Deep dives into tax policy — the laws, proposals, and reforms shaping the tax code, explained without the jargon.
The D.C. Circuit has rejected Marrita Murphy’s petition for rehearing en banc with respect to her tax matter. The initial ruling in the case shocked the tax community but was subsequently overturned and became the center of controversy as the lawyer for Ms. Murphy (David Colapinto) visited a tax blog or two to comment. TaxProf…
Apparently, it’s not just the US taxpayers who are complaining that those in lower tax brackets actually pay a higher percentage of tax overall. UK taxpayers are making a similar claim. According to the Sunday Times, the UK’s richest people are paying 4p in the pound less in tax than any other section of the…
An appeals court in Tennessee has ruled that the “crack tax” is not constitutionally valid. The “crack tax” is exactly what it sounds like – a tax (with penalty and interest, if applicable) on the possession of crack and other “unauthorized substances” under Tennessee law. The court ruled that “the statute is arbitrary, capricious, and…
Remember that Staples ad where the parent runs down the aisle tossing school supplies into the cart while “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” plays in the background. That’s how I feel about this time of year. As the parent of three children, I love back to school. I crave the sense of…
As of Saturday, New York City shoppers got a break: they no longer have to pay city sales tax on clothes and shoes. Mayor Bloomberg proposed sales tax relief in June and it went into effect on September 1 – just in time for the Labor Day shopping weekend. The measure eliminates a 4% city…
I have made no secret that I am not a fan of the McMansion. I have yet to figure out why many Americans feel the need to have enormous homes on tiny lots in the middle of nowhere. Even more confusing are the prices that folks are willing to pay. A friend of ours purchased…
The court case involving Rhiannon O’Donnabhain, the 63-year-old transgendered female who is suing the Internal Revenue Service to be allowed to deduct the cost of her sex change operation, just got a little more interesting – as if that were possible! The IRS and lawyers for O’Donnabhain sides rested their cases last week, but not…
Are good works enough to mitigate jail time? Is a nice resume an excuse to skip prison? Probably not. The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled, in United States v. Tomko, that a sentence given to William Tomko which did not include prison time was not appropriate considering his crime. The case illustrates…
The attorneys for Marrita Murphy just aren’t going quietly. On August 17, 2007, they filed a Petition for Rehearing En Banc (available here as a pdf) for Ms. Murphy’s tax case. I’ve posted and posted and posted about the case on the blog previously. And that’s all I’m going to say about that. (hat tip:…
Who believes that the economic burden of being middle class in America is difficult. TaxProf blog posted an interesting excerpt from Todd Zywicki’s op-ed piece in the Wall Street Journal about double income (at a middle class level) families and their struggle with an increased tax burden. The piece was derived from a review of…