From the category archives:

fix the tax code friday

Fix the Tax Code Friday: Exempting “Real” Food from Tax

22 May 2009

It’s Fix the Tax Code Friday!
Earlier today, I posted a piece on the new ruling in the UK that Pringles, made mostly of things “other than potato” or not, would be considered a snack food that does not meet an exemption for purposes of sales tax/VAT.
In many countries, states and municipalities, foods are exempt from [...]

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Fix the Tax Code Friday: Bailing Out the Government

15 May 2009

It’s Fix the Tax Code Friday!
Remember that study that I cited from the Tax Foundation earlier in the week? That same report offered another statistic. In 2007, the cost of balancing the budget would have cost each taxpayer an additional $1,789 in taxes. This year, due to “the bailouts and the Troubled [...]

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Fix the Tax Code Friday: Energy Tax Credits

1 May 2009

It’s Fix the Tax Code Friday! This week, I’ve been researching federal energy tax credits for an Earth Day post that I’m writing (yes, I’m aware that Earth Day is long gone – wait for the post, you’ll get it). I’ve been intrigued to see the reactions on both sides of the aisle [...]

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Fix the Tax Code Friday: Who Should Pay?

24 April 2009

It’s Fix the Tax Code Friday! Earlier in the week, we took a peek at the UK’s planned tax increase for its wealthiest taxpayers, something that the US has been struggling with over the last year.
Proponents of increasing the tax on the wealthy argue that they have more ability to pay – and that’s [...]

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Fix the Tax Code Friday: One Change

17 April 2009

It’s Fix the Tax Code Friday! And it’s been a long tax week for many of us. So, with tax returns fresh on your mind, I thought I’d ask my readers the same question that I ask my GTKYT tax pros:
If you had the opportunity to make one change in the tax code [...]

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Fix the Tax Code Friday: National Sales Tax

3 April 2009

It’s Fix the Tax Code Friday!
This week, my post about a national sales tax on online sales was all in jest for April Fool’s Day. But it caught some folks off guard because it really could happen. Proponents say that a national sales tax would increase revenue by taxing consumption rather than income. [...]

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Fix the Tax Code Friday: Making Work Pay Credit

27 March 2009

It’s Fix the Tax Code Friday!
Next week, the revised tax tables for the Making Work Pay Credit go into effect. Last year, after stimulus checks were mailed out, taxpayers overwhelmingly supported a second stimulus package. Now, taxpayers don’t seem so sure. With the second stimulus package in place, with money in the [...]

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Fix the Tax Code Friday: Personal Debt Cancellation

13 March 2009

It’s Fix the Tax Code Friday!
This week, I’ve been fielding a number of questions about forms 1099-C (debt cancellation). Under the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007, qualified taxpayers receive an an exclusion up to $2 million (or $1 million MFS) of debt forgiveness on a principal residence if a home has gone [...]

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Fix the Tax Code Friday: Severance Packages

6 March 2009

It’s Fix the Tax Code Friday!
This week, unemployment news has been grim, to say the least. Total job losses over the last six months have increased to 3.3 million; that is the highest level of unemployment in the US in 25 years.
As more and more people lose their jobs, the related “ask the taxgirl” [...]

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Fix the Tax Code Friday: Illegal Activities

27 February 2009

It’s Fix the Tax Code Friday!
This week, the focus has been on California and the possibility that they could legalize marijuana, primarily so that it could be taxed. Of course, this made me think about the tax consequences of taxing other illegal activities such as prostitution.
While it is true that income from these activities [...]

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