Home sales (or the lack thereof) continue to dominate the media these days. And despite realtors touting it as a buyers’ market, it seems that largely, buyers are staying away. It’s not just the sub-prime fiasco that has some buyers running scared. In some places, like Philadelphia, many taxpayers are concerned about what’s going to…
In light of Rep. Dingell’s proposal to eliminate the home mortgage deduction for houses larger than 3000 square feet, I wonder: Should the home mortgage interest deduction be limited for houses under a certain square footage? Under a certain cost? Limited to primary residences? Eliminated completely?
The news this week has been chock full of stories about so-called “white collar criminals” like Helmsley, Tomko, and Ikebe, who made money by evading tax on millions of dollars. In many of these situations, jail time was drastically reduced (in Helmsley’s case from 16 years to less than 2 years) or altogether avoided (Tomko…
Many proponents of the flat tax have advocated for the elimination of tax on dividends and interest, leaving only a tax on wages and “earned income.” The argument for the elimination of such a tax is that it would encourage investments and savings and thus, stimulate the economy. The argument against the proposition is that…
Despite pressure following the bridge collapse in Minneapolis, President Bush will not agree to raise gas taxes to pay for highway improvements. Officials in many states – including Pennsylvania, where I now live – have vowed to inspect and repair bridges nonetheless (Pennsylvania has one of the highest concentrations of road bridges in the country)….
I’m in Chicago today for the BlogHer Conference, where I will be speaking about blogging and tax. One topic that I plan to focus on is the issue of hobby versus business, which I addressed earlier in an “Ask the Taxgirl” segment and in my Problogger guest post. Briefly, the IRS allows you more favorable…
I listed my house for sale this week (yes, you can expect lots of home-related posts in the next few weeks). While we expect to benefit from a boost in the market since the time we bought our house, we aren’t going to make the kinds of crazy profits that you’ve been hearing about in…
So, it’s been a fun week on taxgirl.com. There’s been lots of commentary about Murphy v. IRS – both on and off the blog. I’ve appreciated your comments and emails. I thought, in light of the ongoing discussions, I’d make it my “Fix the Tax Code Friday” question. Here we go: Should any court awards…
As the war in Iraq grows more unpopular, a new series of tax protests are gaining ground. Protesting taxes in the US is nothing new – it hails back to Pre-Revolutionary War days and enjoyed a brief resurgence during the war in Vietnam. But until recently, there hasn’t been an organized movement that was considered…
It’s Fix the Tax Code Friday! “Above the line” deductions are deductions that you can take even if you don’t itemize. As such, they aren’t subject to phase-outs and income limits. Some common “above the line” deductions are: * Alimony (My favorite! Don’t you just have a mental picture of our a large number of…