Author Archives: Russ

A License Didn’t Prevent This (and Won’t in the Future)

Posted on March 23, 2011 by Russ

There’s no doubt in my mind that even if every tax preparer in the country obtained a license, there would still be problems with tax professionals. It’s human nature: Some people are greedy and, as Willie Sutton didn’t state [when … Continue reading →

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Finally, California Doesn’t Lead the Tax World In Something

Posted on March 21, 2011 by Russ

Officials in California sighed with relief when the recent IRS report on jailhouse tax fraud came out. In a delightful change, California finished second to Florida. Enough with the humor. The reason I wrote this is that Senator Bill Nelson … Continue reading →

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Fallen from the Peak

Posted on March 21, 2011 by Russ

With the Final Four in full force, it seems fitting to look at one man who is probably not enjoying the NCAA Basketball championships. In prior years, Nathan Peake would likely be scouting players, to see if any would be … Continue reading →

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Avoiding Floor Decisions

Posted on March 15, 2011 by Russ

A number of people, especially my poker friends, have asked me why I would want to be a tax accountant. It does seem like an odd shift from professional poker player to tax accountant, at least on the surface. The … Continue reading →

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$200,000,000 Refund Letters Come in Ohio, but the Refunds Won’t

Posted on March 15, 2011 by Russ

Some things are too good to be true. Imagine receiving a letter in the mail saying you will receive an income tax refund of $200,000,000. Yes, $200 million. Well, 9,701 taxpayers in the Buckeye State got such letters. As first … Continue reading →

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Will California Start Their Own Online Poker Sites?

Posted on March 14, 2011 by Russ

Unless you’ve been under a rock, you know that California is broke. The budget deficit for next year is projected at somewhere between $25 and $30 billion. That has caused legislators in the Bronze Golden State to look at online … Continue reading →

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Corporate Filing Deadline Tuesday

Posted on March 14, 2011 by Russ

The deadline for calendar year corporations to file their federal (and most state) tax returns is Tuesday, March 15th. This applies to both C-Corporations (filing Form 1120) and S-Corporations (filing Form 1120S). If you’re not ready to file, avoid penalties, … Continue reading →

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More Trouble for Marijuana Dispensaries from the IRS

Posted on March 14, 2011 by Russ

Back in 2007, the Tax Court ruled that a non-profit that supplied medical marijuana to terminally ill patients could not deduct business expenses related to that activity but could deduct the expenses related to their counseling and caregiving activities. It … Continue reading →

Posted in California, IRS | Tagged | 1 Comment

He’s Back!

Posted on March 13, 2011 by Russ

Just when you think you can finally put Richard Hatch out of mind, he fumbles back into the spotlight. Mr. Hatch is, of course, the winner of the very first Survivor; he thought that the $1 million he won on … Continue reading →

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Stanford Athletes Sacked

Posted on March 11, 2011 by Russ

As a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, it’s always nice to see our Bay Area rival, Stanford, suffer some ignominious defeat. Courtesy of the TaxProfBlog, we discover that Stanford maintained for nearly a decade a list of “easy … Continue reading →

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