Taxes

Some European renewable energy producers are concerned that the EU may lose green energy investments to the United States in the wake of recently enacted U.S. legislation. The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA, P.L. 117-169) boasts a roster of renewable energy tax incentives, including a new clean hydrogen production tax credit (section 45V) tied to the

This month, The New York Times reported that California businessman Yvon Chouinard, the founder of Patagonia, contributed 98 percent of his $3 billion business, tax free, to the Holdfast Collective, a tax-exempt organization formed to combat climate change. Mr. Chouinard gave the remaining interest to a family trust, which will manage the business in perpetuity.

Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin This year five states have enacted a single-rate personal income tax combined with tax cuts. Several other states are considering doing the same thing. They’re setting the stage for making a national flat tax a big issue in the 2024 presidential election. This segment of What’s

The House committee investigating the Capitol attack on Jan. 6, 2021, has announced plans for another public hearing and this time, former Vice President Mike Pence may even be invited to testify. The notion that a former vice president could reveal information about the blatant disregard for the democratic process by others inside our federal

When the Senate added a new corporate minimum tax to the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), it almost added a clarification that private equity is a business that would be subject to the new tax. But two key Senators blocked the clarification. Now, as Treasury writes regulations to accompany the new law, it must decide whether

There’s a common saying that every tax has the effect of discouraging some kind of private behavior – be it good, bad, or indifferent. This acknowledges that taxes have behavioral responses. Increase sales taxes, for example, and you’ll see marginally less retail spending. In the case of the corporate income tax, the conventional wisdom is

Forbes screened more than 500 locations in the U.S. for everything from climate change risk to availability of doctors to crime. We then compared those that made the cut for what they offered in the way of leisure pursuits—from the arts, learning and fine dining to hiking, skiing, sailing and golf. When they were ready

The IRS doesn’t like frivolity when it comes to returns. And they can count on Albert Lauber, my favorite Tax Court judge, to back them up when they are right. Eric D. Clarkson was challenging frivolity penalties – Code Section 6702 – fourteen of them at five grand a pop. Here is the story according

Investors in digital assets like cryptocurrency and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) have been on a wild ride these last few years. After all, the price of a single bitcoin BTC hit an all-time high of over $65,000 in November of 2021 before sinking to around $20,000 in June of 2022 and staying in that range ever

Robert Goulder and professors William VanDenburgh and Philip Harmelink discuss the challenges brought on by the chronic underfunding of the IRS and the spending possibilities for the recent $80 billion of additional funding in the Inflation Reduction Act. This transcript has been edited for length and clarity. Robert Goulder: Hello, and welcome to the latest

Industrial policy is trending. At a time when few policy ideas win bipartisan support, government subsidies for favored industries are feeling the love from Democrats and even many Republicans. But how these benefits are delivered to businesses, through direct subsidies or tax policy, matters a lot. This new-found enthusiasm for industrial policy—the idea that government

Robert Kerr of Kerr Consulting LLC discusses how the $80 billion of additional funding for the IRS in the Inflation Reduction Act could be best used by the agency. This transcript has been edited for length and clarity. David D. Stewart: Welcome to the podcast. I’m David Stewart, editor in chief of Tax Notes Today

With kids going back to school, the day when that school has a hefty price tag on it may be getting closer. Many parents are wondering how they can start saving for that day since no one wants to see their child struggle with debt if they can avoid it. While it may not be

Although the regulations offer straightforward grounds for challenging the fanciful transfer pricing method endorsed in Medtronic II, a potential appeal could shed light on broader questions about the proper role of “unspecified” transfer pricing methods. The outcome in Medtronic Inc. v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2022-84, was no surprise to those who followed the U.S. Tax

Tax issues arise in nearly every sexual harassment settlement. In employment settings, some of the money is usually wages with taxes withheld. But most other money is for emotional distress and taxable too, on an IRS Form 1099. If you make claims for emotional distress, your damages are taxable. If you claim the defendant caused

Today’s Social Security column addresses questions about increasing benefit rates after filing early, when a person can qualify for survivor’s benefits and getting SSA to process a suspension request. Larry Kotlikoff is a Professor of Economics at Boston University and the founder and president of Economic Security Planning, Inc. See more Ask Larry answers here.

An appeal of a Tax Court decision by a taxpayer who was found by the Tax Court to owe $90.86 should have an interesting story behind it. After all the fee to file the appeal is $500. And the story behind Grajales v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue is pretty good as we can learn about

In 2020, Andrew Yang centered his presidential campaign on “The Freedom Dividend”—a universal basic income (UBI). Although Yang’s candidacy (and proposal) went nowhere, the idea of a guaranteed income is still alive, and cities are experimenting with a more modest version of it. But these modest programs won’t reform the welfare state or provide the

The Biden administration is rolling out its new, sweeping initiative to enact broad student loan forgiveness for millions of borrowers. The plan will provide up to $20,000 in student loan cancellation for qualifying borrowers. The initiative will become active within a matter of weeks, according to the Department of Education, with an application available by

The Employee Retention Credit (ERC) remains one of the best tax benefits out there for small and medium business – as well as tax-exempt entities – to keep doors open and employees on payroll during this difficult economy. As I’ve previously written in detail, the ERC provides eligible employers up to $7,000 per employee per