Nirvana is a Buddhist term for the state of consciousness that transcends desire and suffering. More figuratively, it is a blissful state of freedom from cares and concerns – a state, however, that may always remain just out of reach. By the second definition, no American state is a tax […]
Is the IRS reading your e-mail? The IRS says it is not. Yesterday the acting commissioner of the IRS denied allegations that his agency gains access to taxpayers’ e-mail messages without obtaining search warrants. In Texas and throughout the nation, taxpayers are naturally concerned about the IRS gaining too much […]
In basketball, it’s difficult for virtually any player when the other team puts two defenders on them. Even stars like the Dallas Mavericks’ Dirk Nowitzki find such match-ups challenging and need help from teammates. Now let’s apply this analogy to tax law. If the U.S. government suspects you of tax […]
In a nation based on the values of liberty and equality, someone’s income level shouldn’t really affect their chances of an IRS tax audit. After all, equality before the law is such a key value for us as Americans. You’d think, then, that it shouldn’t matter whether you are rich, […]
Precision is important in any complicated activity. But the transaction costs involved in spending the time to dot every i and cross every t can be significant too. When it comes to adding up expenses for itemized deductions on a federal tax return, is it really necessary to calculate every […]
In order for the law to be fair, the rules must be clear enough so that people can use them as a guide. Unfortunately, that is not really the case, many people believe, with IRS payroll audits of small businesses regarding suspected misclassification of employees. In Texas and across the […]
Tax exemptions, like so many other things in life, come in sizes large and small. For large corporations and wealth individual taxpayers, the tax savings involved in properly claiming exemptions amount to some serious money. That is why tax litigation in Texas and across the country sometimes focuses on issues […]
For decades, the U.S. tax code has contained key provisions to encourage home ownership. One, of course, is the home mortgage interest deduction. Another is the one-time exclusion from income of gain from the sale of a principal residence. The amount of that exclusion can be up to $500,000 for […]
So what are the odds, overall, of the IRS targeting your return for a tax audit? The answer varies, of course, depending on certain factors. It’s important to minimize your risks of an audit by taking common sense steps to protect yourself. As we discussed in our January 29 post, […]
It’s been 20 years now since two successive nominees for the prestigious position of U.S. attorney general had to withdraw due to “nanny tax” problems. Two decades is of course a considerable chunk of time. And yet the complexities of tax law for household employers continue to remain a challenge. […]