’t know if h...
Wednesday, June 22, 2022

Motor Fuels Tax Holiday Déjà Vu All Over Again

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The President has proposed a three-month federal liquid fuel tax holiday , and has encouraged states to do the same. According to the White ...
Thursday, June 16, 2022

Property Tax Relief for Renters

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An announcement by New Jersey’s governor and legislative leaders that they plan to expand and revamp the state’s current Homestead Benefit ...
Thursday, June 09, 2022

What is “Gross Taxable Income” for Federal Income Tax Purposes?

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A few days ago, reader Morris pointed me to this story about the use of “Friends Of” organizations to circumvent the denial of charitable c...
Monday, May 30, 2022

What Is the Freedom for Which They Paid a Price Far Greater Than a Tax Bill?

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I sat down planning to write another Memorial Day essay. I had some ideas in my head, but before putting finger to keyboard – pen to paper h...
Wednesday, May 25, 2022

Another Misuse of the Word “Tax”

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The headline to this story caught my eye. It read, “Some PS Plus Players Are Seemingly Getting Hit With A Giant Upgrade Tax . Perhaps there...