Most Recent Posts
Billy The Brony On Hovind Hovindicators and Hovindologists
Lately Kent Hovind has been plagued by supporters leaving his fold. Of those the one I find most intriguing is Billy Summers (Sorry Domineering Deborah. You get most...
The Subtle Genius of Jimmy Breslin
When Jimmy Breslin died a few months ago, it hit me pretty hard. I gave him my standard forbes.com treatment - seeking for his appearance in tax litigation. Other...
Did Not Want To Split Tax Refund With Divorcing Spouse, Loses It All
Another observation I have is that of the preparer and electronic filing. Back in the day, the preparer gave the return to the couple or one of the couple or mailed it to their address and it was up to each of them to sign it. Absent forgery or coercion, it was pretty clear that they had each consented. Now it is the preparer pressing a button that signifies consent to the IRS. Many preparers need to step up their act when it comes to recognizing that with joint returns they really have two clients.
Tax Reform Might Come, Let’s Wait And See
Comprehensive tax reform and simplification is a fantastic idea. We here at the ABC Coalition for DEF just love the idea that you are working on it and totally support you. Of course we are sure that you know the DEF is critical to the American way of life and the health, safety and well-being of the world. We would just like to remind you that the GHI deduction and the JKL credit play a critical role in supporting DEF. So when you are doing your simplifying don’t even think about messing with the GHI deduction and the JKL credit. As a matter of fact, you probably should beef them up a bit and get busy on the MNO exemption that we have been asking for. Other than that, chop away at those special tax breaks and give us a simpler Code
Why Ken Ham’s Ark Is In Kentucky Rather Than New South Wales
Recently some fellow Hovindologists encouraged me to look into a tax controversy concerning the Ark Encounter - Ken Ham's full size model of Noah's ark,...
Ark Encounter Local Tax Scandal Not Very Scandalous
On the other hand, I would not rate their attempt to be a little hardball with the city as scandalous. The structure they are using is actually pretty straight forward. One of the members of my brain trust indicated that he was poking at it wondering whether there might be inurement, as the Huff Post headline implies, but there really is not. Everything stayed in the same not for profit (for federal purposes) chain. That the LLC at the bottom is considered for profit for local tax purposes is really not that unusual.
New IRS Scandal – Syndication Of Conservation Easement Deductions
You can lie about a charitable deduction for appreciated property because that unrealized appreciation you are deducting is a debit that does not require a credit. And, of course, the entity on the other side of the transaction recognizing income is, by definition, exempt. Many of the turn of the millennium tax shelters worked by creating basis out of thin air with an unbalanced entry involving option contracts, that was based on a strained interpretation of partnership regulations. The unbalanced entry of a deduction for appreciated property is approved by the Code.
In the case of marketable securities, there is a reality test that limits the phantom deduction. Even the sky is not limit to the deduction for other forms of appreciated property as the imagination of appraisers boldly goes where no one has gone before.
Billionaire Stephen Ross And The Ten For One Charitable Deduction
Considering this particular scheme, the nonsense that goes on with conservation easements, President Trump’s favorite type of charitable deduction and the trend towards Donor Advised Funds, which can end up being pools of capital that never have to be used for feeding the hungry and giving drink to the thirsty, I’m getting kind of disgusted with the charitable sector. Current tax reform proposals are threatening to scale it back. Maybe that would not be such a bad thing. Abusive transactions like the one caught in the RERI decision might be curbed by limiting the amount of the deduction to basis unless it has a very long holding period or restricting the marked up deduction to marketable securities. Unless the IRS has enough resources, though, even schemes that don’t work legally will work.
Impertinent Pete, Domineering Deborah And Kent’s Kult Kompound
There is a new breed of Kent Hovind critic emerging. Unlike many Hovindologists, they are not at all disturbed by the notion that the world is only 6,000 years old and...
Fox Business Sensationalizes IRS Wedding Shop Seizure Story
Something that happens a lot more than seizures that I asked both the Gregorys and Mark Stanhope about is people beating the IRS by waiting out the ten-year statute of limitations on collections. That does happen. I have not been able to get statistics on it, but the anecdotal evidence is that it is much more common than seizures. There is a real danger that as the capacity of the IRS to collect continues to erode, people who organize their lives to live on their after-tax income will start feeling more and more like suckers. Having a president who argues that not paying income taxes means that he is smart is probably also not that helpful.