Most Recent Posts
Some March Madness In The Tax World
I don’t know if I will ever catch up again, but I will keep trying. I had really good excuses last year. There was my Lafayette project and major health issues, happily resolved, for myself and my partner. Now there is just advancing age and a sort of demoralization as I question the whole enterprise of helping people be tax compliant without overpaying.
What Happens When You Have To Pay Social Security Back
We understand why petitioner views his predicament in this way, but this Court is bound by the provisions of the Code.
Spring Cleaning Tax Roundup: Ranching, Oil, Hobbies, Easements, and Endless Litigation
When I first started blogging, I would generally knock things out pretty quickly. I am somewhat amazed at the number of pieces I put out while I was still working and then touring the country. To be somewhat fair to my self, I will say that I didn’t dig as much in the early days. But really I think it is mainly me getting older. Attorney Heggestead notes that he is getting old in his email. From what I can make of his bio he is a few years older than I. I can’t resolve to hang on till the Stonehill story is complete, but as long as Mr. Heggestead is in I will be in, God willing.
Robert Baty On Zinski v. Liberty University
Here is a guest post from Robert Baty on an employment discrimination case against Liberty University. He connects it with the long struggle against the parsonage exclusion that he triggered.
Spring Cleaning With Hallucinations
There are over twenty files this year that I have put some work into with higher numbers and I am kicking myself for not having reviewed opinions and the like for a while. So here is some of the stuff that I will probably never give the full treatment to. My version of spring cleaning.
Inside Dean Steeves’ Long IRS Battle: $16M Assessments, a ‘Mandatory Tax-Excepted’ Ministry, and Why the Merits Never Get Reached
Steeves has been overall unsuccessful in the cases he has been bringing. He seems to lose them on procedural or technical issues. The merits of the arguments that he raises against the tax are never addressed.
Mixed Feelings on Price v. Commissioner: Right Result, But It Still Bugs Me
Mr. Winkler, on the other hand, is an actual tax attorney and Tax Court litigator. And the IRS needlessly forced him to work. Ultimately they agreed that the couple did not owe anything. It seems pretty clear that the statutory notice of deficiency should never have been issued.
Ayn Rand Disciple Has Mixed Result Against IRS
Mr. Barney, who opposes government-backed loans and grants on principle, has made his fortune in a business that is almost wholly dependent on them.
Doctor Dino’s Lawsuit Against Mark Stoney A Revised Complaint
Defamation/malicious prosecution claims have merit if malice proven, but speech defenses often prevail in similar critic-vs-public-figure cases (e.g., celebrity defamation suits dismissed). Could survive motion to dismiss (complaint detailed), but summary judgment likely if discovery shows Stoney’s good faith.
Scholar Al Strikes At Dixieland Boondockery Again
So IRS wanted to give them zero, Judge Lauber allowed them in my mind a substantial deduction well over $150,000. On a percentage basis, it is not so much – slightly over 0.15%. Just to be clear that is not 15% of the total claimed. It is 15% of 1% of the total claimed. I am pretty sure that is as low as it has gone without going to zero.
