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A tale of taxes and how we got to today’s 1040 woes

Monday is tax day, and maybe you’re feeling a bit sorry for yourself. Buck up! It’s not so bad. Here’s a hop, skip and a jump through ancient tales of taxes and how we got to today’s tales of 1040 woes.

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Pew: Creating Fiscally Sound State Tax Incentives

The Pew Charitable Trusts, Avoiding Blank Checks: Creating Fiscally Sound State Tax Incentives: Reliable cost estimates and annual cost controls for tax incentives have helped states promote job creation and economic growth while avoiding unexpected budget challenges. But Pew’s analysis shows that policy makers often create tax credits, deductions, and… Go to Source Author: Paul [...]

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Tax Prof Poll: Taxes and the Fiscal Cliff

From a survey of 59 tax professors on the TaxProf Email Discussion Group by Robert G. Nassau (Syracuse): 1. The Fiscal Cliff: Congress will act before Dec. 31, so we do not go over the Fiscal Cliff: 54.2% Congress will not act before Dec. 31, but will act shortly after… Go to Source Author: Paul [...]

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NY Times: Mortgage Interest Deduction Under Fire

New York Times DealBook: Mortgage Interest Deduction, Once a Sacred Cow, Is Under Scrutiny, by Peter Eavis: A tax break that has long been untouchable could soon be in for some serious scrutiny. Many home buyers deduct their mortgage interest when assessing their tax bill, a perk that has helped… Go to Source Author: Paul [...]

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WSJ: Republicans, the Fiscal Cliff, and Grover Norquist

Following up on yesterday’s post, Grover Norquist and the Fiscal Cliff: Wall Street Journal editorial, Republicans and the Tax Pledge: Grover Norquist Is Not the Problem in Washington: One of the more amazing post-election spectacles is the media celebration of Republicans who say they’re willing to repudiate their pledge against… Go to Source Author: Paul [...]

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WSJ: Year-End Tax Moves

Weekend Wall Street Journal Tax Report: Tax Moves to Make Now, by Laura Saunders: The annual scramble to make smart tax moves before Dec. 31 is proving especially vexing this year. Congress still hasn’t settled 2013 tax rates on income, investments, large gifts and estates. Deductions and other breaks are… Go to Source Author: Paul [...]

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Top 5 Tax Paper Downloads

There is a bit of movement in this week’s list of the Top 5 Recent Tax Paper Downloads on SSRN, with a new paper debuting on the list at #5: 1. [288 Downloads] James Couzens, Andrew Mellon, the ‘Greatest Tax Suit in the History of the World,’ and Creation of… Go to Source Author: Paul [...]

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IRS Releases Fall 2012 SOI Bulletin

The IRS’s Statistics of Income Division has released (IR-2012-97) the Fall 2012 SOI Bulletin (Vol. 32, No. 2), with these articles: Individual Income Tax Returns, 2010 (p.5), by Justin Bryan Partnership Returns, 2010 (p.79), by Nina Shumofsky, Lauren Lee & Ron DeCarlo Nonprofit Charitable Organizations, 2009 (p.169), by Paul Arnsberger… Go to Source Author: Paul [...]

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IRS Releases 2013 Standard Mileage Rates

The IRS has released (IR-2012-95) the standard mileage rates for 2013 (Notice 2012-72): Beginning on Jan. 1, 2013, the standard mileage rates for the use of a car (also vans, pickups, or panel trucks) will be: 56.5 cents per mile for business miles driven [up 1 cent from 2012] 24… Go to Source Author: Paul [...]

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Gerzog: Valuation Discounting and the Lottery Cases

Wendy C. Gerzog (Baltimore), Valuation Discounting and the Lottery Cases, 137 Tax Notes 917 (Nov. 19, 2012): The article describes the valuation discounting in [Dickerson v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2012-60] and contrasts it with the discounting by circuit courts [Negron v. United States, 553 F.3d 1013 (6th Cir. 2009); Anthony… Go to Source Author: Paul [...]

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NY Times: Europe Seek More Taxes From U.S. Multinationals

Following up on last week’s post, Starbucks Pays Demi Taxes on Trenta Sales: New York Times, European Countries Seek More Taxes From U.S. Multinational Companies: Google reported sales of more than $4 billion in Britain last year. It paid less than $10 million in taxes. Some tax collectors, lawmakers and… Go to Source Author: Paul [...]

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Ranchers, Farmers Brace for 'Death Tax' Impact of Fiscal Cliff

Watch the latest video at video.foxnews.com Go to Source Author: Paul Caron

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Top 5 Tax

There is a bit of movement in this week’s list of the Top 5 Recent Tax Paper Downloads on SSRN, with a new #1 paper and a new paper debuting on the list at #5: 1. [251 Downloads] James Couzens, Andrew Mellon, the ‘Greatest Tax Suit in the History of… Go to Source Author: Paul [...]

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Tax Foundation: State-by-State Impact of the Fiscal Cliff

Tax Foundation: How Would the Fiscal Cliff Affect Typical Families in Each State?: To illustrate the potential impact on typical families, we have used Census and IRS data to estimate income and deductions for the median two-child family in each of the fifty states. We then ran these returns through… Go to Source Author: Paul [...]

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TIGTA: Tax Preparers and IRS Agents May be Stealing Taxpayer Direct Deposit Refunds

The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration has released Processes for the Direct Deposit of Tax Refunds Need Improvement to Increase Accuracy and Minimize Fraud (2012-40-118): In 2011, more than 842,000 taxpayers took advantage of this “split refund” option, which the IRS first offered in 2007. They may split their… Go to Source Author: Paul [...]

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Tax Consequences of Janeane Garofalo's Forgotten Marriage

Slate: Does Janeane Garofalo Have To Amend 20 Years of Tax Returns?: Comedian and actress Janeane Garofalo revealed on Saturday that she was married, unbeknownst to her or her husband, for 20 years. Garofalo wed writer and producer Rob Cohen in what they both thought was a sham ceremony in… Go to Source Author: Paul [...]

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Group Sues IRS for Not Enforcing Electioneering Restrictions on Churches

The Daily Page: Freedom From Religion Foundation Sues IRS for Not Enforcing Electioneering Restrictions on Churches: On the heels of a presidential election in which hundreds of preachers publicly promised to flout IRS rules by endorsing candidates from the pulpit, the Madison-based Freedom From Religion Foundation filed suit against the… Go to Source Author: Paul [...]

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NY Times: Charity’s Role in America

New York Times: Charity’s Role in America, and Its Limits: The outpouring of support highlights how central a role charity plays in our social contract — we Americans view ourselves as generous, yet we mistrust the government to help those in need. Our trust in charity is uniquely American. We… Go to Source Author: Paul [...]

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Alm & Soled: 60% of Taxpayers Cheat on Deductions for Business-Related Car Expenses

New York Times op-ed: Filling Up on Your Dime, by James Alm (Tulane) & Jay Soled (Rutgers): The next time you fill up your tank, you should know that the person next to you might be paying much less than you for gasoline. By reporting their personal automobile use as… Go to Source Author: Paul [...]

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Morse: A Corporate Offshore Profits Transition Tax

Susan C. Morse (UC-Hastings), A Corporate Offshore Profits Transition Tax, 91 N.C. L. Rev. ___ (2013): Congress might repeal the residual U.S. tax imposed when non-U.S. subsidiaries repatriate earnings to U.S. parent corporations. Repeal would raise the transition issue of how to tax the $1 trillion to $2 trillion of… Go to Source Author: Paul [...]

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Starbucks Pays Demi Taxes on Trenta Sales

CBS MoneyWatch: Why Starbucks’ Tax Claims Don’t Wash: Members of Britain’s Parliament on Monday grilled executives from Amazon, Google and Starbucks over the companies’ failure to pay much in the way of corporate taxes in the U.K. … Perhaps most absurd was the performance Starbucks’ Chief Financial Officer for the… Go to Source Author: Paul [...]

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Pepperdine/Tax Analysts Symposium: Tax Advice for the Second Obama Administration

Registration is now open for our January 18, 2013 symposium on Tax Advice for the Second Obana Administration in Malibu: Introduction and Welcome Deanell Tacha (Dean, Pepperdine) Chris Bergin (President, Tax Analysts) Keynote Address: Michael Graetz (Columbia) Occupy the Tax Code: The Buffett Rule, the 1%, and the Fairness/Growth Divide… Go to Source Author: Paul [...]

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Perkins Presents Salience and Sin: Designing Taxes in the New Sin Era at Washington U.

Rachelle Holmes Perkins (George Mason) presented Salience and Sin: Designing Taxes in the New Sin Era at Washington University as part of its Tax Colloquium Series hosted by Adam Rosenzweig: Tax salience reflects the extent to which consumers take into account the after-tax cost of a good or service prior… Go to Source Author: Paul [...]

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Osofsky Reviews Faulhaber's Hypersalience and the Charitable Deduction

Leigh Osofsky (Miami), Hypersalience and and Why Understanding Behavorial Tax Law and Economics Means Understanding Tax (Jotwell) (reviewing Lilian V. Faulhaber (Boston University), The Hidden Limits of the Charitable Deduction: An Introduction to Hypersalience, 92 B.U. L. Rev. 1307 (2012)): [S]alience recently has become a hot topic in tax scholarship…. Go to Source Author: Paul [...]

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Pratt: A Critique of Anti-Obesity Soda Taxes and Food Taxes

Katherine Pratt (Loyola-L.A.), A Constructive Critique of Public Health Arguments for Anti-Obesity Soda Taxes and Food Taxes, 87 Tul. L. Rev. 73 (2012): This Article constructively critiques the two arguments that public health advocates have made in support of anti-obesity soda taxes or junk food taxes. Part II discusses and… Go to Source Author: Paul [...]

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Keeping Up My End of the IRS Deal

The $1 settlement I won from the IRS sure sounds great but it’s not without strings! When you make payment arrangements of any kind with the IRS to satisfy a back tax debt, you are in a contract with the IRS. I’ve said many times that I found the IRS easy to work with; they [...]

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Tax Resolution Marketing: How Tax Scams “Sell” You

by Dagny Kight I’ve always been fascinated with marketing. Even when I was a kid, I used to love getting those thick publishers sweepstakes envelopes in the mail. The postmark was made to look hand-stamped, some of the content was printed to look hand-written, and of course who could forget the famous tagline, “You may [...]

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Do Tax Resolution Firms Really “Negotiate” to Lower Your IRS Debt?

You’ve seen the TV commercials so many times! Tax resolution firms always say they will “negotiate with the IRS” to lower your IRS debt. Just how would they do this? Are we to believe that the IRS accepts concessions and trade offs and can literally be “talked down”?? The IRS speaks one language: “Dollars and [...]

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