Author Archives: Russ

IRS Delays Disclosure Authorization Retirement for Three Weeks

Posted on August 9, 2013 by Russ

Good news for tax professionals. When I went to IRS e-services this morning, I was greeted by this message: DA and EAR Retirement delayed by three weeks The planned retirement of Disclosure Authorization and Electronic Account Resolution on August 11, … Continue reading →

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Rhode Island Is Now a Bad State for Gamblers

Posted on August 8, 2013 by Russ

Little Rhody, Rhode Island, changed its tax structure for 2012. Rhode Island eliminated itemized deductions (but did increase the standard deduction). Thus, an amateur gambler with $50,000 of gambling winnings and $30,000 of gambling losses will owe tax on his … Continue reading →

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IRS Scandal Continues to Percolate

Posted on August 8, 2013 by Russ

Some news this week on the IRS Scandal: Darrell Issa has expanded the probe of the IRS scandal to the Federal Elections Commission. As CNN’s Jake Tapper stated, “If you thought the IRS targeting–scandal, controversy, whatever you want to call … Continue reading →

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While I Was Out…

Posted on August 8, 2013 by Russ

Ten days off in a row should have been enough…but it wasn’t. In any case, here are some of the posts that the tax blogosphere had that might be of interest: Jason Dinesen asked, “What’s the upside of preparer regulation … Continue reading →

Posted in IRS, Tax Court | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Kansas Joins Bad States for Gamblers in 2014

Posted on July 30, 2013 by Russ

Heads-up to residents of the Sunflower State: Your state will join the list of bad states for amateur gamblers beginning in 2014. During this year’s legislative session, your state legislature eliminated the itemized deduction for gambling losses beginning January 1, … Continue reading →

Posted in Gambling, Kansas | 3 Comments

Vacation

Posted on July 26, 2013 by Russ

It’s time for my annual vacation. If something earth-shattering in the tax world happens while I’m relaxing, I’ll take time out to post on it. Otherwise, enjoy the fine bloggers listed in the blogroll on the right. For the latest … Continue reading →

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The Flow of AGI from One State to Another

Posted on July 20, 2013 by Russ

From watchdog.org comes an interesting interactive map showing how money has flowed from state to state. Back when I moved to Nevada from California, I noted this issue. Here’s yet more verification that this is real. The five biggest losers … Continue reading →

Posted in Arizona, California, Illinois, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Texas | 1 Comment

Waiting for Godot: Full Tilt Poker Remission

Posted on July 19, 2013 by Russ

Back in high school I read Samuel Beckett’s classic play Waiting for Godot. For Americans who are waiting for remission to occur on money they had on deposit at Full Tilt Poker, this could be retitled “Waiting for Remission.” In … Continue reading →

Posted in Gambling | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

IRS Scandal Update: Christine O’Donnell & IRS General Counsel

Posted on July 19, 2013 by Russ

Two pieces of news on the IRS scandal this week. First, TIGTA announced that four politicians’ tax returns were improperly accessed though only one of these was done deliberately. That case was referred to the US Department of Justice for … Continue reading →

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Zappers OK in B.C. but Using Them Isn’t

Posted on July 19, 2013 by Russ

A Richmond, British Columbia firm marketed an interesting computer program. As I noted when I first wrote about this (in 2008): Bradley Alvarez of the Canada Revenue Agency told The Province that, “Businesses are suspected of having hidden thousands of … Continue reading →

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