Most Recent Posts
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:
Pot Business May Be Legal In Washington State But There Are Still Rules
You cannot set up a store within 1000 feet of any elementary or secondary school, playground, recreation center or facility, child care center, public park, public transit center, library, or game arcade that allows minors to enter. Local authorities will also be notified and have an opportunity to object.
High Marginal Rates Can Lead To Poor Choices
We are having quite a bit of drama about the top marginal rate going from 35% to 39.6%. Some of us old timers get a little puzzled by that. We remember when the top...
Tax Court Not Quick To Find Abuse In Innocent Spouse Case
This decision ignores the dynamics of an abusive relationship. In such a relationship, the abuser dominates all aspects of his partner’s life and uses all tactics available to him to control her. A woman in an abusive relationship seeks court redress not as a first resort, but as a last. That this decision fails to look deeper fails women struggling to escape abusive relationships.
Naming Spousal IRAs After Senator Hutchison – Is That A Priority ?
I don’t know. Maybe it is not such a bad thing to do in the middle of a fiscal crisis. Senator Mikulski is a Democratic and Senator Hutchison is a Republican. Maybe the “idiots in Congress”, as my blogging buddy Robert Flach refers to them, will think about Senator Mikulski’s speech and be inspired to reach across the aisle and find some common ground. Who knows ? Maybe if half of them were women, it would happen.
Some People Can’t Resist The Siren Call Of Tax Season
Even a tax preparer who admits to liking tax season is unlikely to like second tax season and certainly not as much as a hobbit likes second breakfast.
Fourth Circuit Upholds Conviction of Gentlemen’s Club Owner
Although strip clubs may be a “legal business,” the entire strip club industry has the taint of illegality. This taint is an extension of the fact that this industry is based on the sexual exploitation of women for a financial profit. It’s difficult to know where the “legal” exploitation (i.e., dancing pornography) ends and the illegal exploitation (prostitution, sales of narcotics) begins. It’s heartening when government targets this industry in creative ways I suspect your average Pimp thinks little of.
Warren Buffett And George Soros Want Higher Estate Tax Than Obama Proposes
Richard Rockefeller spoke of the essential role of philanthropy in strengthening the fabric of society, and the role of a responsible estate tax structure in providing incentives for giving. He added, “If the world I leave behind is one of gated communities, growing inequality and misery among the have-nots, downward mobility for the middle class, a degraded environment and a rotting social and physical infrastructure – then their inheritance will be a shabby one – no matter how much money they get.”
Can Real Estate Professionals Beat The 3.8% Obamacare Tax ?
Suppose our broker owns a building that is triple net leased to a credit tenant for a very long term. He will probably not be able to get out from paying NIIT on the income stream from that property. If on the other hand he owns a few three-deckers and deals with the tenants himself, by jumping through the proper hoops he can avoid NIIT on the income from the housing units.