Category Archives: IRS

Bitten by a Spider?

Posted on January 26, 2007 by Russ

A web spider, or web crawler, is a program that scours the Internet for data. Wikipedia has a good description of them. And guess who is starting to use them? The taxman. The Belastingdienst, the Netherlands version of the IRS, … Continue reading →

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Tax Day Is Pushed Back One Day

Posted on January 24, 2007 by Russ

The IRS announced today that the deadline to file your tax return has been pushed back to Tuesday, April 17th (the deadline was originally Monday, April 16th because the 15th falls on a Sunday). The IRS release is available here. … Continue reading →

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Murphy Undone

Posted on December 26, 2006 by Russ

Thanks to Paul Caron of the TaxProf Blog for letting us know that the D.C. Circuit has vacated the Murphy decision. The Murphy case was the one that said that the 16th Amendment made unconstitutional taxes on the recovery of … Continue reading →

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The New York Times Mentions Taxing Virtual Worlds

Posted on December 10, 2006 by Russ

This morning’s New York Times has a brief piece on taxing income producing transactions of virtual worlds. The Times notes that a precedent does exist for taxing such activities: barter. Indeed, back in the 1970s the IRS implemented regulations on … Continue reading →

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Taxing the Virtual World, Redux

Posted on December 6, 2006 by Russ

I’ve previously written about taxing the virtual world. Let’s say you’re playing an online game, one of those that have their own worlds, such as EverQuest or SecondLife. I own Russ’ Gold Depot, and you agree to purchase those 100 … Continue reading →

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Washington 2, Indians 0

Posted on November 29, 2006 by Russ

Municipal bonds are part of many investors portfolios. They’re tax advantaged, as most municipal bonds are tax free. Of course, the issuing agency must follow some rules: the bonds must be for an essential government function. The Cabazon Band of … Continue reading →

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2007 Mileage Rates Announced

Posted on November 2, 2006 by Russ

The IRS announced the 2007 standard mileage rates: $0.485/mile driven for business; $0.20/mile driven for medical or moving; and $0.14/mile driven for service to a charitable organization. The business mileage rate is up 4 cents/mile from 2006. Hat Tip: The … Continue reading →

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Telephone Tax Refunds

Posted on September 6, 2006 by Russ

As mentioned earlier, 2006 saw the end of the Spanish-American War (of 1898)…well, the funding for the war. The telephone excise tax, a “luxury” tax, has ended for most services. Taxpayers will receive refunds with their 2007 tax returns. The … Continue reading →

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Gratuity Included

Posted on September 3, 2006 by Russ

An interesting story from Las Vegas: It seems that there’s a problem with tips, and tip reporting, in Sin City. The American Gaming Association is very unhappy about the IRS’ enforcement of the voluntary tip program. This program allows workers … Continue reading →

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IRS 2006-2007 Priority Guidance Plan Released; Poker Still in the Crosshairs

Posted on August 30, 2006 by Russ

The IRS released its 2006-2007 Priority Guidance Plan earlier this month. There are 264 projects listed. Some of the projects include: Regulations to facilitate electronic filing and reduce taxpayer burden [for corporations]. Temporary regulations were published on May 30, 2006. … Continue reading →

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