Taxes

Everyone has to file tax returns annually, even Harvard Law School Professors. Most Americans don’t enjoy filing or paying, but they do it anyway, and they pay up. If they can’t pay, they get in line and start paying the IRS in installments. Some people are late, and some seem to fall off the grid,

(Photo via Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images). Getty Images Residential real estate seems to have regained health of late, and in more ways than one. On the macro side, activity, after months of stagnation and decline, has turned upward again. Alone, this change has lifted the specter of recession. Still more encouraging, lower-priced housing has begun to appreciate

A man uses his mobile phone as he walks past advertising for the new iPhones outside the Apple store … [+] in Hong Kong on October 10, 2019. (Photo by PHILIP FONG/AFP via Getty Images) AFP via Getty Images In the world of sin taxes, chemical taxes tend to fly under the radar. They aren’t

ATLANTA, GEORGIA – NOVEMBER 20: Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) (L), former Vice President Joe Biden … [+] and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) (R) participate in the Democratic Presidential Debate at Tyler Perry Studios November 20, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. Ten Democratic presidential hopefuls were chosen from the larger field of candidates to participate in the

Share to facebook Share to twitter Share to linkedin The deal might be a defensive play, but could also see shareholders from both companies benefit. Getty Images Topline: With Charles Schwab announcing it will acquire TD Ameritrade for $26 billion, most analysts will celebrate the massive scale of the merger, but the all-stock transaction suggests

UNITED STATES – AUGUST 21: The Internal Revenue Service building is pictured in Washington on … [+] Wednesday August 21, 2019. (Photo by Caroline Brehman/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images) CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images Hear that noise? It’s the collective sighs of tax professionals around the country upon learning that the Internal Revenue

Rido81 The U.S. economy has now been growing for over ten years, the longest period of economic expansion in our history, but nothing lasts forever. Lately clients have been asking me about how to prepare for the upcoming recession. They’re unsettled by the political environment, threats of climate change and growing tensions with other countries.

Getty You’ve heard about the wealth tax proposed by presidential hopeful Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. Her wealth tax would target high-net-worth individuals and is intended to address income inequality. But do you know about the other version of a wealth tax that’s getting some buzz? In a recent article in Tax Notes Federal, Dan Palmon and Jay Soled,

One of the greatest confusions in discussions of inequality is that between income and wealth. This struck me recently when somebody with a very high W-2 (low seven figures) asked me what sort of things they could do to manage the income tax that, federal and state combined grabbed roughly half their income. Getty How

Getty It used to be that everyone got Social Security retirement benefits at age 65. Then Congress tinkered with the system, first in 1956, and again in 1983, so retirees could claim benefits at an earlier age or at a later age. Early claimers (as young as age 60) get smaller monthly payouts and late

Economic Security Planning, Inc. Today’s column addresses potential downsides of filing early to allow auxiliary benefits to be claimed on your record, public pensions and survivor’s benefits, eligibility for divorced spousal benefits, foreign pensions and suspicious calls claiming to be from Social Security. Larry Kotlikoff is a Professor of Economics at Boston University and the

Share to facebook Share to twitter Share to linkedin Getty In a year-end gift for the ultra-high net worth, the Internal Revenue Service today issued final rules confirming there’s no clawback for huge wealth transfers made under the Trump tax law. The new rules don’t include any big surprises; they follow proposed rules issued a

Share to facebook Share to twitter Share to linkedin Some items aren’t as cheap as you may think. Bebeto Matthews/ASSOCIATED PRESS Topline: With the holiday shopping season right around the corner, millions will be out in force searching for deals beginning Friday, November 22, on Black Friday (November 29) and Cyber Monday (December 2), but

Share to facebook Share to twitter Share to linkedin More bad news for the embattled office-sharing startup. Scott Olson/Getty Images Topline: Troubled office-space startup WeWork is facing more bad news, with the company announcing today that it would lay off 2,400 employees, nearly 20% of its workforce, as it continues to cut costs in a

Share to facebook Share to twitter Share to linkedin Trump is one of the only presidents in decades to withhold his tax returns from the public. MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Image Topline: A law that would have required President Donald Trump to release his federal tax returns was unanimously struck down by the State Supreme

EAST HAMPTON, NY – AUGUST 03: Cocktail hour outside at the 10th Apollo in the Hamptons benefit at … [+] the home of Ron Perelman and Anna Chapman (Photo by Rebecca Smeyne/Getty Images) Getty Images Last Friday, The Tax Policy Center sponsored a morning-long program on market-to-market taxation of capital gains. After three hours, I

Hey, you know that really annoying Cher song? No, not “I Got You Babe,” the other one. No, no…not “Believe,” the really annoying one. C’mon…you know the one I’m talking abo….yes! “If I Could Turn Back Time,” that’s the one! That song came on the radio the other day, and I got to thinking, “Man,

Share to facebook Share to twitter Share to linkedin Despite Republicans’ opposition to cannabis, 11 states and the District of Columbia have legalized … [+] marijuana for recreational usage, while medical marijuana is legal in 33 states plus D.C. Photo by Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images Topline: A Congressional committee approved a landmark bill Wednesday

A miniature house on a pile of coins in front of a linear graph. The concept of a relationship … [+] between rising house prices and the gap between the rich and poor. Getty Gabriel Zucman, a professor of economics at the University of California, Berkeley, discusses wealth and inequality in America with Tax Notes contributing editor

WASHINGTON, DC – NOVEMBER 15: U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks in the Roosevelt Room at … [+] the White House on November 15, 2019 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Zach Gibson/Getty Images) Getty Images Lots of people want to see President Trump’s tax returns, including members of Congress, New York state prosecutors, and —