Earlier this week, the Ferraro Law Firm, a trial law firm based in Florida, submitted a tax whistleblower submission of more than $2 billion (yes, with a b) to the recently created IRS Whistleblower Office. The submission is the largest ever made to the IRS Whistleblower Office. The IRS Whistleblower Office is responsible for assessing…
Wesley Snipes has even more to say about his tax evasion charges. So far, he’s made claims that he is being unfairly targeted because he’s black; he can’t get a fair trial in Ocala, Florida because it is a “hotbed” of KKK activity; his attorney was unfit for trial; and has compared himself to a…
FedEx has a little more to deal with this season than holiday deliveries: it has been deflecting claims in multiple jurisdictions over its classification of drivers as independent contractors rather than employees. The tax implications are pretty easy to figure out: back taxes (FICA and withholding), penalties and interest. But what about those misclassified employees?…
Dear Congress, The year ends on December 31. It’s now about halfway through December. The IRS (and consequently, the taxpayers) would be really happy if you reached some kind of resolution on the AMT by the end of the year. It makes printing the forms a little easier when you actually know the rules –…
I try not to be too political (I said too political) on the blog, but I couldn’t pass up this little gem from the National Republican Senatorial Committee. (Sorry, the video is no longer available.) Apparently, Congress is too busy to pass any AMT relief because they’re reviewing Christmas videos.
Taxpayer asks: This year, I will have been married for 25 years. To celebrate, I bought my wife a very nice piece of jewelry; I have never purchased anything this expensive for my wife before (if you do not count our house and cars). My friend has advised that I will need to pay gift…
Maybe those couples who want more than two babies should pay for it. After all, each extra baby consumes more carbon emissions – and thus resources – during a lifetime, right? Associate Professor Barry Walters thinks so. He believes that families should pay a $5000-plus “baby levy” at birth and an annual carbon tax of…
Taking a page from Pennsylvania’s play book (resulting in JoePa’s salary making headlines), I wonder: Should universities (as tax exempt entities) be required to disclose the salaries of all of their employees? If not, should there be a dollar amount over which salaries should be disclosed? Would such disclosure influence your desire to donate?
Will Smith talks about being rich poor – when you make a lot of money but you can’t keep it. At age 19, he owed almost $3 million to the IRS. So, for the first three years of “Fresh Prince”, his wages were garnished by 70% by the IRS. You can watch him talk about…
Following up on yesterday’s announcement about the winning entry in my law student writing contest, I am pleased to present the entry which qualified as the runner up. Andrew Moin from Harvard Law School wrote an interesting essay on Fred Thompson’s Flat Tax proposal. Check it out below, and let Andrew know what you think….