IRS Research Program
Posted by taxguru on June 10, 2007
Heads up for another one of IRS’s random selections of individual tax returns for an in-depth examination in order to update their top secret DIF scoring program to select the tax returns with the highest likelihood of cheating.
According to this announcement from IRS, this go-around should be less burdensome than their previous such studies, with much fewer returns being selected than had been used in the past; 13,000 lucky taxpayers instead of the more common 45,000.
I understand how this may be a necessary evil of the tax system; but one aspect of it still reeks of unfairness. Those folks lucky enough to be among the 13,000 randomly selected to assist IRS in this study will still have to personally bear the full cost of going through the audit process, which can easily run into several thousands of dollars in professional fees, to say nothing of any additional taxes that may be assessed as a result.
I realize that it’s crazy to expect IRS to consider fairness in the equation; but it would dramatically increase any goodwill they ever expect to have if they would reimburse taxpayers for the costs incurred while assisting in an IRS research project. It just seems proper that the party benefiting from the study should bear the expenses of conducting it.
Posted in audits, IRS | Comments Off on IRS Research Program
Posted by taxguru on June 9, 2007
Using Real Estate to Build Your Retirement Portfolio – Using self directed IRAs to invest in real estate can be a much more reliable method of amassing wealth than gambling on the stock market.
Posted by taxguru on June 8, 2007
DemonRats Seek Formula To Blunt AMT – In their typical Marxist fashion, their solution is to hit the evil rich with even more punitive taxes. Remember that, once accepted as a valid technique, the breaking point for when this surtax applies can always be lowered. The 10% millionaire surtax in the 1993 Clinton-Gore tax increase actually kicked in at $250,000; so the definition of evil rich is entirely flexible and subject to the whims of our crazy imperial rulers in DC.
Wesley Snipes Plays Race Card – The fact that he was an idiot to buy into an already disproven tax protestor scam has nothing to do with the IRS’s prosecution of him for tax fraud? Can you say “grasping at straws” on his way to the clink for being as much of a moron as Richard Hatch?
Posted in Commies | Comments Off on
Posted by taxguru on June 5, 2007
Posted in taxes | Comments Off on
Posted by taxguru on June 5, 2007
The Perils of Holding Real Estate in a Corporation – Besides the never-ending question of what type of business entity is appropriate for a particular business activity, another important issue is how to hold title to business and investment assets. While, as with practically every aspect of taxes, there is no one size fits all answer to this, there is one key way in which to frame the question. Is the asset expected to increase or decline in value, because the real differences crop up with assets that will be sold at a gain.
Tax Guru - Ker$tetter Letter 