Taxes

Getty July 15, 2020, marked the end of tax season for those taxpayers not on extension. The revised due date made for an interesting tax season, for sure, but even so, some things are universal – and that includes tax advice. I asked some of the best tax folks I know to share their top

The IRS warns about the top 12 taxpayer scams. Getty Tax season is finally over, unless you opted for a filing extension until October 15, but tax scams are still brewing. The Internal Revenue Service released its annual Dirty Dozen tax scams today with a warning about aggressive and evolving schemes related to Covid-19 tax

In 1970, Philadelphia’s Franklin Institute got a Moog synthesizer—a giant, unwieldy computer that created music. The sound was weird and quite evidently electronic. My fellow high school science geeks and I found it endlessly fascinating. But we couldn’t imagine how wonderfully diverse and inventive electronic music would become. It’s grown into a mainstay of pop music and enabled

Getty This Tax Day doesn’t sure doesn’t look – or feel – like any other Tax Day.  Due to Covid-19, the original filing deadline and tax payment due date for 2019 was postponed from April 15, 2020, to July 15, 2020. With many states still under travel and work restrictions due to the pandemic, some

A budtender (right) shows cannabis buds to a customer at the Green Pearl Organics dispensary on the … [+] first day of legal recreational marijuana sales in California, January 1, 2018 at the Green Pearl Organics marijuana dispensary in Desert Hot Springs, California. / AFP PHOTO / Robyn Beck (Photo credit should read ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty

May state sales tax receipts shrank by nearly $6 billion, or 21 percent, compared to May 2019, according to data compiled by the Tax Policy Center. State stay-at-home orders, decisions to close businesses, states’ sales tax filing and payment deadline extensions, and COVID-19 cases all contributed to the freefall of sales tax revenues. State sales tax revenue

Atlanta, Georgia, USA Downtown Skyline Aerial. Getty The state of the conservation syndication easement industry brings to mind one of my favorite Kingston Trio songs – Everglades. Where a man can hide and never be found And have no fear of the bayin’ hound But he better keep it movin’ and don’t stand still If

If you sell your house but in six months refund the money and take back the house did you ever sell it? If you buy stock but the company refunds your money, was it two transactions or none? Going back to square one may sound simple, but the tax system is rigid and rarely simple. And the annual tax

Getty If you’re a small business owner, it’s likely that the COVID-19 pandemic has left you little time to think about the upcoming tax filing deadline on July 15. Over the last few months, you’ve dealt with temporary lockdowns, lost revenue and layoffs—all while applying for desperately needed assistance.  Many small business owners understandably breathed

Tax advisers use the term ‘disclosure’ frequently. Occasionally, taxpayers do too, although they may not understand how or why they or their tax advisers are discussing it. It can sometimes have a negative connotation. Without knowing exactly why, most people do not want to ‘‘disclose’’ unless they must. Discretion and privacy sound better. They may not

Getty Back in April, I wrote about Bank of America’s horrible handling of Payroll Protection Loans. I wrote about a case I knew — my own. After my column appeared, I received one email after another written by business owners who experienced the same nightmare. I then wrote a column, copying some of these emails,

WASHINGTON, DC – APRIL 27: The Internal Revenue Service headquarters building appeared to be mostly … [+] empty April 27, 2020 in the Federal Triangle section of Washington, DC. The IRS called about 10,000 volunteer employees back to work Monday at 10 of its mission critical locations to work on taxpayer correspondence, handling tax documents,

Bob Jones, Jr., and Bob Jones III (younger man wearing gray suit), president of Bob Jones … [+] University, outside U.S. Supreme Court during hearing on tax exemption case. Bettmann Archive The Key Words The second part of President Trump’s education tweet has the key words that form the basis for an IRS attack on

Economic Security Planning, Inc. Today’s column addresses questions about whether the earnings test would reduce retirement benefits, retirement benefits before survivor benefits, benefits based on a common law marriage and whether an divorced spouse could be eligible for survivor benefits. Larry Kotlikoff is a Professor of Economics at Boston University and the founder and president

July 15, 2020 is the final day you can make Individual Retirement Account contributions for 2019. Getty As the official July 15, 2020 tax day deadline is fast approaching and plenty of taxpayers have yet to file 2019 returns and 2020 estimated payments, the Internal Revenue Service is urging folks to file and pay electronically,

WASHINGTON, DC – NOVEMBER 30: United States Supreme Court (Front L-R) Associate Justice Stephen … [+] Breyer, Associate Justice Clarence Thomas, Chief Justice John Roberts, Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Associate Justice Samuel Alito, Jr., (Back L-R) Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch, Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Associate Justice Elena Kagan and Associate Justice Brett Kavanaugh pose

Getty Short of a game-changing vaccine, our only sure way of ending COVID-19 before it kills or sickens millions more of us is testing every American every day. Imagine we could do this and quarantine everyone who tested positive until they were no longer infectious. The virus would be fully imprisoned within days. With no

WASHINGTON, DC – JULY 10: U.S. President Donald Trump leaves the White House on Marine One, on July … [+] 10, 2020 in Washington. DC. President Trump is traveling to Florida and will attend several events before returning to Washington. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images) Getty Images My Trump Coverage So Far Ever since I

TOPLINE President Donald Trump told reporters on Friday that he isn’t even considering a phase two trade deal with China, saying that the relationship between the two countries has been “severely damaged” by the coronavirus pandemic.  The coronavirus pandemic has derailed a phase two agreement, Trump said. Win McNamee/Getty Images KEY FACTS With Sino-American relations

Virginia La Torre Jeker Courtesy of Virginia La Torre Jeker Tax Notes International contributing editor Nana Ama Sarfo talks with Virginia La Torre Jeker, a U.S. tax attorney based in Dubai, about establishing her tax practice abroad, the challenge of balancing family life with career, and recent international tax issues. This post has been edited for