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Most Recent Posts

Computer Game Pioneer Trip Hawkins May Escape Tax Debt

Computer Game Pioneer Trip Hawkins May Escape Tax Debt

Mr. Hawkins was not doing anything like that.  The problem that the government had with his behavior is that he kept spending at a level well above his income even though he owed a lot of money.  Since the Ninth Circuit started its opinion out by quoting a remark by F. Scott Fitzgerald to Hemingway “the rich are different than you and me”, I expected something really stupendous about Mr. Hawkins’s lifestyle.  Something Gatsbylike.

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Professional C Corp Denied Deduction For Uncashed Salary Check To Owner

Professional C Corp Denied Deduction For Uncashed Salary Check To Owner

When I think of the simple things that might have avoided this problem, it makes me want to cry.  Mr. Vanney indicates that the corporation could have easily borrowed the money.  So how much would a $200,000 loan for a month or two have cost?  Considerably less than over a quarter of a million dollars in corporate tax.  Alternatively, he could have taken a $400,000 bonus in early December, cashed the check and made a formal documented loan to the company.  Then there would have been enough cash to pay out the balance at the end of December.

There is even a last minute solution that occurs to me.  Instead of cutting a net check for $460,000, make the net check for $250,000 which is deposited in Mr. Vanney’s account to be loaned back if necessary in January.  For the balance of the net pay instead of just making a book entry, have the corporation issue a negotiable promissory note.  Even if the negotiable promissory note, which I think should work, does not stand up, at least, most of the deduction is safe.

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Need To Show Rental Effort To Deduct Expenses

Need To Show Rental Effort To Deduct Expenses

As the Tax Court noted, evidence the Meinhardts made no changes in their efforts to rent the property, despite thirty unsuccessful years, undermined their assertion that they sought to profit by renting the property. The lack of evidence of a rental property business strategy, and evidence they allowed relatives to live in the house rent-free, supported a finding that the Meinhardts held the property as an alternative residence for the personal use of their extended family.

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Grandfather Beats IRS In Tax Court Without Lawyer

Grandfather Beats IRS In Tax Court Without Lawyer

They mystery to me is why when the IRS decided to drop the penalty, they did not drop the case entirely, since, by dropping the penalty, they were indicating that they did not think Mr. Roberts was lying and, given that, it’s pretty clear that he wins.  That the deficiency notice got issued in the first place is perhaps not that surprising given the amount of fraud there is surrounding the earned income credit.  That may have turned the people working those cases into a bunch of cynical bastards.  It wouldn’t take me long. It is worth noting that it was very wise for Mr. Roberts to have entered into the written agreement with Ms. Moody rather than having the arrangement be informal. That extra piece of evidence may have been what won the case for him.

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NFL Not The Only Organization That Does Not Need Or Deserve Tax Exempt Status

NFL Not The Only Organization That Does Not Need Or Deserve Tax Exempt Status

Congress might use this flap about the NFL and even more significantly the interminable Tea Party/Dark Money/IRS Targeting scandal (You get to pick the name based on your point of view) as a goad to look more closely at the whole exempt organization area.  There are 29 different types of exempt organizations under 501(c) alone.  Many entities put a burden on overstretched IRS resources to claim exempt status for no discernible federal tax reason.  It let’s their dark money stay dark.  It allows them to get a liquor license, sponsor bingo games and avoid state sales and use tax.  Silliest of all is that 501(c) status can give an organization credibility in some circles – another illustration of Barnum’s law.

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Parsonage Supporters Encouraged By Seventh Circuit Oral Arguments

Parsonage Supporters Encouraged By Seventh Circuit Oral Arguments

When the powers that be finally realize what the country needs and appoint me tax policy czar, one of my first acts will be to cap the housing allowance at $4,000 per month not indexed for inflation so that its significance will gradually phase out.  A couple of people recognize that the unlimited housing allowance is not just bad tax policy. It is also bad for religion.

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Seventh Circuit Oral Arguments On Parsonage A Shipwreck For Freedom From Religion Foundation?

Seventh Circuit Oral Arguments On Parsonage A Shipwreck For Freedom From Religion Foundation?

Ms. Hagley went on to state that it was an “issue of first impression” as to whether any atheist could qualify under 107.  I became very sad at this point, because it is clear that they have not been reading my posts.  Many Unitarian Universalist ministers, some serving parishes founded in the seventeenth century, are atheists and the UUA is on at least one of the amicus briefs supporting the exclusion, much to my chagrin.

As they discussed the standing issue, I got the impression that Ms. Hagley and the judges think that the IRS is a lot more on the ball than it actually is.  Ms. Hagley indicated was that all the FFRF officers had to do was file an administrative claim in which they indicated that they knew they didn’t qualify for the exclusion which constituted unequal treatment.

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Did Florida County Tax Man For Being Happily Married?

Appellant never asserted that he and his wife were “estranged” or living separate lives 24/365. If he had done so, it would have placed the Property Appraiser and her staff in the position of determining whether the couple’s marriage was no longer intact—“your honor, Exhibit 33 is a photo of the Defendant and his wife holding hands.” On the flip side, an argument could be made that a couple with a very intact relationship who split their time between two residences may be able to claim two homestead exemptions so long as they are not legally married. One commenter has referred to this as the “’unwed’ loophole.” Although we need not meander down that thorny path in the instant case, the ambiguity and perhaps unforeseen consequences associated with the definition of the term “family unit” may merit legislative scrutiny in the near future. 

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Joan Rivers Made Tax History

Joan Rivers Made Tax History

The Lloyds of London policy would have paid $75,000 per month for sixty months had Ms. Rivers become disabled. The IRS wanted to disallow the premium of $115,492.  The idea is that had the policy paid, the proceeds would have been exempt income to the corporation.  You cannot deduct things that are attributable to generating tax exempt income.  The corporation argued that in the event the policy had paid, it would have used the cash flow to pay Ms. Rivers.  That income would have been taxable to her.  The Tax Court went with the IRS.

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