Category: Tax

Plante & Moran Encourages Employees to Make Tax Season a Family Affair

Plante & Moran, PLLC is encouraging its accountants and staff to bring their children to work on Saturdays during tax season, a tradition the firm has practiced for almost 20 years. The certified public accounting and business advisory firm offers free Saturday daycare in 11 of its Midwest offices – including Grand Rapids – during the height of tax season. Children ages 6 months to 18 are welcome to attend the drop-in program, which offers games, crafts, snacks, activities, movies – and an opportunity to enjoy lunch with Mom or Dad. [P&M]

GE Seems to Have Its Tax Planning Figured Out

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And by “figured out,” I’m referring to “worldwide profits of $14.2 billion, and […] $5.1 billion of the total came from its operations in the United States,” combined with a grand total $0.00 in taxes. “In fact, G.E. claimed a tax benefit of $3.2 billion,” reports the Times.


Sure the Internal Revenue Code is complex but if you’re aggressive, have a few lobbyists at your disposal and your tax department is “often referred to as the best tax law firm,” the IRC is a cakewalk.

Its extraordinary success is based on an aggressive strategy that mixes fierce lobbying for tax breaks and innovative accounting that enables it to concentrate its profits offshore. G.E.’s giant tax department, led by a bow-tied former Treasury official named John Samuels, is often referred to as the world’s best tax law firm. Indeed, the company’s slogan “Imagination at Work” fits this department well. The team includes former officials not just from the Treasury, but also from the I.R.S. and virtually all the tax-writing committees in Congress.

G.E.’s Strategies Let It Avoid Taxes Altogether [NYT]
See also:
On GE’s Pathological Aversion To Paying Taxes [ZH]

Eric Cantor Prefers a Friendly Crowd When Speaking About the Mortgage Interest Deduction

Speaking to a crowd of real estate professionals in his hometown, Cantor said the tax would be considered as part of the larger tax reform discussion. But he suggested a change is probably not in the cards. “Honestly, there’s not a lot of support for getting rid of the mortgage deduction on Capitol Hill,” Cantor said to loud applause from the audience. Cantor was speaking to nearly 200 members of the Richmond Association of REALTORs. [The Hill]

Omaha Mayor Proposes Crappy Idea to Fund Sewer Improvements

Omaha Mayor Jim Suttle was at the U.S. Conference of Mayors this week to brainstorm solutions to various problems with his fellow hizzoners. Omaha, for one, needs to make improvements to its sewer system to the tune of $1.7 billion. So it makes perfect sense for Suttle to suggest a simple way to get to the source of this problem:

Among the items on his brainstorming list: a proposal for a 10-cent federal tax on every roll of toilet paper you buy. Based on the four-pack price for Charmin double rolls Tuesday at a midtown Hy-Vee, such a tax would add more than 10 percent to the per-roll price, pushing it over a buck.

But just because Scuttle is throwing this out there doesn’t mean he’s on board with it; he’s just come up with solutions:

The idea came from a failed 2009 House measure by an Oregon congressman to help cities and the environment. “I heard about it and said, ‘Well, this is simple. Let’s put it on the table,’” said Suttle. “It doesn’t mean I endorse it.

Suttle unrolls toilet paper tax [OWH via TaxProf]

In Order to Avoid Sales Tax on Food in Wyoming It’s Best to Refuse Napkins, Resist the Urge to Heat Pastries

Today over the Tax Foundation’s Tax Policy Blog, we get a little taste of how fun defining something like “food” can be. Now, if you’re like some people we know, there is lots of stuff at the grocery that definitely should not be consumed by human beings but in order to avoid raucous debate, it gets the food label. Wyoming is one of the 37 states that partially or wholly exempt groceries from sales tax but just because something is a grocery store, that doesn’t necessarily mean it won’t be taxed. Sigh.

Under Wyoming’s new law, food is defined as “substances whether in liquid, concentrated, solid, frozen, dried, or dehydrated form that are sold for ingestion or chewing by humans and are consumed for their taste or nutritional value.” This does not include booze, tobacco or “prepared foods.” And yes, exactly what items are included in “prepared foods” is where things get a little confusing.

What is a prepared food? Here’s how the new law defines it:

• Food sold in a heated state or heated by the seller; or

• Two or more food ingredients mixed or combined by the seller for sale as a single item; or

• Food sold with eating utensils provided by the seller including plates, knives, forks, spoons, glasses, cups, napkins, or straws. A container or package used to transport the food is not an eating utensil.

”Prepared food” does not include:

• Food that is only cut, repackaged, or pasteurized by the seller;

• Eggs, fish, meat, poultry, or foods containing raw animal foods and which are required or recommended to be cooked by the consumer to prevent food-borne illness;

• Food sold by a seller whose proper primary North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) classification is manufacturing in sector 311, except subsector 3118 dealing with bakeries; [Ed. note: This is my personal favorite]

• Food sold in an unheated state by weight or volume as a single item; or

• Bakery items including bread, rolls, buns, biscuits, bagels, croissants, pastries, donuts, danishes, cakes, tortes, pies, tarts, muffins, bars, cookies, tortillas, and other bakery goods unless the item is sold as prepared food.

This isn’t nearly as confusing at Washington state’s attempt to define candy (Kit-Kat doesn’t qualify) but it’s about as windy as…well, Wyoming.

Wyoming Redefines Food: Don’t Overprepare Your Danishes [Tax Foundation]

Wife of Man Who Received Tax Refund Without Filing Tax Return Under the Impression the IRS Was Letting This One Go

Typically if you receive a $6,000 tax refund check in the mail, it’s something you’ve been expecting.

Such was not the case for James King who had a check cut to him back in February but unfortunately it’s due to case of identity theft. Right now the IRS can’t make heads or tails of the situation and despite the mix-up/criminal activity, Mr King’s wife figured that this was opportunity:

“She was ready to spend it,” King said of his wife with a laugh. “She was ready to go cash it and spend it. She had a to-do list right from the get-go.”

Man gets income tax refund without filing a return [TBO]

Rich People in the U.S. Seem to Be Pulling Their Tax Weight Relative to Other Industrialized Countries

The United States relied more on tax revenue from wealthy individuals and families than other industrialized countries during the middle of the last decade, the Tax Foundation said Monday. Citing data released in 2008 from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the nonpartisan group said that the ratio of what higher-income households paid in taxes compared to their share of market income was bigger here than in certain other countries. The richest 10 percent of American households paid a 45 percent share of the nation’s taxes in the mid-2000s, the OECD found, while having a 33.5 percent share of market income. That 1.35 ratio was higher than countries including Australia (1.29), Canada (1.22), France (1.1) and Poland (0.84). [The Hill]

Pipedream Legislation Would Tax Billionaires at 49%

Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) has introduced the cleverly-named “Fairness in Taxation Act” that would tax millionaires and billionaires at rates that will cause John Boehner to hack up both his lungs.

Despite the futility of the FiTA, these are some tax rates that Tom Bloch can get behind!

The bill would create the following new tax brackets for millionaires and billionaires:

• $1-10 million: 45%
• $10-20 million: 46%
• $20-100 million: 47%
• $100 million to $1 billion: 48%
• $1 billion and over: 49%

And Schakowsky obviously has a thing for the Steve Cohens and John Paulsons of the world:

The current top tax bracket begins at $373,000 in income and fails to distinguish between the “well off” and billionaires, such as the top 20 hedge fund managers whose average income last year was over $1 billion, Schakowsky pointed out.

Congresswoman Introduces Bill to Tax Millionaires and Billionaires [AT]

Pastor Withheld Communion Because ‘It’s a Spiritual Thing,’ Not Because Members Kept Their Tax Refunds for Themselves

There are demons in his flock!

Pastor Calls Flock Devils, Demons: MyFoxHOUSTON.com

[via

Memo to Congress: Cutting Funding for NPR Should Be NBD

The NPR funding debate is a litmus test of how serious Congress in general and Republicans in particular are about spending cuts. If Congress can’t even cut NPR it is a sign that deficits are here to stay and . . .dare I say it . . .tax hikes will be necessary. Or perhaps you don’t care that your children will be paying big chunks of their diminished incomes to the Chinese. [Martin Sullivan/Tax.com]

The Phoenix Coyotes Do Not Meet Americans for Tax Reform’s Definition of a ‘Core Function’

Mostly because part of businessman Matthew Hulsizer’s offer to keep the team in Arizona is that the city of Glendale would be required to subsidize the deal. Grover Norquist & Co. are NOT down with this, “Last November voters sent a clear message that they want government to stop frivolous spending and instead focus on core functions. ATR will continue to educate our membership as to which lawmakers received that message and which appear to have not. Gone are the days when taxpayers are willing or able to foot the bill for government spending on things like Woodstock museums, cowboy poetry festivals, bridges to nowhere, and NPR. I doubt anyone’s definition of core functions includes subsidizing the millionaire’s purchase of a hockey team.” [ATR]