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Most Recent Posts

Opportunity Zones – Look Great For Everybody Except Investors

Because of the way it is likely to connect to financial statement issues, the tax work on OZ funds probably is pretty much a lock for CPAs.  EAs and unenrolled preparers probably don’t have much opportunity except insofar as their clients invest in OZ funds or own property in OZs.

If you are early in your career, what is the percentage in becoming your firm’s OZ expert?  It could turn out to be a dead end, but there is always the example of Mike Novogradac who took out a flyer on the historic credit and LIHTC and now runs a top fifty firm with his name on the door.

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On The Basis Of Sex – About That Pentagon Computer

On The Basis Of Sex – About That Pentagon Computer

At any rate, when it comes to primary evidence I have James Bozarth who is portrayed as having come up with the idea, who indicates he never heard anything about it.  And I have added to that.  Richard Stone is listed as one of the attorneys on the brief going up to the Supreme Court.  He wrote to me:

Sorry to disappoint, but a draft of the cert petition came to me in a neat package from the Tax Division. My job was to recommend to The S.G. Whether or not to file and to rewrite the draft. I would not have been involved in the gathering of information and have no recollection of the computer use.

That does not nail it, but I think that if Appendix E had represented a technological watershed like the breaking of Enigma, there would have been some scuttlebutt about it.

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Sometimes You Crack The Code And Sometimes The Code Cracks You

Sometimes You Crack The Code And Sometimes The Code Cracks You

The conspiracy that Mr. Hendrickson alleges is mind-boggling and slightly bizarre.  The income tax is very narrow, but key elements of the executive and judicial branches pretend otherwise.  The IRS knows that it is hoodwinking most people so it will give the money back to just about everybody that asks for it.  It’s kind of like the technology charge that my managing partner had us implement for a while.

The explanation that I think is more probable, that Mr. Hendrickson thinks is preposterous, is that underfunding, aging technology and declining headcount have crippled the IRS enforcement capacity and that there is a lot that will get by that should not get by.

What you might want to consider is when it is that poor enforcement makes it so that the income tax is, in effect if not principle, voluntary.

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Low 1040 Refunds Threaten Household Finances

Low 1040 Refunds Threaten Household Finances

I don’t know whether the stories I read about people not being able to come up with four hundred bucks for an emergency are a sign of the times or a pretty universal condition.  Think about Dr. Lydgate in Middlemarch or the father in Mill On The Floss .  (If you have not read those works by George Eliot, finish this post and start on them.  They are free on Kindle).  If you are counting on your tax refund for solvency and your income is not on the abject poverty side, take a close look at your spending.  It is really boring old fart advice, but sitting here in an RV in Florida at 67, I can tell you it works.

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Tax Story Generates Excitement Because Of Minor Nick Saban Connection

Tax Story Generates Excitement Because Of Minor Nick Saban Connection

As it happens I know somebody who is currently attending the University of Alabama.  I reached out to him to find out why a Tax Court decision that marginally affected Saban would seem like a story to the sports press.  He wrote me:

In Tuscaloosa, sororities will sometimes paint signs on their window proclaiming that Nick Saban, a 5’6″ 67 year old man, is the sexiest person alive. For reference, I’ve never seen any player treated the same.

So I guess it is not surprising that a Tax Court decision that marginally involves him can generate interest.

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Notice 2019-07 250 Hour Requirement – What It Means And How To Meet It

Notice 2019-07 250 Hour Requirement – What It Means And How To Meet It

Regardless, I would recommend that it is worth going to the trouble of complying.  There are different approaches to representing taxpayers at audits.  One guy I know goes with a hostile combative style.  Some attorneys will adopt a litigation posture, forgetting that it is the client that has the burden proof.

My approach is that I am working with my fellow accountant who just happens to have a government job to arrive at the correct answer.  Of course, I know that the correct answer is “no change”. My brother or sister accountant, verging on becoming my new BFF,  just needs a little help to see that.  Lavishing attention on something that is easy to get right helps in the process.  That’s my theory anyway and, knock on wood, I’ve done pretty well over the years.

So ask your vendors for hours (not including drive time) and ask your real estate management company if they will provide you with a “Notice 2019-07 Compliance Report”.  It’s going to be a thing. I’m sure of it.

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Here Is The First Post On A 2019 Tax Court Decision

Here Is The First Post On A 2019 Tax Court Decision

The name of the petitioner is, of course, public record and you can easily find it, but it is one of those cases where I figure the taxpayer does not need me to help him be more famous so I will call him Joe.  The case is pretty much a mess and I would normally skip it, but I figure my readers must also be suffering from Tax Court Withdrawal Syndrome.

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Where Convicted CPA May Have Gone Wrong

Where Convicted CPA May Have Gone Wrong

Back to 2012, when Berger’s staff raised the issue.  At that point, the only thing that was clear was that Berger’s firm in following the management company’s numbers might have adopted an incorrect accounting method in 2007 or 2008, when the extra money started coming out of the fund.  The dollars had gotten pretty big, so you really should not try to unscramble that egg on your own.

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Conservation Syndicator EcoVest Responds To Injunction Threat

Evaluating conservation deals with high multiples as reasonable tax expenditures, they really come up kind of short.  The government could actually buy the land for less than the tax expenditure.  Tax incentives should really encourage people to do things, not do it for them and give them a bonus.

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What Should Investors In Conservation Syndications Do When DOJ Seeks Injunction?

Terry should ask for the $20,000 back from EcoVest and consider supplementing the fourth-quarter estimate, although that probably won’t make much difference.

I spoke with EcoVest investor relations and they made it clear that they won’t just cut a check.  Their point of view is that DOJ has arbitrarily struck demanding that five hard-working people, who are connected to EcoVest one way or another, are being asked to take up different work.  Due to the government shutdown, they have not been able to respond.

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