Most Recent Posts
Form 1040 As A Do-It-Yourself Forensic Tool In Divorce
Julian Block is back again. In this piece he explains how an individual tax return can be used to help uncover assets in a divorce. I have a bit of experience doing...
Julian Block On The Tax In The Health Care Act That Everybody Knew Was A Tax
Originally published on Forbes.com on June 28th, 2012 My friend Julian Block does not like to use the term Obamacare, but I find it pretty handy. The Act was...
Individual Mandate In Obamacare Is Constitutional- Penalty Is A Tax
According to Scotusblog the individual mandate has been upheld. It survives as a tax. The entire bill is upheld with some limitations on the federal government's...
Student Loan Crisis – Worth A Thousand Words
Bill Williams illustrates the student loan crisis.
Trying To Sell Bar To Undercover IRS Agents Gets Owner Free Federal Housing
Originally published on Forbes.com on June 26th, 2012 In my mind a tax plan that ends you up in any sort of court, even Tax Court, even if you win, is not that great a...
When You Have To Kill A Man It Costs Nothing To Be Polite
I am finishing up a year with Forbes.com this week and I take note that my 319 posts have 1,389 comments associated with them. Forbes.com contributors have immense...
Equality Setback – PA Does Not Recognize NJ Civil Union For Estate Tax
Proponents of marriage equality had a big win in federal court recently in the case of Edith Windsor. Here comes a loss in the Commonwealth Court of...
Sauce For The Gander ? Revenue Agent Loses Job For Losing In Tax Court
He appealed to the Merit Systems Protection Board, which agreed with the arbitrator. The Circuit Court decision pretty much focuses on what I call “lawyerly” stuff about procedures and burden of proof and the like. Ultimately they upheld the MSPB decision. I am of two minds about this decision overall. On the one hand, I think it is reasonable to hold IRS employees, particularly revenue agents, to a high standard with respect to their own tax compliance. On the other hand, I think the result is on the harsh side. The total deficiency for four years was only around $10,000. It was conceivable that the Tax Court could have believed Mr. Agbaniyaka’s sincerity, in which case some of the deductions might have been allowed under the Cohan rule. Under the statute, the alternative to having him fired, was for the IRS Commissioner to craft some other sanction. Maybe they could have just made him work Amway cases for a couple of years. That would have been punishment enough.
Nebraska Supreme Court Rules – State Court Cannot Order Joint Federal Return
On the subject of divorcing couples filing joint returns, I have felt like a voice crying out in the wilderness. In practice, the default assumption seems to be...
Coalition Of The Clueless Loses A Round In Its Pointless Telephone Excise Litigation
his just in from the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania: This case presents another chapter in a three-year legal saga...