I received a lot of feedback via email and twitter on the story that I posted about the IRS stance on taxing employee cell phone use. Yesterday, I was advised that NPR ran a story about this very issue on Thursday. While I didn’t hear the story on the radio, I did read the NPR…
According to the Government Accountability Office, in any given year, at least 60% of US corporations surveyed paid no federal income tax liability for 1998 to 2005 (the years studied). That statistic includes corporations of varied sizes. If the trends in the survey are accurate, nearly one quarter of large US corporations don’t pay any…
Cell phones are changing the world. A few years ago, I called my mother in the afternoon on my cell phone – to my carrier, a minute was a minute no matter when you called. I remember vividly my mother’s response. “It must be nice,” she said, “to be so rich that you can call…
Not a lot was done right after Hurricane Katrina but Congress did step in with some disaster relief that include tax breaks for victims and tax incentives for those to give to charities assisting victims. Congress passed similar legislation for victims of other disaster areas, including those who suffered through catastrophic hurricanes and tornados. Why…
Ford Motor Company has filed a lawsuit in federal court, claiming it deserves at least $445 million in accrued interest from the IRS. The years in question are 1983-89, 1992 and 1994 and the issue of interest stems from quarterly tax payments made by Ford that were adjusted after audit. Ford says that the issue…
I’m sure that you’ve seen a number of signs and ads that encourage you to donate your vehicle to charity. In our area, they’re plastered all over the place… Do they actually work? Not so much anymore. In 2004, Congress changed the rules regarding car donations for charity. The rules more or less limited the…
It has not been a good year for Eric Nederlander. Nederlander is probably best known as the guy that Jessica Sklar married for a few weeks before she left him to marry Jerry Seinfeld (ouch). Nederlander rebounded and subsequently married child psychologist Lindsay Kupferman. The two had a baby in 2007 and Kupferman filed for…
Paul Hogan, who rose to prominence in the 1980s as “Crocodile Dundee”, feels pretty important these days. He is being pursued by the Australian Tax Office and the Internal Revenue Service for moneys allegedly owed. Hogan estimates that he has paid the ATO $100 million in tax. Yet, the ATO continues to pursue him –…
For years, I was a site coordinator for the IRS’ Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program at our local senior center. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and highly recommend it to anyone seeking a volunteer opportunity. VITA is a program that offer free tax preparation and/or assistance for low-to-moderate income individuals. The specific type of client…
The Department of Justice issued a press release on Monday advising that it has filed court papers to allow the IRS access to request information from UBS AG about US taxpayers who may be using Swiss bank accounts to evade federal income taxes. The Times had previously reported that UBS might reveal up to 20,000…