Cancellation of debt a growing issue - need for informed tax preparers and changed tax rules

In preparing for an upcoming presentation that basically looks at beyond the current filing season for CPAs, I delved into some data on grow...

Cloud computing and tax issues

A recent article (3/28/12) in CIO - " Cloud services face taxing dilemma" by Brandon Butler, points out the continuing challenges...

Increased focus on tax expenditures

The Wall Street Journal ran an article on March 24, 2012 - "Tax Breaks Exceed $1 Trillion: Report" by McKinnon. I think it is gr...

Income inequality, education and taxation

A recent blog post from The Tax Foundation (3/16/12) points out - "Census Data Shows Inequality Linked to Education, Not Taxes."  ...

Republican Budget Plan and Tax Reform Mystery

http://budget.house.gov/UploadedFiles/PathToProsperityFY2012.pdf  The House Budget Committee released the Republican Budget plan this week....

Guest Post - A proposal for a flat income tax and other changes

I note on my blog that I will consider guest posts of realistic ideas for modernizing and improving our tax system.  Stephen Kruger, a lawye...

Mileage awards by banks, 1099s, and the realization principle

The excitement about Citibank issuing 1099s to customers who received a prize from the bank that was worth $600 or more has seemed to become...

Global Trends Relevant to Taxation

I am a fan of identifying and analyzing trends, particularly as they may indicate areas where tax rules and systems may need to be updated/m...

Tax Blogs

There are a lot of tax blogs!  I think most of them cover tax tips and news or observations about rulings and law changes.  Here are a few l...

Tax Morale and Compliance

The other day I received an email from Dr. Andreas Peichl, Senior Research Associate with IZA (Institute for the study of labor) in Germany....

The oddities and complexities of tax exemptions

A simple tax system would define the tax base and not have exemptions. When something(s) get carved out for different treatment, it is usual...

President Obama's Business Tax Reform Plan

Near the end of February 2012, President Obama released his business tax reform plan which had been hinted at for some time.  In his 2011 St...

Cleaning up the tax mess - PBS show

On March 9, 2012, PBS had four commentators, including Bruce Bartlett, address the issue - "Cleaning up the tax mess."  It is post...

Kentucky Tax Reform Commission Formed

Kentucky Governor Beshear has formed a Blue Ribbon Tax Reform Commission with 23 public and private members. The five goals of the commissio...

Tax scams and how is our complex and odd tax system partly to blame

On March 2, 2012, the IRS issued a news release warning people about various tax scams including one that tells people they are entitled to ...

21st Century Retail Pushing for Sales Tax Reform from Congress

"21st Century Retail" appears to be a new website and blog (I like the title!) to encourage Congress to enact legislation to allo...