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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...
Pennsylvania Court Denies Property Tax Exemption To Another Religious Camp
Originally published on Forbes.com on June 16th, 2012 Being recognized as a 501(c)(3) organization confers several benefits on an organization, including for example...
Estate Case Drives Another Nail Into DOMA’s Coffin
The last few weeks have not been good for DOMA. DOMA is the Defense of Marriage Act. Section 3 of DOMA, the part under attack, holds that: In determining the...
Churches And Other NFPs Need To Send Better Acknowledgments
At the end of the year I do a roundup of the year's most unfair tax decisions. The case of David Durden will be number 2. To be clear, I do not think the Tax Court is...
Author Bemoans Taxpayer Illiteracy
Julian Block is an author of several tax guides. I recently reviewed his Tax Tips For Marriage and Divorce. The book is actually more general than that, covering many...
Fourth Circuit Holds Former Shareholders Not Liable For Corporate Tax In Midcoast Deal
Originally published on Forbes.com on June 9th, 2012 When the Tax Reform Act of 1986 was enacted, I was all over that thing. One thing that was crystal clear to me was...