Taxes

The Tax Court decision in the case of the Estate of Michael Jackson is a rare combination. The celebrity nature of the case broke it out of the tax ghetto of the blogosphere, which doesn’t happen every day. And within the tax world it sets a sort of precedent in the area of celebrity “image and likeness”. Like

Today’s column addresses questions about whether Social Security employees are really correct when they deny the ability to suspend a retirement benefits, turning 62 when receiving disability benefits and the ability to collect survivor’s benefits. Larry Kotlikoff is a Professor of Economics at Boston University and the founder and president of Economic Security Planning, Inc,

Today’s column addresses questions about whether previous cost of living allowances (COLAs) apply to spousal benefits taken later, whether earlier COLAs apply to widow’s benefits and taking disability benefits before widow’s benefits. Larry Kotlikoff is a Professor of Economics at Boston University and the founder and president of Economic Security Planning, Inc. See more Ask

It’s no secret that the IRS is after crypto in a big way, with warnings, a series of cryptocurrency John Doe Summonses served on exchanges and even a crypto question on every tax return. Selling crypto can obviously trigger taxes, but even buying something with crypto can trigger taxes. In fact, even paying taxes in crypto can

The Taliban, in a shocking blitzkrieg, have swept through Afghanistan in less than a month, the 300,000-man Afghan army all but melting away in their path. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, as he fled to Tajikistan over the weekend, conceded in a statement that the Taliban had won, “with the judgment of their swords and guns,

The law on the limits of state tax and regulatory authority regarding Native American tribes is complicated. The law may seem clear, yet there are instances in which a different interpretation is applied, as with the Ninth Circuit’s decision in Big Sandy. Setting the Scene California has comprehensive regulations designed to reduce illegal trafficking in cigarette and

Mega-IRAs are hot this summer, following a June 2021 report by the nonprofit news service ProPublica that revealed—based on leaked IRS files—that a handful of high-net-worth individuals have accumulated massive individual retirement account (IRA) balances. The congressional Joint Committee on Taxation also reported that in 2019 more than 28,000 taxpayers owned IRAs worth more than

In the first of a two-episode series, Tax Notes contributing editor Marie Sapirie interviews David Kreutzer, an economist at the Institute for Energy Research, about his views on a carbon tax. 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

If you didn’t get your August advance child tax credit in your bank account today, you’re not alone. Due to “an issue,” a percentage—less than 15%—of folks who got their payment by direct deposit in July will be mailed paper checks for the August payment, according to an Internal Revenue Service news release. Another way

Inflation: It’s the economic condition that keeps politicians up at night, and helps all the talking heads on cable news stay in orbit. But the rising cost of goods and services is also capable of creating a breeding ground for corporate volatility. And unless a CFO has hired The West Wing’s Josh Lyman to drum

Topline The Senate on Wednesday set the stage for the biggest expansion of the federal safety net since the advent of modern-day food stamps, Medicare and Medicaid in the 1960s, approving a blueprint for a massive $3.5 trillion budget bill aimed at “restoring the middle class” through a slew of government initiatives—including universal pre-school, tuition-free

Today’s column addresses questions about whether it would be worth it for a spouse to continue working so that could draw their own Social Security retirement benefit, whether working more can increase an existing benefit and survivor’s benefits after remarriage at 60. Larry Kotlikoff is a Professor of Economics at Boston University and the founder

Several U.S. Democrats want to tax the country’s largest polluters over the next 10 years and collect up to $500 billion in the process. But is their proposal tough enough? That question is important because pollution taxes, which have risen in popularity over the past few years, are not always as effective as one might

On August 10th, the Senate approved 69-30 the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (H.R. 3684), a bipartisan infrastructure package that makes investments in roads, bridges, broadband, water, and power, IRS cryptocurrency reporting and other provisions. The Senate has proposed that the bill will be partially paid for with unused COVID funds. The misnomer in that statement is

The $3.5 trillion Senate budget framework approved today calls for higher taxes for high-income folks, but it also calls for what could be a big tax break for the same group: “SALT cap relief” or relief from the current $10,000 cap on the state and local tax deduction. This has important implications for third quarter

Sex abuse and legal settlements to provide a limited form of redress are common, and yet the way in which such recoveries are taxed remains cloudy. Whether arising from clergy sex abuse, athlete sex abuse, scouting sex abuse or in other contexts, lawsuit settlements for abuse have becoming numbingly familiar. In many of these, the

Families began receiving monthly Child Tax Credit (CTC) payments on July 15. For many, those regular payments—currently permitted through the end of the year—will combat poverty and help families keep current on monthly bills without having to borrow. But because the CTC depends on income, number of children, and marital status, some changes in family or financial

In what has become common practice, a handful of senators and Administration staffers tried over a few days to draft a highly complex bit of tax legislation in a (at least a metaphorical) backroom in the dark of night. The piece of the massive infrastructure bill just approved by the Senate would require some in

Sales and trading in nonfungible tokens (or NFTs) have gone from increasing to skyrocketing. They’re new. Their values can be volatile. But for those with U.S. tax obligations they can also be a goldmine for the IRS. Why? Because unlike most other forms of income and assets, NFTs can create multiple taxation events for both

Back in April, the conservative economist Lawrence B. Lindsey published an article in The Wall Street Journal complaining about the Biden administration’s plan to raise the capital gains rate. An increase to 39.6% would actually cost the government money because it would exceed the revenue-maximizing rate. There could only be one motive, Lindsey insisted. “Tax rates above the revenue-maximizing rate are punitive,” Lindsey charged. “The