Deep dives into tax policy — the laws, proposals, and reforms shaping the tax code, explained without the jargon.
The city of Seattle has the authority to impose a tax on guns and bullets according to Judge Palmer Robinson of King County Superior Court. Judge Robinson ruled in favor of the City of Seattle this week after the National Rifle Association (NRA), the National Shooting Sports Foundation, the Second Amendment Foundation, and others filed…
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…
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…
Last week, a television news station in Indiana ran an exposé allegedly revealing a new kind of identity fraud aimed at taxpayers. The report alleged that illegal immigrants were using stolen Social Security Numbers for tax-related purposes and not only does the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) know about the fraud, there is a “secret IRS…
Bitcoin is money. That was the gist of a ruling this week from the European Court of Justice (ECJ), the highest court in Europe. The ruling was in response to a dispute originally filed in Sweden. In the case, Skatteverket (Swedish Tax Agency) v. David Hedqvist, the ECJ was asked to rule on whether transactions…
On Wednesday, October 7, 2015, the National Hockey League will kick off its season with a handful of games including what many consider the main attraction: Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Montreal Canadiens. The matchup, one of the greatest rivalries in league history, is focused on two Canadian teams. That’s not surprising considering that a whopping…
Last year, Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Commissioner John Koskinen announced the Annual Filing Season Program, a voluntary and temporary program intended to fill the holes left after the IRS lost the right to regulate tax preparers following Loving v. Commissioner. At the time, Commissioner Koskinen called the program “not the ideal solution” and was hopeful…
Raise taxes or else. Those were the marching orders issued to the Alabama House of Representatives from Gov. Robert Bentley (R) earlier this year. Specifically, the “or else” included a threat to cut a number of services to taxpayers including closing prisons. Kicking up the rhetoric, he warned taxpayers in April, “You might not care about…
Last year, the Senate waited until just over two weeks left in the calendar year to pass a bill that extended certain tax provisions through December 31, 2014 (retroactive to January 1, 2014). In contrast, this year it felt like Congress was getting a jump on things when they began contemplating a tax extender package…
GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump prides himself on speaking his mind. And what he has on his mind is getting rid of Kansas City-based tax preparation company H&R Block. When asked on “Fox & Friends” about tax policy, Trump offered up a few words, “Put H&R Block out of business.” Trump was referring to efforts…