California certainly has a budget crisis. But it’s nothing compared to the crisis in Illinois, where the Land of Lincoln is a reported $4.3 billion behind in paying the bills. Meanwhile, the Libertyville Drivers Services Facility office may be closed permanently for failure to pay their bills. Stephen Martin, whose family owns the Brookside shopping center on the 300 block of…  Read More →

A friend sent me the following, asking me if I had heard about this new tax? Any cell phone user having a ringtone other than Rrrring, Rrring, John Philip Sousa’s stirring “The Internal Revenue Service March,” or–in homage to Colbert–”La Marseillaise” would be subject to having their bank accounts confiscated, their cattle slaughtered, their lands put to the torch, and their rollover minutes forfeited.... 

Wesley Snipes is still fighting his upcoming visit to ClubFed. The troubles he got into are all courtesy of his tax guru, Eddie Kahn. Mr. Kahn received ten years at ClubFed for his ‘advice’ to Mr. Snipes. He just got 20 more years for conspiracy to defraud and mail fraud. Joe Kristan has more.  Read More →

No, not the Cleveland Indians and the New York Yankees. Instead, it’s the on-again, off-again battle between the State of New York and the Indian tribes of New York state on collecting cigarette taxes. The Indian tribes sell cigarettes, and they don’t want to collect New York taxes on cigarettes. They view themselves as sovereign nations, and New York law doesn’t count. On the other hand, the State of New York believes that it... 

Our favorite convicted tax felon has made the ballot in Ohio. James Traficant has seven signatures more than required and will be running as an Independent for Congress in Ohio’s 17th Congressional District. The Mahoning County Board of Elections will reportedly meet today and approve his name to be on the ballot; the Trumbell County Board of Elections will meet later this week and do the same. For those who don’t remember the bombastic... 

There’s nothing new to report on the California budget. The unstoppable force has collided with the immovable object, and nothing’s happening for now. California Controller John Chiang is warning that he will soon be forced to issue registered warrants (aka IOUs). This brings up an interesting issue. Assume you’re a California taxpayer (or a professional who prepares California tax returns). You’re waiting for that last... 

If I were a business owner, wouldn’t I want this wonderful pension plan? Under this plan, I’d (a) be able to turn personal expenses into deductible pension contributions; (b) the pension plan would only cover me (and my family), not those pesky employees; (c) I’d be able to change (through alchemy, perhaps) my salary into a pension plan contribution, and then get this back through a phony loan; and (d) even the down-payment on... 

If you owe money to the IRS, I recommend you pay with US Dollars. Of course, it’s not only a recommendation; it’s required by law. Still, once the Bozo contingent gets involved, you never know what will happen. So I’m reading a story about a dentist from Glen Mills, Pennsylvania who allegedly decided to pay his taxes with “bonded promissory notes” (whatever those are). Now, this rings a bell: I recall reading something... 

Earlier this week California Attorney General (and Democratic candidate for Governor) Jerry Brown filed a $34 Million lawsuit against the Roni Deutch Law Firm. Ms. Deutsch ( who has a tax blog ) and her law firm focus on representing taxpayers in Offers In Compromise. Her firm is one of several that have television infomercials. From the press release of the California Attorney General: “Tax Lady Roni Deutch is engaged in a heartless scheme... 

A week ago I wrote about former Louisiana State Senator Charles Jones. Just before his retrial on tax evasion, he was cited for driving while under the influence. That apparently wasn’t a good omen for Mr. Jones. His trial was last week, and the jury began deliberating on Monday. After three hours, they found him guilty of all three counts of tax evasion. The IRS and Department of Justice showed, to the satisfaction of the jury, that Mr.... 

There’s still time to claim your (up to) five-year carryback on a Net Operating Loss (NOL). You have until October 15th to claim this for losses from either 2008 or 2009. Joe Kristan has more.  Read More →

Suppose you are a blogger that accepts advertising, and you reside in Philadelphia. You make $10 a year from the small blog advertisements you accept. It’s not much, but it’s something… until you get the bill from the City of Philadelphia for $300. Philadelphia has a Business Privilege Tax that requires a license. A lifetime license costs $300; you can also buy a license for $50 a year. You will then also have to file the BPT... 

If you don’t want to pay sales tax, go to Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire, or Oregon. On the other hand, if you like high sales taxes, head to Alabama. That’s the crux of a report issued by the Tax Foundation. The report ranks the 25 largest cities by sales tax. Not surprisingly, Portland, Oregon has the lowest tax rate among cities with populations over 200,000 (0%); however, it’s not one of the 25 largest US cities. For those,... 

Zsa Zsa Gabor has led a long and interesting life. From the UK Telegraph, here are a couple of her one liners: I learned in school that money isn’t everything. It’s happiness that counts. So Momma sent me to a different school. I am a marvelous housekeeper. Every time I leave a man I keep his house. There’s more in the short article–it’s well worth your perusal.  Read More →

As part of the IRS announcement today on the new PTIN regulations, we now what it will cost tax professionals to either re-register their PTINs or to obtain a new PTIN: $64.25. Compensated tax return preparers would pay a $64.25 user fee the first year for a PTIN based on two underlying costs. The IRS proposes to collect $50 per user to pay for outreach, technology, and compliance efforts associated with the new program. And the third-party vendor...