Deloitte Dabbles in Chinese Legal Practice [American Lawyer]
Someone at Deloitte saw the writing on the wall: "With little fanfare, Deloitte opened its own domestic law firm in Shanghai at the beginning of last year. The seven-lawyer Qin Li Law Firm doesn’t bear the Deloitte name, but two of its senior staffers—practice leader Patrick Yip and partner Clare Lu—are simultaneously partners at Deloitte, and the firm’s website discreetly links to those for Deloitte China and Deloitte Legal."
Tax Geek Tuesday: Why You Should Never Hold Real Estate in a Corporation [Double Taxation]
Nice to see Tony Nitti geeking it up at the old DT blog earlier this week: "[D]o you really understand why you should never put real estate into a corporation? It’s because, as the ensuing discussion will reflect, while real estate can go into a corporation tax-free, it can never come out tax free. In today’s Tax Geek Tuesday, let’s peel back the layers of the statute and find out why."
IRS Officially Opens Tax Season Today, Begins Processing Returns and Refunds [Forbes]
See ya in the spring, tax folks.
This Deloitteiest Deloitteism ever.
3 reasons why companies fail to achieve M&A synergies: 1) Planning 2) Preparation 3) Execution http://t.co/6nuGZ2fi0j #Maminiseries
— Deloitte (@Deloitte) January 31, 2014
Sam Antar will relish the opportunity to troll Patrick Byrne on Twitter any day.
Memo to @OverstockCEO When you accrue expenses rather than paying them and don't pay your payables, you juice cash flow temporarily. $OSTK
— Sam E. Antar (@SamAntar) January 31, 2014
Former Christian radio host charged in Ponzi scheme [TBT]
Gary Gauthier, the radio host, and David Dreslin, an accountant were ripping off elderly folks (allegedly!) who were listening to radio programs like "It’s God’s Money" and "It’s All About Florida Real Estate." You can pretty much guess how this went: "A majority of the victims stated they relied upon the statements made by Gauthier because they were made on a Christian radio station.”
Famous Fridays: Willie Nelson, The IRS’s Most Talented Musician [Tax Trials]
This was techincally Famous last Friday, but it's a good read.
GOP doesn't embrace Obama tax plan [The Hill]
KNOCK ME OVER WITH A FEATHER. "Obama had cast an expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) – which helps working households to the tune of about $60 billion each year – as an area where the two parties could find common ground, even name-checking a similar proposal from Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) on Tuesday night. But key GOP lawmakers said they remain concerned about the large number of improper EITC payments that get circulated each year, even as conservative economists and Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) have called for taking another look at the tax break.
Enhancing the EITC Would Encourage Work and Reduce Poverty [Matt Yglesias/Slate]
Here's one point of view on the proposal citing a report: "As this report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities details, changing that to make EITC benefits more broadly available would do a lot to boost incomes in a way that encourages and rewards work and employment. They also think it might boost marriage rates, by boosting the incomes of male low-wage workers and making marriage and family formation more feasible."
Earned Income Tax Credit Awareness Day party edition! [Joe Kristan/Tax Update]
And here's another point of view citing another report: "[A] recent Treasury Inspector General analysis showed that 21-25% of the $13 billion of the credit issued annually is claimed 'in error.' No small amount of those errors are deliberate." In summary, expanding the EITC is way to complicated for this Congress.
A Seinfeld Reunion Is Definitely Happening Very Soon [Gawker]
Giddyup.
