Net operating losses are back for Calif. taxpayers – Deducting NOLs has always been relatively straight forward for Federal income taxes. The number of years a loss can be carried backwards or forwards has been changed a few times; but the mechanics have remained the same. The rulers of the PRC have a long history of tinkering with the deduction as means of shortchanging taxpayers and thus increasing tax revenues. Eliminating carrybacks completely, only allowing a deduction for half of the NOL, and actually suspending the deduction are tricks they have used in Sacramento. We’ll see how long it is before they screw around with it again.
New Zealand Moves to Extend Legal Privilege to Tax Advisors – I generally don’t follow tax issues in other countries; but this reminds me of a long running unfairness in the administration of tax laws in the USA. Not allowing the same level of client confidentiality with info provided to CPAs, EAs and other tax advisors as with actual attorneys has always been just plain wrong. I’m obviously biased in this and perhaps I would think differently if I had continued with my original plan out of high school to become an attorney; but I doubt it.
Bush Not Pleased With IRS Funding – For obvious reasons, I don’t suspect we’ll find a lot of people sharing Bush’s sadness over the fact that IRS isn’t being given hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars to be used to harass taxpayers.
IRS Appeals Getting Better, Faster, Officials Say – I wish this were true. However, from my real life experiences handling scores of IRS cases, they have often been dragging on for several years at the Appeals level and the Appeals Officers have become much less objective in their approach to viewing the facts of the case and much more protective of the IRS’s side. They have strayed dramatically from the much more unbiased perspective that the San Francisco Appeals Officers used to have back before I abandoned the Left Coast.
Kansas Antitax Primary Spending Causes Campaign Finance Controversy – It looks like the Club For Growth is doing an excellent job in targeting high tax loving RINOs for early retirement. They also had similar success in Wisconsin and Washington State.
Former Atlanta Mayor Campbell Indicted On Corruption and Tax Charges – I can recall several stories over the years by Atlanta radio host Neal Boortz as to Mr. Campbell’s flagrant corruption; so it’s good to see that he will be tasting a bit of justice.
Danger of no tax liability – Good article by Walter Williams on how unfair it is that a smaller and smaller minority of people are having their wealth plundered by a growing mass of people in this country. Of course, since that minority consists of the dreaded “evil rich,” such exploitation will continue without opposition from any of the normal advocates who usually jump to defend other persecuted minority classes in this country.
Tax Guru - Ker$tetter Letter 