Students settling in at the top of Kyle Field stadium in College Station in advance of a Texas A&M vs. University of Texas-Austin game. The Lone Star State rivalry looks to resume, since Texas will join A&M in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) next year. (Photo by Zabdiel Gonzalez on Unsplash) Yes, college football technically kicked off last weekend, but today was when most fans got the games they've been waiting months to see. Like the TCU-Colorado match-up in the yet again rejiggered Big 12 conference. That game was wild! You know Big 12 football is back when there’s no defense... Read more →
Tax exempt
Millions of people got special state payments in 2022 to help them cover costs that accrued during the pandemic. Some are getting the state relief in 2023, too, prompting the IRS to clarify the federal tax status of this extra cash. (Unsplash+ in collaboration with Kateryna Hliznitsova) COVID-19 did a number on the U.S. economy, prompting federal and state lawmakers to offer a variety of relief programs. At the state level the most notable government help came via stimulus payments. Those payments helped the recipients cover living expenses. They also raised tax issues, specifically whether federal taxes would be due... Read more →
Photo by Timothy Eberly on Unsplash The heat wave that just won't loosen its grip on much of the United States (and world). That has many looking at energy options as traditional grids are stressed. The obvious options are wind and solar systems. Both, as well as many other alternative energy programs, got boosts in the Inflation Reduction Act. The law took effect last year and includes more than $300 billion in climate-related programs and tax incentives. Now the Biden Administration's energy chief is reminding faith-based groups that they, too, could be eligible for the Inflation Reduction Act tax credits.... Read more →
U.S. Senators today grilled professional golf representatives in connection with the planned merger of the PGA Tour and LIV Golf, the upstart league backed by Saudi Arabia. Critics, including many in the sports world as well as Congress, of the deal say it's a thinly disguised effort by the Mideastern country to sportswash its stained human rights reputation. Others add that it's an attempt to bolster its economic influence in the United States. The Senate Homeland Security Committee's Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations hearing ran around three hours, but apparently didn't resolve much. (Insert your own Capitol Hill dog and pony... Read more →
Photo by 竟傲 汤 from Pexels Texas is pretty much open. Even my local grocery store, which for almost a... Read more →
Unemployment benefits were a lifesaver for many Americans who saw their jobs eliminated during the height of coronavirus pandemic. Now some of those unemployment insurance (UI) recipients are getting another boost from the benefits thanks to a change in how the COVID-related funds are taxed. The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) deemed up to $10,200 per taxpayer in unemployment compensation as tax-free. ARPA became law on March 11, meaning some filers submitted their 2020 returns and paid tax on all the UI benefits they got last year before the change took effect. Rather than make those folks redo... Read more →
Welcome to Part 7 of the ol' blog's series on 2021 tax inflation adjustments. We started with a look at next year's income tax brackets and rates. That first item also has a directory, at the end of the post, of all of next year's tax-related inflation updates. Today's post looks at next year's changes to Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) calculations, as well as Social Security and nanny tax changes. Note: The 2021 figures in this post apply to that tax year's returns to be filed in 2022. For comparison purposes, you'll also find 2020 amounts that apply to this... Read more →
Welcome to Part 7 of the ol' blog's 2020 series on tax inflation adjustments. We started on Nov. 6 with a look at next year's income tax brackets and rates. Today we look at changes to the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) and next year's Social Security wage base. Note: The 2020 figures in this post apply to 2020 returns to be filed in 2021. For comparison purposes, you'll also find 2019 amounts to be used in filing 2019 returns due April 15, 2020. Thanks to tax reform's changes, the AMT is no longer an ATM for the tax collector. The... Read more →
Thousands gather for a service at Lakewood Church in Houston, one of many megachurches often led by prosperity gospel evangelists. As since biblical days, religious leaders and governments continue to jockey over rendering unto the tax collector. (Photo by ToBeDaniel via Wikipedia Commons) Religion and taxes are inextricably tied together, primarily because religious groups that pass Internal Revenue Service muster don't have to pay taxes. But some religious leaders have gotten extra attention lately for, shall we say, the extravagant ways they seek to serve their god. Private jet is biblical: Televangelist Kenneth Copeland, who in 2015 defended his use... Read more →
At least one state, Texas, joins the Internal Revenue Service in making filing accommodations for those affected by software company's malware troubles. Watch the full classic Roseanne Roseannadana skit at NBC's Saturday Night Live video page. As the wonderful Gilda Radner character Roseanne Roseannadana used to say, "It's always something." That's particularly true in the tax world. Just when we thought we had made it relatively unscathed through the 2019 tax season, which already was crazy since it was the first one in which most of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) changes took real life effect for taxpayers,... Read more →
Gustave Dore's 1866 engraving of Satan falling from Heaven for John Milton's "Paradise Lost." (Wikimedia Commons photo) Tax-exempt organizations became a landmine for the Internal Revenue Service in 2013. In May of that year, a Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration report determined that the agency had used questionable tactics in reviewing applications by self-described social welfare organizations seeking the favorable 501(c)(4) tax-exempt status. You may remember it as the IRS/Tea Party Scandal. Now a new tax-exempt designation might open up the IRS for more criticism. This time, though, it doesn't involve nonprofit groups that might spend a little too... Read more →
Tax litigator Charles Rettig (far left) is sworn in on Oct. 1 as new IRS commissioner by his boss, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin (far right). (Photo courtesy Mnuchin's Twitter account) It's official. Charles P. "Chuck" Rettig is the Internal Revenue Service's 49th commissioner. He moved into his new office on Monday, Oct. 1, almost 11 months after his predecessor, John Koskinen, left the job. After 36+ years with the California-based law firm of Hochman, Salkin, Rettig, Toscher & Perez, P.C., Rettig now will be in charge of around about 80,000 employees and a budget of approximately $11 billion. Rettig's official... Read more →
Former Internal Revenue Service Exempt Organizations chief Lois Lerner leaves a Capitol Hill hearing on how the agency handles tax-exempt status requests. Her refusal to testify before two House Oversight Committee hearings in May 2013 and March 2014 ultimately led to her resignation from the IRS. Remember back in April 2015 when the Department of Justice decided it wouldn't follow-up on a Congressional contempt citation against Lois Lerner or "take any other action to prosecute" the former Internal Revenue Service executive? Current Republican Representatives do. And now, with the Justice Department full of fresh faces serving under a GOP White... Read more →
The Stars and Stripes. Old Glory. The Red, White and Blue. The Star Spangled Banner. Whatever name you use, today is the annual national celebration of the United States of America's flag, one of the most recognizable symbols in the world. U.S. Navy vessels commemorate Flag Day. (Photo courtesy U.S. Navy via Twitter) Flag, Flag Day history: The U.S. flag was adopted 240 years ago on June 14, 1777. From its beginnings at Betsy Ross' hands during the American Revolution to today when many residents of Puerto Rico are seeking to have another star added, Old Glory has changed with... Read more →
Since Rep. Jason Chaffetz announced on April 19 that he won't seek reelection in 2018 and then the next day suggested he may even leave before his term ends, there has been much speculation as to what this might mean for additional Congressional investigation into possible questionable ties between the Trump Administration and Russia. Chaffetz is, after all, chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, which is one of the Capitol Hill panels with jurisdiction over the international conflict of interest questions. To many, Chaffetz, a Utah Republican, seemed reticent to dive into such inquiries, although today he... Read more →
Internal Revenue Service Commissioner John Koskinen got an early Christmas present on Tuesday, Dec. 6, when the House overwhelmingly rejected a last-ditch effort to impeach him. Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, introduced a resolution Dec. 6 to impeach IRS Commissioner John Koskinen. The effort failed, with House members instead voting to send the matter back to the Judiciary Committee for yet another review. Click image to view full C-SPAN video clip. A faction of conservative Congressional Republicans have been trying to remove Koskinen from his job for more than a year. The lawmakers, led by the House Freedom Caucus, believe that... Read more →
Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton isn't the only person facing email questions. Republicans who head Congress' tax-writing committees want answers from IRS Commissioner John Koskinen over reports that Uncle Sam's tax enforcement and collection agency spent $12 million on an unusable email service. The IRS' email is not as rudimentary as options for backpackers, but apparently a recent, and costly, system upgrade didn't work out as the tax agency had hoped. (Photo by mattwi1s0n via Flickr CC) Upgrade failure: Concerns about the IRS email system came to light in a Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration report, dated Sept. 30... Read more →
Embattled Internal Revenue Service Commissioner John Koskinen this week met with House Republicans who want him out of his job. IRS Commissioner John Koskinen makes a point during a Congressional hearing. He also received additional support from outside groups that wrote House leaders detailing why they believe that impeaching Koskinen is a bad idea. However, it looks like the final decision will be made by the full House sometime this month. Intent on impeachment: Reps. John Fleming (R-La.) and Tim Huelskamp (R-Kan.) in July introduced a privileged resolution calling for Koskinen's impeachment. The maneuver requires a full House vote, rather... Read more →
Donald Trump, in a combative press conference today (May 31), announced the veterans' groups that received money collected in his Iowa debate alternative event last January. Click image to watch Trump campaign video via Twitter The 41 nonprofits and the amounts they received/will get are: 22Kill -- $200,000 Achilles International Inc. -- $200,000 American Hero Adventures -- $100,000 Americans for Equal Living -- $100,000 America's Vetdogs - The Veterans K9 Corps Inc. -- $75,000 AMVETS -- $75,000 Armed Services YMCA of the USA -- $75,000 Bob Woodruff Family Foundation Inc. -- $75,000 Central Iowa Shelter and Services -- $100,000 Connected... Read more →
Opponents of Scientology were jazzed yesterday as word spread across the Internet that the controversial church's tax-exempt status had been revoked. They were quickly disappointed. Church of Scientology "Big Blue" building in Los Angeles (Photo by PictorialEvidence via Wikimedia Commons) The report that hit my social media feeds ostensibly was from ABC News. It said, in part: In a unanimous decision by the Supreme Court today, the eight justices ruled in favor of revoking the Church of Scientology’s tax-exempt status in the United States. Under the ruling, Scientology will still be able to operate as a business but no longer... Read more →