Retired IRS Officer Launches Petition Against Clergy Tax Benefit
I thought that Professor Edward Zelinsky made a pretty good argument for the constitutionality of the provision, but it is a rather nuanced argument and people who look at the issue as a simple church/state separation issue tend to come down on the other side including the Presidential candidate, I persuaded to weigh in on the issue.
All I Want For Christmas Is An AMT Patch
The AMT kicks in at a certain threshold, which has not been permanently indexed for inflation. There is a budget logic as to why this has never been done. Instead Congress has “patched” the AMT on a regular basis. The IRS has come to count on them doing this. If they don’t get around to it, the IRS will have to reprogram their computers, which will delay the start of tax season. The Commissioner has given Congress a heads up on what an ugly tax season is shaping up at the moment:
Follow Me
Over and over again courts have said that there is nothing sinister in so arranging one’s affairs as to keep taxes as low as possible. Everybody does so, rich or poor; and all do right, for nobody owes any public duty to pay more than the law demands: taxes are enforced exactions, not voluntary contributions. To demand more in the name of morals is mere cant.