As published in the Winter Park/Maitland Observer, Thursday Jan. 3, 2012 Edition Offers... Read More »
Double Taxation, Capital Gains and Cynicism
James Maule is on the lie-exposing warpath once again, but this time, at least technically, he’s onto something. Maule attacks issue 9.04 of Tax Bytes, released by the Institute for Policy Innovation, titled “Investing Earns You Additional – Not Lower – Taxes,” that argues that the capital gains tax is a double tax because the moneys…
Read Full Article Categorized in: Capital GainsIncome is Taxable if it’s not Specifically Excluded
James Maule of Mauled Again has written an excellent post titled Expending Tax Dollars to Litigate Settled Tax Questions. In it he discusses the Eleventh Circuit’s affirmance, in Campbell v. Comr., No. 10-13677 (11th Cir. 2011), of an earlier Tax Court decision (134 T.C. No. 3 (2010)). The Tax Court concluded, following an earlier decision, that a…
Read Full Article Categorized in: Court Cases, Gross IncomeTaxing Sale of Jeter Ball is a No Brainer
A lot of people are making a ruckus because the IRS says that the value of what Christian Lopez, the fan who caught Derek Jeter’s 3,oooth hit, which was a home run, is taxable, but it’s much ado about nothing. Here’s David Logan of Tax Policy Blog: On July 9th, Derek Jeter became the 28th…
Read Full Article Categorized in: Gross Income, Taxes 101Don’t Kill the Tax Messenger
We deal with a lot of people who are being audited or pursued by the IRS and almost to a man they develop a deep loathing for this government agency. But, as James Maule reports in If Congress Says So, Don’t Blame the IRS, in most cases it’s just a case of killing the messenger: What’s interesting is…
Read Full Article Categorized in: IRS Procedure, Legislative WatchProfessor Maule Says Conservatives Who Want to Cut IRS Funding are Trying to Take Down Government
“You will find in politics that you are much exposed to the attribution of false motive. Never complain and never explain.” - Stanley Baldwin – Listen to Professor James Maule’s screed about the efforts of evil Republican Congressmen to cut the IRS’s budget: On the heels of the spending cuts, affecting chiefly the impoverished and the…
Read Full Article Categorized in: IRS Procedure, Legislative Watch, Tax CollectionsEarmark Hypocrisy?
James Maule has observed that some congressional opponents of earmarks are themselves benefactors of earmarks: The practice of opposing earmarks while making use of them has riled some members of Congress. The best quote, reported in this story, among others, comes from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. Reid noted that some of those who speak out against…
Read Full Article Categorized in: Legislative WatchTruth and Taxes: David Cay Johnston’s Response & My Rejoinder
In my last post I published an email I sent to David Cay Johnston in response to an article he published in his Tax Notes. Below are some of the highlights of his response, but be sure to read it in it’s entirety. The emphasis is mine: Thank you for your commentary, though I think you missed the point entirely…
Read Full Article Categorized in: Tax PolicyDo All Smart People Agree that the Deficits are Bush’s and Reagan’s Fault?
With a confidence usually found only in top-gun pilots and NFL wide receivers, Professor Linda Beale of ataxingmatter has categorically concluded that the current budget deficits are all George Bush’s and Ronald Reagan’s fault and if you don’t agree with her you’re ignorant (emphasis is mine): [The] deficits, as anybody who follows the economy well knows, are due to three…
Read Full Article Categorized in: Tax Policy, The EconomyA Win for the Tax the Rich Crowd?
TaxProf Paul Caron owns and operates what I like to call the New York Times of tax blogs. We mortal tax bloggers often get our lead stories from him. Here is yet another Caron-generated story: The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities yesterday released Income Gaps Between Very Rich and Everyone Else More Than Tripled In…
Read Full Article Categorized in: Tax Policy, The EconomyWho is Miseducating Whom on Taxes?
Tax law Professor James Maule of Mauled Again recently lashed out at small government, tax-cut conservatives for miseducating the public about taxes. I responded to Mr. Maule here, here, here and here by pointing out that pro-taxers are equally guilty of using propaganda to gain converts to their views and that anti-taxers have put forth several legitimate and logical arguments against big…
Read Full Article Categorized in: Tax Policy, The EconomyTax Bloggers Maule and Kristan: Today’s Required Reading
Two of my favorite tax bloggers have published posts today that should be read by everyone. They illustrate nicely the tenor of our times. In Taxes and Disgust Professor James Maule illustrates the absurd complexity of our federal and state tax laws. In Aviva Girls in Tax Trouble CPA Joe Kristan sounds a warning about the ubiquitous dangers of the Internet.…
Read Full Article Categorized in: Tax Blogging, Tax Crimes, Tax PolicyProfessors Maule and Beale Respond; Pappas Cowers then Regroups
“Arrogance on the part of the meritorious is even more offensive to us than the arrogance of those without merit: for merit itself is offensive.” - Friedrich Nietzsche – Professors James Maule and Linda Beale have responded on their blogs to my recent post titled Two Professors, an Angry Bear and Hate the Rich Syndrome. I know it’s hard…
Read Full Article Categorized in: Opinion5 Best Tax Nerd Blogs: The Second Annual Rick Moranis Awards
The Internet is an egalitarian’s paradise. It has leveled the playing field for professionals of all stripes by allowing the little guy to compete on an equal footing with the big boys. Mostly this is accomplished through blogging. I have been tracking tax blogs for several years and have discovered for myself that there is nothing equal…
Read Full Article Categorized in: Tax BloggingSin Taxes are a Hate Crime, Congressman Says
James Maule of Mauled Again writes in Taxes as Hate Crime about Massachusetts Congressman Stephen Lynch’s reaction to a proposed sin tax on beer: The advocacy for and against increases in the scope and level of so-called “sin taxes” has brought all sorts of rhetoric to the table, but none tops this comment from Representative Stephen Lynch…
Read Full Article Categorized in: Tax PolicyTax Happiness: Inventors of Sauna Happier than Inventors of Polio Vaccine
A few days ago Professor James Maule posed the following questions in a blog post titled Pay Taxes, Be Happy: Why are some people content to make enough, or perhaps not quite enough, to meet their basic needs while devoting their lives to a career, occupation, or profession that fulfills them in other ways while others…
Read Full Article Categorized in: Opinion, Tax Policy