Close-up of Conservation easement with pen getty There is a sign that the IRS is raising the stakes in its attack on syndicated conservation easements (SCE). Jennifer Black, (Senior Counsel Procedure and Administration) authored two chief counsel advices CCA 202044009 and CCA 202044010 in response to National Fraud Counsel Carolyn A. Schenck. Ms. Schenck was asking about
Taxes
This segment of What’s Ahead deals with the question of whether California can recover its lost economic mojo. The Golden State has everything going for it in terms of weather, beauty, natural resources, land mass and bountiful soil. It is our most populous state, and its economy is the fifth-largest in the world. Over the
While members of the Ethereum blockchain community have endured the criticism of how long it is taking to move to a new mechanism called ‘staking’, it is hard not to also note that there is no definitive guidance yet from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) on how those who ‘stake’ their blockchain ‘tokens’ and receive
getty The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) continues to take steps forward in efforts to protect taxpayer data. Two years ago, the IRS moved to provide more privacy for individual taxpayers; now, beginning on December 13, 2020, the IRS will start masking sensitive data on business tax transcripts. If you’re scratching your head because that doesn’t
WASHINGTON, DC – NOVEMBER 08: A supporter of President Donald Trump (L) and a supporter of former … [+] Vice President Joe Biden (R) dance together at Black Lives Matter Plaza near the White House as others celebrate on November 8, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Samuel Corum/Getty Images) Getty Images Joe Biden is
The former U.K. chancellor Philip Hammond. Getty Images Corporations, foreigners, and rich people could be the answer to the £40 billion ($52.7 billion) hole in the U.K.’s public finances caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Philip Hammond, the former U.K. chancellor says that government borrowing will take the lion’s share of the debt burden until after
Director of the National Economic Council Larry Kudlow speaks to reporters outside the West Wing of … [+] the White House on September 2, 2020, in Washington, DC. (Photo by Olivier DOULIERY / AFP) (Photo by OLIVIER DOULIERY/AFP via Getty Images) AFP via Getty Images The recipe is simple. When the economy is struggling, you
Economic Security Planning, Inc. Today’s column addresses questions about when it would be best for a lower earning spouse to file for their own retirement benefits, what benefits can be available for a parent and a dependent disabled child and when survivor benefits might not be payable, at least not yet. Larry Kotlikoff is a
Reading, PA – October 15: Ken Lebron, the Director of Berks County Veterans sits at his desk wearing … [+] a mask, with a plexiglass barrier on his desk while talking to Luis Gonzalez, an Army Veteran with two tours of duty in Iraq. At the Berks County Veterans Affairs Office on Cherry Street in
Tax Planning Shutterstock Year-end tax planning for traders varies based on eligibility for trader tax status (TTS) in 2020 and 2021. There are different strategies to consider for investors, TTS traders using the capital gains method, and TTS traders using Section 475 MTM ordinary gain and loss treatment. TTS traders operate as sole proprietors, spousal
getty In March, Congress passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), which was intended to provide relief for taxpayers, including those stimulus checks. The law also offered some provisions intended to help businesses, including the much talked about Paycheck Protection Program, or PPP. The program is precisely what it sounds like: billions
We are now eight months into the COVID-19 pandemic, and more taxpayers than ever will be facing tax bills that just can’t be paid. Someone who had a great 2019, made a lot of money, and expected to pay the tax due in April of 2020 may have lost it all when the markets crashed.
Loren Ponds Courtesy of Loren Ponds Shortly after Loren Ponds finished her LLM in tax at Georgetown University, she packed up her apartment in Washington and moved to Germany to research international tax under a prestigious, German-funded global fellowship. It would seem like a routine move for an international tax lawyer, especially one like Ponds, who was thinking about
What state taxes apply if you are stuck in California or stuck in another state during the pandemic? Do you pay taxes where you are sheltering in place, even if you don’t normally live there? Do you pay taxes in your usual home state, even though you are not sheltering there? Do you get stuck
United States Tax Court building in Washington DC Getty Judge Robert Goeke of the United States Tax Court approved a $17.5 million 2012 charitable deduction disallowance in the case of Glade Creek Limited Partnership. He went a little easier on the penalties than the IRS had proposed. Rather than a 40% penalty on the deficiency attributable to
A former Microsoft MSFT engineer, Volodymyr Kvashuk, was sentenced today for nine years for defrauding Microsoft for more than $10 million, using a bitcoin mixer to hide taxable income and filing fraudulent tax returns. This is the nation’s first Bitcoin case that has a tax component to it according to the IRS. Kvashuk is a
The U.S. Treasury Department has revealed the names of individuals who renounced their U.S. citizenship, and green card holders who terminated their long-term U.S. residency. During the third quarter of 2020, that was 732 people, making the number for the first 3 quarters of 2020 6,047. That may not sound like many, but even excluding the fourth
Economic Security Planning, Inc. Today’s column addresses questions about whether spousal benefits can still be available, how survivor benefits are calculated when there are multiple spouses, eligibility for spousal benefits and how SSA views partnerships when determining spousal benefit eligibility. Larry Kotlikoff is a Professor of Economics at Boston University and the founder and president
It’s taken a few days longer than expected, but early this morning, every major news network called the 2020 election in favor of former Vice President Joe Biden, who will become the 46th President of the United States. This news appears to have not been particularly well received by the 45th President, the incumbent Donald
getty The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is reminding qualified college students that it’s not too late to register for a stimulus check. If you are a self-supporting student and don’t need to file a tax return, you have until November 21 to register to get your stimulus check (also called an Economic Impact Payment, or EIP)