What if, instead of a series of complicated bureaucracies issuing welfare checks, food stamps, and tax credits, social benefits were distributed to everyone without regard to income or employment status? That’s exactly what the government of Finland is contemplating. The Finnish government is investigating whether it might make good financial sense to make a tax-free…
Wal-Mart Puerto Rico, Inc. (Wal-Mart PR), the Puerto Rico arm of the venerable Wal-Mart chain, has filed a lawsuit against the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico in a bid to overturn certain new tax laws the retailer says are discriminatory and violate federal laws and the U.S. Constitution. The case is Wal-Mart Puerto Rico Inc. v. Zaragoza-Gomez,…
On December 4, 2015, President Obama signed into law the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act, or “FAST Act.” It provides long-term funding for transportation projects, including new highways, over a period of ten years. And as you would expect in a bill targeting highways and infrastructure, it also requires Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to use…
On December 4, 2015, President Obama signed into law the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act, or “FAST Act.” The purpose of the bill was to provide long-term funding for transportation projects, including new highways. Also tucked into the bill were a few new tax laws: one, a requirement that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) use…
Congress made a lot of noise this year about tax reform and other tax bills. Mostly, it was just noise. With the exception of some administrative moves (like changing due dates), there wasn’t a lot of movement. With just a few weeks to go in the calendar year and Congress scheduled to break for the…
Months after Volkswagen admitted that it had sold up to 11 million cars worldwide fitted with software designed to produce favorable and flawed emissions tests, German prosecutors have announced an investigation into whether the deception also constituted tax evasion. Up to 11 million cars worldwide were fitted with the software including the Audi A3 (2009-15), VW…
It’s #GivingTuesday which means you might have been inspired to make a donation to a charitable organization. I’m betting, however, that your donations didn’t come anywhere close to the impressive $45 billion (give or take a few million) pledged to charitable causes today by Mark Zuckerberg, co-founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of Facebook. Zuckerberg and his…
With tax season just around the corner, Congress is taking another stab at legislation to license tax preparers. Representatives Diane Black (R-TN) and Pat Meehan (R-PA) have introduced H.R. 4141, the Tax Return Preparer Competency Act (downloads as a pdf). The introduction of the bill follows years of efforts by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to license tax return…
It’s Cyber Monday which means that holiday shoppers are hitting the internet in search of gifts for the season. How much are you hoping to spend on holiday gifts this year? Chances are, you’re looking to spend about the same as last year. A number of economic indicators are giving shoppers the impression that inflation…
“[T]he European Commission’s verdict in the Starbucks case deviates from national law and the OECD’s system.” That was the reaction on Friday from Netherlands Ministry of Finance in response to the European Commission’s October ruling that “selective tax advantages” granted to Fiat in Luxembourg and to Starbucks in the Netherlands were improper. The Commission has…