Most Recent Posts
New York Times Trump Tax Story Disappoints
If we want to look at the Trump as masterful dodger narrative, the question would be whether there is anything extraordinary about him given what he is involved in. In his capacity as commercial real estate master of the universe, there is nothing inconsistent with being successful and not paying much in the way of income tax.
The limitation on excess business losses enacted as part of TCJA and suspended as part of the CARES Act illustrates that principle. I had someone with expertise in that area speculating that Trump donates his presidential salary so that he can maintain the real estate professional status required to deduct some of his losses. I discuss that concept here.
The Irresistible Allure Of Abusive Conservation Tax Deductions
Originally published on Forbes.com. There is no such thing as bad publicity. That may be what is proved by the continuing growth of the syndicated conservation...
Economist Challenges Assumptions Of Wealth Tax Advocates
What is disturbing is the notion that all the work would go into establishing and collecting the wealth tax only to have to refund it all, with interest. This is a real threat. Dollars to donuts most wealth tax returns with multi-million dollar checks will be followed as night follows day with protective refund claims. The tax will be contested in multiple circuits and the Supreme, little as they like tax cases, will have to deal with it.
Bipartisan Framework Could Mean Two More Stimulus Checks
Reviewing the bidding of major Covid-19 relief bills, there was the CARES Act passed at the end of March which, inter alia, gave us the Paycheck Protection Program, enhanced unemployment benefits, and stimulus checks.
The Democratic House then passed the HEROES Act in May, which died in the Senate. HEROES included another round of stimulus checks.
The Senate was able to muster a majority for the Delivering Immediate Relief to America’s Families, Schools and Small Businesses Act but not the sixty votes required. “Delivering” delivered on Republican priorities like tort reform and aid to private schools, but had nothing on stimulus checks.
Major Tax Software Vendor Crashes On Important Due Date
There are three things that are bad about being a day late. The first is that it upsets the clients regardless of any practical impact.
The second is that the penalty for being late with a flow-thorough return is pretty nasty. $205 per month (or part of month) per shareholder or partner. In my career, I have worked on returns with as many as 400 partners. Eighty grand for a day late. That is nasty.
And then there is the matter of elections. No not that election. I know we are having the most divisive presidential election since 1876, if not 1860, God forbid. The elections I am referring to go in with tax returns.
There are a host of possible elections. For example Code Section 248 allows for the expensing of $5,000 of organization costs. That election, like many, includes the requirement:
The Skinny On The Failed Senate Skinny Bill
The Continuing Paycheck Protection Program Act starts on Page 73. The curious incident there is that there is no mention of the IRS position that made the income exclusion of PPP pointless. That is probably the biggest concern of accountants, besides getting stiffed by the banks, which also goes unmentioned.
NonSequitur Show – Object Lesson In Business Formation
The most extraordinary thing about this controversy is the amount of coverage it has generated on Youtube. I tried to compile a comprehensive collection of videos. I identified 65 videos on 22 different channels with a total of 93 hours and 204,724 views. I know my list is not complete because a more curated compilation by Cheshire Viq includes many videos I did not catch. (Note many of the YouTubers involved in and following this story, unlike Steve McRae and Kyle Curtis, use a handle or perhaps a nom de guerre which I will indicate by using italics).
This is a dispute between two guys about how to split up fifty grand that they made over two years. Never in the course of human history have so many said so much about so little. I think there is a critical mass sort of thing that is going on, because much of the material, which I have only sampled, is people talking about what other people have said and why they are right or wrong. Steve and Kyle in their bickering have set off a sort of Youtube chain reaction that appears to be self-sustaining.
Handling Your Money When You’re Unemployed Takes Work
Learn how to budget, which starts with calculating your monthly expenses. You’ll need to separate these into two categories: needs and wants. Needs include things like your mortgage and food. Your wants are the extras that make life a bit happier, like premium cable service or a morning latte. When you know what you spend, it’s time to see how much money you have coming in and what you can realistically afford. You may have to cut out some of the wants and adjust how you manage your needs, but having a grip on this early is the best way to make what money you have left work for you.
NonSequitur Litigation – Possible Tax Outcomes
It is a reasonable inference that there was never a bank account associated with a joint effort, so I further infer that whatever money came from YouTube, Patreon etc. ended up running through Kyle’s accounts. In the financial information that was provided in compliance to the order from the default judgment there is a month by month income statement, but no statement of cash flows. It includes an accrual to Kyle of $120 per show for his services. Agrippa who aided in putting the numbers together clearly confirmed by Agrippa that the $120 per show charge was something after the fact that was not agreed to. I don’t think it stands up very well.
Syndication Of Conservation Tax Deductions – Why We Can’t Have Nice Things
Originally published on Forbes.com. The Senate Finance Committee report- Syndicated Conservation-Easement Transactions - released on August 25 is very heartening. It...