"It's typical, I think — we all release 10 or 11 years," he told NBC's "Today" show. "I am a little surprised that he only released a year's worth of tax returns. … That's kind of perplexed me." [The Hill]
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IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman Puts Tax Preparers’ Job Security Concerns to Rest
- Caleb Newquist
- November 18, 2011
“Perhaps the most telling indicator of taxpayer confusion over the code’s complexity is that today, 90% of individual taxpayers pay for professional tax preparation or tax software to prepare their tax returns. IRS research estimates that, over the past 10 years, the burden for the typical taxpayer has increased by about 20% and would likely be even more if they had to prepare returns themselves without any aids or tools. Moreover, we estimate individual taxpayers and businesses spend more than 7 [billion] hours each year complying with filing requirements.” [Tax-News via Tax Foundation]
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A Couple of Senators, Who Probably Aren’t Yankee Fans, Are Making a Run at This Estate Tax Problem
- Caleb Newquist
- July 14, 2010
John Kyl and Blanche Lincoln must have figured that they could not allow one more billionaire (without naming names) get away with dodging the estate tax. The two Senators have introduced a proposal that would set the exemption at $5 million with a tax rate of 35%:
The proposal would require the Senate Finance Committee to amend H.R. 5297, the Small Business Lending bill, to permanently set the estate tax rate at 35 percent, with a $5 million exemption amount phased in over 10 years and indexed for inflation. It would also provide a “stepped up basis” for inherited assets.
“It’s time to take decisive action on the estate tax, and provide the permanent solution that Arkansas’s hardworking farmers and small businesses are desperately seeking,” Lincoln said. “Uncertainty in the estate tax law has caused incredible difficulties for these individuals, which is why I have fought for a quick resolution to the issue that is both permanent and fair. One way to improve upon an already strong legislative initiative that includes tax incentives and a number of other benefits for small businesses is to ensure that we reach a permanent solution on the estate tax to provide small business owners and famers with the certainty they need.”
See how she slipped in the “farmers”? “Small Businesses”? You sure this doesn’t have anything to do with a certain savvy billionaire who figured, “Yeah, 80 is a nice round number. Let’s do this.”
But they’ve got a plan! “The Lincoln-Kyl proposal provides an election for deceased taxpayers to either retain this year’s estate tax rate, which is zero percent with “carry over basis,” or file under the provisions of the new bill.”
[h/t TaxProf]
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Did Anthony Weiner Pump Up His Itemized Deductions?
- Caleb Newquist
- June 20, 2011
The Post reports that Anthony Weiner’s “2010 tax return shows he took $40,521 in unspecified itemized deductions on an income of $156,117.”
It quotes “Manhattan CPA” Jonathan Medows as saying “It’s definitely a very large deduction,” and “[they] appeared to include more than the standard writeoffs for state and local taxes and Weiner’s mortgage.” If you were to guess to where the “unspecified itemized deductions” of $40k were located, they are probably included on line 28 of Schedule A for “Other Miscellaneous Deductions.” Of course what exactly the deductions are, is a mystery. But if you’ve got some ideas, we’d love to hear them. [NYP]