Tax history, trivia, and the lighter side of the tax world — because even tax law can be entertaining sometimes.
We have a winner! See comments! Today’s tax trivia question is: In 1861, Congress instituted the first US federal income tax in order to raise revenue to pay for the Civil War. What was the top tax rate at that time? Don’t forget: the first correct answer wins free CCH tax prep software. What’s your…
We have a winner! See comments! Today’s tax trivia question is: In 1733, Parliament passed the Molasses Act of 1733, which imposed a high tariff on imported molasses. New England distillers were annoyed by the tariff since they depended on it to produce what beverage? Don’t forget: the first correct answer wins free CCH tax…
For 2008 tax year, those who itemize can deduct state and local general sales taxes OR state and local income taxes. #TwitterTaxTip (For more on twitter tax tips, see my prior explanatory post.)
Remember to report alimony received as income, alimony paid as a deduction but child support? It’s tax neutral. #TwitterTaxTip (For more on twitter tax tips, see my prior explanatory post.)
Where were all of these professors when I was in law school? Just a few weeks after Professor Caron gave me a nod on his list of Top Ten Tax Blogs, Professor Jim Maule included me on his list of 10 Favorite Tax Blogs. Professor Maule teaches Tax over at that “other” law school in…
I’ve been asked by a few of my fellow twitterers to offer some tax tips as tweets. It’s a fairly interesting challenge since tweets on twitter are limited to 140 characters. But then, I love a challenge. So, from now until April 15, I’m going to make an effort to tweet a tax tip a…
I’m not going to issue a complete report on the stimulus plan until the ink on the signature page is dry (Obama plans to sign the final version of the bill on Monday). But for now, here are some fun stat facts about the bill: Number of pages in the bill: 680 (editor’s note: the…
There are a few things that we know for sure about today’s Super Bowl game: This year, no Manning will win the Super Bowl (thank goodness). The two quarterbacks who are playing in the big game (Warner and Roethlisberger) have not been particularly stellar throughout the regular season. Trust me. They were my fantasy football…
In 2006, Crash took home the Academy Award for Best Picture, Reese Witherspoon waltzed off with an Oscar for Best Actress and Philip Seymour Hoffman surprised no one by winning an Oscar for Best Actor. And in the midst of the glitz and glamour, the IRS was quickly working its own magic… taxing the swag….
It’s been awhile since we’ve had tax haiku on the blog. And it’s been such a long week. So take a moment and enjoy my lame attempts at traditional haiku (5-7-5) for tax: FreeFile Fill In Forms FreeFile Fill In Forms, New From IRS This Year, How Will It Turn Out? Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner…