Don't Mess With Taxes

Bruce Bartlett, whom I cited last month in my post Fiscal responsibility requires higher taxes, is getting more ink. In today's New York Times Economic Scene column Partisan Economics in Action, David Leonhardt looks at Bartlett's approach to politics and taxes. Not to get into a big political debate here, but I was struck, again, by Bartlett's forthrightness. "So much of what passes for conservatism today is just pure partisan opposition," says Bartlett, pictured there at right. "It's not conservative at all." Bartlett addresses what he believes is conservative in a book coming out next week, The New American Economy.... Read more →

The IRS has more than 50,000 content pages at www.IRS.gov but it's not stopping there. "We're looking at building a new portfolio of electronic products," Tom Davis, acting chief of staff for Electronic Tax Administration, told tax professionals at the IRS Nationwide Tax Forum in Dallas last month. The ultimate, although admittedly improbable, goal is to drive all service to the IRS Web site. The agency has made major strides in this area. But it knows it's now at a crossroads, especially when it comes to the activity that affects every taxpayer: filing tax returns. When it comes to filing,... Read more →

The first Monday in October kicked off a new U.S. Supreme Court term. While everyone is anxiously awaiting the first bench pronouncements from new Justice Sonia Sotomayor, one thing about this Court is already abundantly clear. These justices aren't very interested in hearing tax matters. The publication Tax Analysts (subscription required) reports that on its opening day, the Court denied certiorari in a number of federal and state tax-related cases. "Certiorari Denied" basically means that the Court has declined to hear the case and will let the prior ruling stand. Amid the tax cases refused by the Supreme Court, several... Read more →

You know the global economy is bad when an iconic tax haven is contemplating, for the first time, collecting taxes. The Cayman Islands, long known in story and song as the go-to place to hide income from other nation's tax collectors, has been told by British officials who oversee the offshore financial nation to impose spending cuts and consider some form of direct taxation on business. According to Offshore Haven Considers a Heresy: Taxation in today's New York Times, the Caymans are "a tax-free home for 9,253 hedge funds and many more banks and companies that pay small fees to... Read more →

Yes, millions of folks still haven't filed their 2008 returns (that final deadline is Oct. 15; more on that soon), but the IRS also is getting ready for the 2010 e-filing season. The agency has released the updated version of Publication 1436, Test Package for Electronic Filing of Individual Income Tax Returns for Tax Year 2009. The Service requires all software developers and electronic forms transmitters to perform the tests in the package before they will be accepted into the upcoming e-filing program. As you can imagine, the process involves lots of acronyms, but basically the IRS wants to make... Read more →

What a fun idea! ESPN should televise a National Tax Bee, a la the annual National Spelling Bee broadcast. That's the suggestion of Mary O'Keeffe, who blogs at Bed buffaloes in your tax code. "The popular stereotype of a tax professional paints them as bland and boring, robotic and devoid of personality," writes Mary. "Reading tax pro blogs has certainly convinced me otherwise." As tax pros worthy of our television attention, Mary proposes a lineup of Robert D Flach, who blogs as The Wandering Tax Pro; Kelly Erb, aka the blogosphere's taxgirl; and The Tax Lawyer's Blog author Peter Pappas.... Read more →

Unless you're fighting off the swine flu, you're probably sick of medical talk. Even then, you likely just want a prescription and to be left alone. But regardless of how you're feeling, please bear with me a little bit longer as I update you on the effort to reform the U.S. health care system. Yes, it is finally moving on Capitol Hill. In the wee hours of this morning, the Senate Finance Committee wrapped up its debate over health care. After the final costs of the Finance Committee's package are computed by the Congressional Budget Office, Senate leaders plan to... Read more →

Perhaps South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, the famous fake hiker of the Appalachian Trail, can use this post's headline as his latest euphemism. Sanford has my permission to employ it as a way to explain his use of state planes for personal and political trips. In addition to being bad form, such travels could pose state and federal tax problems since the flights never were recorded as taxable fringe benefits. The Associated Press examined more than 100 flights taken by Sanford since 2003. The wire service then asked two tax experts to review its analysis, which shows nine flights since... Read more →