New DMV Head Wants Tracking Devices In Cars for Taxing Motorists For Every Mile Driven – In case anyone wonders why I have long referred to my former home state as the People’s Republic of California.

Is taxing mileage a good idea? – Another question to ask is if IRS will adjust its standard deductible mileage rates to include these new per-mile taxes.  With different states using various rates, that will require state specific mileage rates. 

Pennies pay off when Ohio collector cashes in – 1.4 million pennies may seem like a ridiculous way to save; but he has more to show than most stock market players.

Loopholes author is charged with theft, fraud, forgery – Another candidate for Ripley’s Believe It Or Not; someone who openly teaches people how to scam the system is busted for scamming the system. 

Congress blocks taxation of Internet connections – For three years at least. 

Taxing Thoughts – Thanks to Ohio CPA Dana Stahl for the link to this.

 How to Fix Social Security

Senate Approves Four Year Extension To Ban On Internet Tax

FTB mails annual “mortgage interest” nonfiler notices – Interesting twist on tax enforcement by the PRC.  Using 1098s from lenders, they assume nonfilers earned four times the amount of mortgage interest paid in unreported taxable income and send out bills with taxes, interest & penalties on that amount.  As I always say, it’s best to file tax returns even when no taxes are due in order to prevent tax agencies from concocting bogus amounts out of thin air.

Sale of California Real Estate – The rules for withholding taxes from sales of real estate in the PRC change as of 1/1/05. I tried to set up this pdf chart as an html web page, but it’s protected to prevent that kind of conversion.

IRS Money Maker – Interesting summary of the IRS’s activities for the past year, including their claim to have squeezed out $43.1 billion in enforcement revenue on a budget of $10 billion.  Individuals earning over $100,000 per year are in the IRS’s cross-hairs.

Treasury and IRS Issue Indexed Amounts for 2005 Health Savings Accounts 

Tax-law rewrite has key GOP Senator skeptic

The Feds have busted another scam trust tax avoidance scheme; this time in Arizona.

 Bush Plans Tax Code Overhaul, with Changes Favoring Investment, Growth

 The case for one tax rate

Senate Passes Internet Tax Moratorium Extension; House Could Approve Soon

Social Security Reform Could Come Next Year, Republicans Say

Government Suit Alleges Illinois Man Sells Bogus Defense to Refusal to File Tax Returns and Pay Taxes  – I wonder how many morons paid this guy $3,500 for his magic “get out of taxes” documents.  According to the anonymous retarded person who leaves late night obscene messages on our answering machine, IRS will provide that for free.

Although I had been seeing some people claim over the past few weeks that the standard business mileage rate was going to be 40 cents per mile for 2005, I couldn’t find any official documentation of the 2005 rate, so I held off discussing it.

I’m glad I did wait because IRS has just announced that the business mileage rate will be 40.5 cents per mile for 2005.  That is up from the 37.5 cents we can claim for 2004. 

They also raised the mileage deduction for medical and moving to 15 cents per mile, up from the 14 cents per mile rate for 2004. 

The deduction for charitable miles will stay at 14 cents for 2005.

I say this every year, but it never ceases to amaze me, as a numbers person, how the wizards at the IRS are able to calculate the fact that vehicles cost so much less to operate when they are used for medical, moving or charitable reasons instead of for business trips. 

Since we all recognize the fact that the IRS knows all and sees all, when will the car rental companies provide different rates depending on the purpose of the driving?  I’m not holding my breath waiting for that to happen.

Understanding Hedge Funds

Economists Urge Bush To Concentrate On Cutting Taxes

Scrap the tax code

Toward a Single-Digit Tax Rate

New faces won’t ease tax battle

Bush advisers urge deeper tax cuts in 2nd term

Toward an ownership nation

The Myth of the Working Poor

Tax Reform Report Will Take Two Years, Say Policy Observers

Lame-Duck Congress Begins Work; Tax Reform Remains Talk of Town