Taxes

Tax Notes Capitol Hill reporter Doug Sword discusses the latest national sales tax proposal in Congress, and contributing editor Robert Goulder shares his thoughts on the challenges of implementing the tax. This transcript has been edited for length and clarity. David D. Stewart: Welcome to the podcast. I’m David Stewart, editor in chief of Tax

The idea of a wealth tax as a panacea for budgetary shortfalls at the federal and state levels has been around since at least the 1930s. Recently, using wealth as a source of tax revenues has heated up. Starting with the 2020 Presidential campaign, Senator Bernie Sanders, Senator Elizabeth Warren and others floated the idea

Thanks to some positive feedback on my recent piece, I have decided to dig deeper into the Fair Tax Act of 2023. The Reader’s Digest version of the act is that it eliminates federal corporate and individual income tax, payroll taxes that fund Social Security and Medicare, estate tax and gift tax. In their place

As the international tax community seeks revenue estimates from the OECD’s two-pillar tax reform project, some finance ministries are playing their cards close to the vest. In the United States, Republican lawmakers have repeatedly sought pillar 1 revenue information from the Treasury Department, only to be rebuffed each time. Why is Treasury reluctant to share

Today’s Social Security column addresses questions about when to switch from survivor’s benefits to retirement benefits, survivor’s benefits amounts after taking spousal benefits and whether claims of taking full retirement benefits at 55 are credible. Larry Kotlikoff is a Professor of Economics at Boston University and the founder and president of Economic Security Planning, Inc.

The news is filled with stories about conflicts between taxpayers and tax collectors. Just a few weeks ago a New York jury convicted the Trump Organization of criminal fraud for a 15-year scheme to help top executives dodge taxes. While that case is a linguistic no-brainer, we often struggle to properly describe those who aggressively

In the past, you needed to take required minimum distributions (RMDs) around age 70.5. This year RMDs can be taken at age 73. For younger folks reading this post, the RMD age will rise to 75 on Jan 1, 2033. The taxes could be onerous regardless of when you will need to begin taking your

Sometime during the next two years — we don’t yet know when — the House of Representatives will be hosting a public orgy. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., has promised to hold a floor vote on the FairTax Act of 2023 (H.R. 25). The promise was one of multiple concessions McCarthy made to the Freedom

Many people wait until near the end of the year to consider whether to convert a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA. But traditional IRA owners should be alert throughout the year for good opportunities to convert all or part of an IRA. Many variables determine whether a conversion will pay off or not, and

What’s a paragraph worth in a thousand pages of Congressional legislation? Quite possibly, your ability to save thousands of dollars more in your company’s retirement plan. The news regarding SECURE 2.0 broke earlier this week from the National Association of Plan Advisors (NAPA) when a staffer at the American Retirement Association discovered a major glitch

Our economic attention currently is fixed on national policy, with growing risks from a debt limit deadlock and debates over inflation versus recession. But economic prosperity also depends on state, regional, and local policy, and now there’s a free guide to some of the best thinking in the field in the newest edition of the

Tax planning is a major part of owning and running a successful business. The meals and entertainment tax deductions have been a valuable way for many small business owners to reduce their tax liabilities each year. Sadly, the value of the meal deduction will be cut in half for 2023 from the 2022 deduction levels.

Professor Diane Kemker of DePaul College of Law shares her argument for more coverage of the earned income tax credit in tax law casebooks to improve inclusivity. This transcript has been edited for length and clarity. David D. Stewart: Welcome to the podcast. I’m David Stewart, editor in chief of Tax Notes Today International. This

Inflation is on the mind of everyone these days, even the tax authorities. At the start of every year, the IRS and the Social Security Administration adjust key numbers in federal tax-law provisions for inflation. Some of these modifications are crucial for employees, their paychecks, and their planning. However, the US federal tax code is

Many employers now offer Roth versions of their 401(k) plans. Though many people believe Roth IRAs and Roth 401(k)s (known formally as designated Roth 401(k) plans) are identical, there have been important differences between the two types of retirement plans. But a major difference was eliminated in late 2022 when the law known as SECURE

Instead of meeting the statutory deadline for proposed rules on the critical mineral and battery component requirements of section 30D, Treasury and the IRS released a white paper previewing their plans for the proposed guidance and indicating that they plan to issue that guidance by March. Although the white paper is only an outline of

Today’s Social Security column addresses questions about possible of effects of taking retirement benefits early on a spouse’s benefits, making sure benefits begin the month you turn 70 and accounting for continued income after filing. Larry Kotlikoff is a Professor of Economics at Boston University and the founder and president of Economic Security Planning, Inc.

The looming federal debt crisis gets more worrisome this week, as the Treasury Department will start taking “extraordinary measures” to pay our bills. Although those measures can buy several months of temporary relief, President Biden ultimately may have to take unilateral action to avoid a fiscal and economic meltdown. Without those measures, on Thursday the

Floyd Mayweather, boxer and entertainment entrepreneur, will not be further fighting an IRS assessment of $5,549,675 in tax and an accuracy penalty of $1,109,935 for the year 2017. About Mayweather On Forbes We tax writers sometimes find celebrity tax stories irresistible, even when they are not that interesting as tax stories. You can read an

Congressman Earl (Buddy) Carter (R-GA) has introduced the FairTax Act of 2023 (FTA23). Much of the commentary on the bill, including mine, has been about whether it is a good idea and the politics surrounding its introduction. The “Fair Tax” has been tinged by the fact that its underlying concept – replacing income, estate, gift