Highlights of some of our favorite tax-related blogs from the past week.
Stated bluntly
BNA blogs : Debate has long raged over whether cutting state income taxes ignites prosperity. A look at new evidence for the nay side of the aisle.
Taxjar : Stabbed Deep in the Heart of Dept.: A look at alarming sales-tax penalty notifications that Texas recently sent to several online sellers. The letter apparently states that the seller is behind on sales tax and owes tax plus a penalty. The possible cause: a nexus snafu regarding dates.Tax Policy : Are business-tax burdens the same as corporate-tax burdens? Maybe not, and just ask Oregon as it wrestles with its Measure 97.BNA Bloomberg Software : We all know about corporate inversion in the international level, but localities are now legislating about businesses seeking better tax climes outside state borders.
Favs
Procedurally Taxing : Our favorite opening the week: “The beginning of some of Judge Holmes’ Tax Court opinions resemble screenplays.” We then FADE IN to cases ignited by the unhappy end to a marriage.Roth & Co. : Our second-favorite of the week: “I drove in reverse on those business trips!” A look at the deducting advantages Schedule C filers have over employees, as shown by one fastener salesman who “also sold nuts and bolts on his own account.”
Reminders and joys
H&R Block : A reminder of changed deadlines for 2016 biz returns.The Income Tax School : Autumn marketing ideas to help ready you for next season, networking to snail mail nudges to even offering to check returns for free.John R. Dundon II EA : Some additional – and sometimes unheralded – joys of giving.IRS Problem Solver Blog : What to tell them if they miss a filing deadline, along with a bonus line that will surely widen a client’s eyes: “It might sound a bit wacky, but larger tax balances tend to be easier to compromise with the IRS.”
Efforts to mimic
Due Diligence : In this week’s collection: “Cyberhacking/Cybersecurity Whistleblower Awards”; “For Banks, It’s All About the Money”; “Whistleblower Gets $500,000+ in Medicare Patient Referral Scheme”; and “NY State First to Enact Tough Bank Cybersecurity Rules.”Tax Analysts : With a nod to the impeccable design of our national lawmaking system to cut off bills and ideas that lack bipartisan support, a look at the notion to impeach Koskinen.Summing It Up : The looming changes from proposed Section 385 regs on how corporate groups will treat intercompany debt. The new proposed regulations target transactions that increase debt between related parties where there is no new investment in the U.S., specifically some of the thimble games that go on to transfer debt and lower taxes.Federal Tax Crimes : A look at the tax crime in the recently affirmed United States v. Davey, involving a conviction “for conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering and tax evasion.”ClientWhys : How scammers have taken to paper mail to mimic the IRS. Again we must marvel at how much these folks would make if they devoted such ingenuity and effort to a legit calling.
