Taxes

Barbed wire dividing a old weathered and ripped dollar bill getty Francine J. Lipman, a law professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, talks with Darrick Hamilton, a stratification economist and the New School’s incoming Henry Cohen Professor of Economics and Urban Policy, about the intersection of U.S. tax policy and racial wealth inequality.

A computer popup box screen warning of a system being hacked, compromised software enviroment. 3D … [+] illustration. getty The Justice Department has announced action against two hacks of virtual currency exchanges by North Korean actors. According to court documents, the actors stole millions of dollars’ worth of cryptocurrency and laundered the funds through Chinese

CRYPTIC: Restricted stock, restricted stock units, and restricted securities sound alike but are not … [+] the same. It’s important for employees to know which they have. getty Grants of restricted stock or restricted stock units (RSU) have become the equity compensation of choice for many public companies and some larger private companies. They may

In a recently released memorandum, the IRS discussed the taxation of convertible virtual currency received in a crowdsourcing market.  The issue presented in the chief counsel advice memorandum was “Is convertible virtual currency received by an individual for performing a microtask through a crowdsourcing or similar platform taxable income?” The memorandum concluded that, yes, convertible

Economic Security Planning, Inc. Today’s column addresses questions about whether survivor benefits include delayed retirement credits (DRCs), potential effects of a public pension on spousal benefits, filing retroactively for Social Security retirement benefits and whether caring for parents might affect disability benefits. Larry Kotlikoff is a Professor of Economics at Boston University and the founder

getty This year has been difficult by any metric. Without question, advanced charitable techniques like planned giving are far from the minds of many. But it can be particularly valuable for donors motivated to give during this unusual time. When there is a clear need, Americans consistently are compelled to give. Indeed, many charities (including

getty Even if an asset is very common, it doesn’t necessarily mean it will be easy to donate. In fact, sometimes the most common assets are more difficult to dedicate toward charitable purposes. This is particularly true for gifts of subchapter S corporations – even if the companies are successful and very valuable. There are

getty S corporations are one of the most common types of business structure in the country. As such, S corp stock can be a common asset to find on a personal balance sheet. If the shareholder is also charitably-inclined, leveraging the appreciated securities for donation with maximum tax efficiency can be a great strategy. This

shot of coronavirus Fraud getty The Paycheck Protection Program has been something of a whirlwind as hundreds of billions were quickly shoveled out. Thousands of accountants found themselves drafted into service as loan agents – mostly unpaid agents, although that fight is continuing. And, shocking, there was fraud. Quite a bit of fraud and given

Getty On August 8, 2020, President Trump issued a directive to the Department of Treasury to allow for the deferral of payroll taxes for the period of September 1, 2020, through December 31, 2020. Details were scarce, but a few days later, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin suggested to Fox Business’ Maria Bartiromo that the deferral would be voluntary. 

Getty Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have emerged as excellent candidates for charitable giving. The extraordinary appreciation in trading price for many top virtual currencies has led to significant unrealized capital gains for owners. And, as with other types of noncash assets, donating highly-appreciated property is nearly always the best way to give. Of course, serious

In the land of the IRS, which is nowhere near as appealing as the Land of Oz, much of the correspondence sent to taxpayers implicates a significant taxpayer right that can only be exercised on time. Taxpayers who are afraid to open IRS mail and therefore delay doing so – or even worse, never do

Eligible for trader tax status Shutterstock There are tax advantages for traders who are eligible for trader tax status (TTS). Learn how to qualify for TTS; no election is required. Automated trading systems can qualify for TTS, providing the trader is significantly involved with the creation. Trade copying software might not be eligible. Learn how

NAPLES, CAMPANIA, ITALY – 2020/06/12: A medical technician works in the laboratory of the Infectious … [+] diseases department for coronavirus (COVID-19)handling samples of coronavirus COVID 19 tests at the microbiology laboratory of Naples. (Photo by Salvatore Laporta/KONTROLAB/LightRocket via Getty Images) KONTROLAB/LightRocket via Getty Images Daily rapid home testing may be what allows us to

We remain in a deep recession with growing long-term unemployment and other signs of economic slowdown.  But so far, there’s no sign of additional Federal help as we enter the fall election season.  CHARLOTTE, NC – AUGUST 25: (EDITORIAL USE ONLY) In this screenshot from the RNC’s livestream of the … [+] 2020 Republican National Convention, U.S. President

CONCERNING: The IRS says up to 800,000 taxpayers may have mistakenly thrown their Covid-19 stimulus … [+] payments in the trash. Fortunately, payments can be reissued. getty At a recent online meeting for tax professionals in the New England region, IRS staffers gave updates on IRS operations and, more significantly, on the Covid-19 Economic Impact

Stephanie Soong Johnston, chief correspondent for Tax Notes Today International and Robert Goulder, contributing editor for Tax Notes International discuss the recent Apple AAPL State Aid decision and the long term consequences on global tax reform. Here are a few highlights . . . On the timeline leading up to the Apple state aid case  Stephanie Soong Johnston: In September

getty Every year, the IRS releases its so-called “Dirty Dozen”—a list of scams that target taxpayers.  This year, perhaps as no surprise, the list emphasized schemes related to coronavirus tax relief, including Economic Impact Payments.  As the pandemic drags on, taxpayers and tax professionals would do well to familiarize themselves with the IRS’s list of the latest

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA – AUGUST 24: President Donald Trump speaks on the first day of the … [+] Republican National Convention. (Photo by Jessica Koscielniak – Pool/Getty Images) Getty Images President Trump is formally kicking off his reelection campaign with a couple of pages of bullet points. If it wasn’t clear before, it is now:

The IRS has begun sending out another round of crypto tax warning letters (dated August 14, 2020) to US taxpayers according to several posts on Reddit and other social media. These letters along with the new placement of the crypto question on Form 1040 show IRS’s continuous effort in regulating the crypto tax space. At