Taxes

The drama over the attempts to raise the state and local tax deduction above the $10,000 limit included in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act has become more of a soap opera recently. The rehashed story line has gotten stale, but the furor over the limit has an irresistible political attraction that ensures its longevity.  Congress’s current

In a surprising move for a state that has long favored giving employers the freedom to do business with relatively few constraints, the Florida legislature and Governor DeSantis passed House Bill No. 1-B which prohibits any private employer from imposing a COVID-19 vaccination mandate for any full-time, part-time or contract employee without providing the individual

Today’s Social Security column addresses questions about when spousal benefits may be available and how they can be paid, marriage and disability benefits and potential reductions due to filing early. Larry Kotlikoff is a Professor of Economics at Boston University and the founder and president of Economic Security Planning, Inc. See more Ask Larry answers

Wow! 2021 has been yet another wild and crazy year. Many people have seen their incomes jump in 2021, while others have been out of work and have seen their incomes plummet. Either way, year’s end is the time to do some proactive tax planning to help reduce your 2021 income taxes. Why pay more

A prediction: When Congress finally passes the Build Back Better bill, Hill leaders will quietly slip in at least one obscure, last-minute tax break to benefit an elite group of wealthy taxpayers. Few lawmakers will know it is there. Journalists won’t discover it until after the measure has passed. It won’t be the first time.

Robert Goulder of Tax Notes and professor Daniel N. Shaviro of New York University School of Law discuss generational swings in the U.S. appetite for residence-based taxation of multinationals’ foreign profits.  This transcript has been edited for length and clarity. Robert Goulder: Hello everyone. I’m Bob Goulder with Tax Notes. Welcome to the November edition of “In the Pages.”

Navigating the Carpenter Presumption: Court-Made Exceptions to the Carpenter Case and The Statute That Followed. In the 1971 Florida case of In re Carpenter’s Estate, The Supreme Court of Florida held that an individual who has helped to facilitate an estate plan will be presumed to have exercised undue influence in effectuating the plan, and

Hanukkah is a time of celebration and generosity. Spreading the gifts throughout the days of Hanukkah helps facilitate greater enjoyment and the expression of gratitude over a longer period of time. And why not have Uncle Sam chip in to make the gifts even sweeter.  The following tax opportunities can be considered for the remaining

Today’s Social Security column addresses questions about spousal benefit rate reductions when taken before full retirement age, requesting benefit recalculation to ensure accuracy and potential effects of early retirement benefits on later survivor’s benefits. Larry Kotlikoff is a Professor of Economics at Boston University and the founder and president of Economic Security Planning, Inc. See

Many plaintiffs win or settle a lawsuit only to be surprised that they have to pay taxes. Some don’t realize it until tax time the following year when IRS Forms 1099 arrive in the mail. A little tax planning, especially before you settle, can go a long way. It’s even more important now with higher taxes on

by Benjamin M. Willis and Ryan Dobens Now that the House has passed the Build Back Better Act (H.R. 5376), the bill makes its way to the Senate for further consideration, possibly to become law. While the Biden administration has trumpeted the legislation as being able to “rebuild the backbone of the country,” it seems that rebuilding the American start-up wasn’t a

Happy Cyber Monday! As you digest your leftovers and cruise the internet looking for online shopping deals remember to be security forward. The 6th Annual National Tax Security Awareness Week starts today and runs through December 3. The IRS and its Security Summit partners have set aside this week to focus on helping taxpayers and tax

In the 2021 3rd District Court of Appeals case of Segal v. Forastero, Inc., an investor who bought and sold real estate used an LLC he had to enter into a purchase agreement and then walked away from the deal, claiming that he had no personal liability because it was the LLC and not him

The announcement by the United States Attorney’s Office of the Southern District of New York of the indictment of Joshua Burrell on charges of securities fraud, wire fraud and aggravated identity theft is very saddening. Joshua Burrell was an advocate of making Opportunity Zone investments serve social purposes while providing superior returns to investors. His concept seemed

Most Americans have a lot to be thankful for this year. The economy is doing well, jobs are plentiful, and most small businesses are doing much better than had been expected. Things were much worse in the year 2020, when the Coronavirus shut down thousands of businesses, and deprived them of sales revenues, while expenses

As the holidays draw near, what do you think about, sugarplums, hot toddies, Eggnog? A visit to the tree lot, gifts, visits from relatives? Nope, you start fretting about those little IRS Forms 1099. These critical tax forms arrive in late January or early February and report how much you were paid in the prior

On Friday, November 5, 2021, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 3684, otherwise known as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, with 228 votes in favor and 206 votes opposed. The bill passed the Senate in August and was signed by President Biden on November 15th. A great many employers are very concerned, as described

In the second of a two-episode series, professor Richard D. Pomp of the University of Connecticut School of Law discusses his views on the federal lawsuit challenging Maryland’s digital advertising 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 Notes Today

After rejecting corporate income tax rate increases to help pay for President Biden’s Build Back Better plan, House Democrats passed a 15 percent alternative minimum tax on the income very large corporations report to their shareholders. This tax on book income would raise about $300 billion over 10 years. But it creates a mess of policy

Tuesday November 30, 2021, is “Giving Tuesday.” Both last year and this year taxpayers who typically take the standard deduction can deduct cash contributions made to qualifying charities. For 2020 taxpayers were allowed to make an up to $300 adjustment per tax return for cash charitable contributions. For 2021 the amount has been increased to