Most Recent Posts
The Atlantic Sensationalizes Religious Property Tax Case
My friend Deana Holmes had such a strong reaction to a recent article in The Atlantic - Should Courts Get To Define Religion? that I invited her to write a guest post....
Tax Court Rules That Blogger Is Subject To Self-Employment Tax
The first blogger to ever go to Tax Court, Joshua Pingel, knew all about deductions. Revenue not so much. His was a hobby loss case. He lost. Nik Richie of thedirty.com was there about a missing K-1 and, as you would expect lost. So ]Mr. Clark makes the score IRS 3 – Bloggers 0. Maybe the next one up will be a tax blogger and she’ll win.
Radio Station Considered House of Public Worship For Ohio Property Tax
I’m not sure who I want to root for on this one. On the one hand, property tax exemptions should be construed narrowly, since either the other ratepayers have to pick up the slack or the town has to get by with one less cop or give up that AP English class or something. On the other hand, there is “meat space” prejudice baked into a lot of statutes that might privilege more traditional forms of gathering. I’ll probably have to lean with the minority on the basis that any judge who can work Pete Seeger into an opinion must be right.
TIGTA Pushes IRS To Crack Down On Hobby Loss Deductions
Apparently a dinky Schedule C is more suspicious than a loss flowing through from an S corporation or partnership. A lot of practitioners will advise you to put your enterprise in an entity for that purpose. I am hesitant to give that advice because then there is another return that might get audited. I have not been able to figure out how to balance those two factors.
Tax Court Rules International Waters Not Foreign Country But Misses That Mariners Are Not Marines
The Court is not aware of a valuation issue between the parties. Petitioner had employed his preparer for 20 years and relied upon his expertise to report that petitioner’s income was exempt under section 911(a). The preparer was informed about petitioner’s residence and the facts surrounding his income earned during international voyages on cargo ships. The reporting position had been approved for earlier years, and it was reasonable for petitioners to rely on the preparer under these circumstances. Accordingly, we hold that petitioners are not liable for accuracy-related penalties with respect to any underpayments that may result from our holding on the section 911(a) issue.
The Epilogue Class (1971) Gathers- 1970 – The Xavier Class Lamented By Antonin Scalia – Part VII
My account of Xavier High School's last years as a "thoroughly military academy" to quote one of Xavier's most famous if not most beloved sons - Antonin Scalia Class of...
High Flying Insurance Agent Could Not Stop IRS Jeopardy With Let’s Make A Deal
When Mr. Brown’s representative had a telephone conference with the IRS settlement officer it was indicated that the only “distrainable asset” was $5 million of equity in the residence. The plan to pay the IRS off in installments would be based on Mr. Brown obtaining financing in order to buy a pool of insurance policies that would produce a flow of income. He promised further details which came in the form of a 300 page document.
Kent Hovind And Attacks On Eric Hovind – Method In The Madness?
Kent Hovind gets the ball rolling for his new bigger better Dinosaur Adventure Land in Lenox Alabama. Attacks on Eric Hovind continue. When Kent talks about his dispute...
$16 Million Golf Course Conservation Deduction Disallowed On Fine Points
One of the requirements of a deductible easement donation is that it be in perpetuity. An implication of that is that the easement has to be superior to any mortgages. So you have to get the entities holding mortgages to subordinate. Hillcrest did subordinate, but the subordination was not filed until several months after the easement deed. Taxpayers argued that there was an oral agreement in place to get the subordination, but that did not cut it. So no deduction
Expatriate Lawsuit Featuring Rand Paul Shot Down
James Bopp, Jr., the lead lawyer for the Plaintiffs and General Counsel for Republicans Over-seas, states the following: “The Court refused to permit us to amend the complaint to fix the Court’s alleged problems it found originally in our complaint and then dismissed our case. The Court’s theory is that it is the fault of the banks for refusing to do business with American citizens, not the fault of FATCA which causes the banks to do it. This is like blaming the bank cashier for robbing the bank when the robber puts a gun to her head and she gives him the bank’s cash. That cannot be correct.”