Taxes

The Covid-19 pandemic and outbreaks at meat processing plants triggered massive supply chain issues leading to meat shortages at grocery stores and higher consumer prices last year. In response, state and local governments sent more than $84 million in Coronavirus Relief Funds (CRF) to butchers, processing plants and farms between April 1, 2020 and June

While tax season 2022 may be months away, New Year’s Eve will be here before you know it. The fourth quarter is the time for some proactive tax planning to lower your 2021 tax bill. For business owners, tax planning shouldn’t be a once-per-year exercise when filing your taxes. With extensions, you may be able

In recent decades, South Dakota has become one of the world’s great tax havens. By the end of last year, more than $367 billion in trust assets were managed in the state through at least 62 publicly-chartered trusts. The trust companies earn big fees. The trust owners hide their assets and avoid billions of dollars

The Social Security Administration announced key numbers today that affect workers and retirees—a substantial increase in the taxable wage base for workers and the biggest increase in benefits for retirees in decades. First the wage base news. The maximum amount of earnings subject to Social Security tax will rise 2.9% to $147,000, from $142,800 in 2021.

Tax Notes reporter Sarah Paez discusses the EU tax haven blacklist and the potential impact of the recently released Pandora Papers. 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 International. This week: back in blacklist. On October 3 a consortium

Senators Mike Crapo (R-ID) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) recently asked for an investigation into the Internal Revenue Service’s research activities, including its use of contractors to conduct studies and its  security protocols. The senators are right to be concerned about taxpayer privacy, especially after ProPublica’s recent articles about the tax situations of very high-income Americans

The statutory debt ceiling has its origins in World War I when Congress streamlined federal borrowing by delegating some of its authority to the Treasury Department. And for several decades, the innovation developed smoothly, with lawmakers granting the executive branch more control over the amount and terms of federal borrowing. It took almost a quarter-century for things to

Most legal settlements are taxed, but there is often flexibility and the wording matters. Even legal malpractice settlements are usually taxed. The latest example is Carol Holliday v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2021-69, on the heels of several other recent cases. In McKenny, McKenny v. United States, No. 18-10810 (11th Cir. 2020), aff’g in part, rev’g

Tax Planning is an essential part of being a business owner. As your income grows, the options may seem more complicated, but they are also more valuable. Filing your taxes is not fun, and most business owners are busy, so proactive tax planning tends to get pushed aside. This can often result in higher than

The good news: The Internal Revenue Service says it’s on track to dig out of the pandemic-related backlog of tax year 2020 returns by year end 2021—just in time for the 2022 tax filing season to kick off. The bad news: Millions of taxpayers are still waiting for refunds and/or struggling to understand IRS notices

Today’s column addresses questions about how divorced spousal benefits are calculated, how state pensions can affect spousal benefits and whether COLAs apply to widow’s benefits taken years after the record holder’s death. Larry Kotlikoff is a Professor of Economics at Boston University and the founder and president of Economic Security Planning, Inc. See more Ask

Kent Hovind’s half-billion dollar lawsuit against the United States and various individuals implicated in his nearly decade long imprisonment appears to be totally done. But that’s currently the least of his legal problems. On September 21, Judge Clinton Hyde of District Court of Conecuh County Alabama found Hovind guilty of third degree domestic assault against Cindi Lincoln,

With the festivities starting for Halloween, Congress has chosen to provide tricks rather than treats in their desire to increase taxes and push through significant tax law changes through a process called budget reconciliation. As Congress holds the federal purse strings, they can focus on policy regarding spending and revenue through the budget reconciliation process, which

Immigrant parents are less likely to have heard about the expanded child tax credit (CTC) than parents born in the United States, according to a survey conducted in early July. They’re more likely to see the credit as a way to invest in their children’s education and pay for child care and health care. The American Recovery Plan temporarily

Today’s employment report for September was surprisingly weak in terms of job growth—only 194,000 new jobs.  Analysts blame the spread of the Covid-19 Delta variant for the slowdown, and it shows the economy isn’t out of the woods yet.  The news should encourage Congress (really just Democrats) to pass a large economic stimulus bill. Job growth wasn’t expected to

The economy created jobs at a much slower than expected pace in September, with payrolls rising by just 194,000 in the month compared to the Dow Jones estimate of 500,000, the Labor Department reported Friday. Looking at the most recent numbers by state, it’s clear that some places are lagging far more behind than others.

Tax Notes Capitol Hill reporters Doug Sword and Frederic Lee return to discuss the latest tax developments with the recordbreaking infrastructure and reconciliation legislation advancing in Congress. 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 International. This week: So many

Today’s column addresses questions about the potential effects of pensions on the availability of spousal benefits, statistics about what benefit amounts different people receive and potential effects of filing for survivor’s benefits early and while working. Larry Kotlikoff is a Professor of Economics at Boston University and the founder and president of Economic Security Planning,

Many states recently enacted “SALT cap workaround” legislation enabling pass-through entities (PTE) to deduct entity-level SALT payments as a business expense in place of non-deductible itemized deductions over the “SALT cap” of $10,000 per individual tax return. Currently, 20 states have enacted this legislation, and others are considering it. The SALT cap workaround is not

I thank my partner Brandon Ketron, CPA, JD, LLM for his assistance with this post. The estate tax revisions released by the Ways and Means Committee of the House of Representatives on September 13th have our full attention for very good reason, given that the effective date of significant changes would be the date that