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Tax Roundup, 11/7/2013: Cold comfort on 3.8% Investment Income Tax guidance....
Well, that’s reassuring. Tax Analysts reports ($link) that David Kirk, an IRS official involved in drafting the final rules on the 3.8% Obamacare “Net Investment Income Tax” that took effect January...
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Tax Roundup, 11/11/13: Sheldon edition. And: masterminds!
Greetings to our Veteran readers for Veteran’s day! Though perhaps “greetings” doesn’t summon the best memories. The Tax Update comes to you today from sunny Sheldon, Iowa: Well, it’s sunny indoors...
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Tax Roundup, 11/18/13: Waterloo day! And Iowa’s new $54 individual credit.
The ISU Farm and Urban Tax School is in Waterloo, Iowa today for another sold-out session. Only Red Oak, Denison and Ames after this, so register now! Then I drive to Cedar Rapids to talk about the...
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Tax Roundup, 11/25/13: Burning down the parsonage (allowance). And: Red Oak!
The Tax Update comes from beautiful Red Oak, Iowa, in the Southwest part of the state. This is the sixth stop in the ISU Center for Agricultural Law and Taxation Farm and Urban Tax School tour for...
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Tax Roundup, 12/16/2013: Ames! And: if you’re explaining, you’re losing.
It’s a cold day In Ames, Iowa, but it’s toasty warm with 315 or so eager participants in the last session of this year’s ISU Center for Agricultural Law and Taxation Farm and Urban Tax Schools! The...
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Tax Roundup, 12/30/2013: Paying for those last-minute write-offs. And: Harold...
How to pay for those last-minute deductions. We’re down to the wire, kids. 2013 ends in less than 48 hours, so if you are going to claim some last-minute deductions, get busy! Some things to keep...
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Tax Roundup, 1/6/2014: Start this year’s year-end planning now! And lots more.
I’m back. It was good to take a little time off after year-end planning season and before the 2013 return season starts. But now that it’s 12 below with howling winds, I might as well be at the...
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Tax Roundup, 1/13/14: They’re back edition. And: tax fairy doesn’t show up at...
The 2014 session of the 85th Iowa General Assembly begins today. It doesn’t look like much tax legislation will pass. The Governor abandoned a plan to allow taxpayers to choose between the current...
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Tax Roundup, 1/20/14: If it’s not a scandal, it hurts like one. And: S...
The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa didn’t need my services as a juror this week, so I will be participating in the Iowa Bar Association webinar this afternoon on new...
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Tax Roundup, 1/27/14: Job destruction incentives. And: did you ride your bike...
Flickr image courtesy Retrofresh! under Creative Commons license. You mean state tax credits aren’t magic beans for economic development? A frequent commenter on the Econlog blog, Daniel Kuehn,...
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Tax Roundup, 2/3/14: The Fable of the Wife’s Purse and your legislature. And:...
Why do state legislators enact such dumb laws? After speaking to a group of State Senate Presidents, David Brunori has some thoughts ($link, unfortunately) on why they persist in enacting special...
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Tax Roundup, 2/10/14: The New Mexico double-dip edition. And: we got it...
Two bites at the apple were two too many for a New Mexico man. Evading $25 million in federal taxes is bad enough, but illegally collecting $225,000 in farm subsidies on top of that seems like piling...
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Tax Roundup, 2/12/14: Lawless and Unregulated edition. And: Lincoln!
As we reported yesterday, the IRS preparer-regulation power grab failed in the D.C. Court of Appeals. The three-judge panel unanimously ruled that “The IRS may not unilaterally expand its authority...
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Tax Roundup, 2/17/14: Big tax subsidy edition. And: the $70 million doggie...
Do you think the legislature would approve an $12 million annual subsidy to support the operations of a publicly-traded corporation? Trick question! They already have. The Department of Revenue last...
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Tax Roundup, 2/27/14: Doomed Tax Reform Frenzy Edition.
When I think of income tax reform, I think big. I think of massive elimination of tax deductions, with great big rate reductions as consolation for taxpayers that lose their breaks. I look for...
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Tax Roundup, 3/21/14: Reforming S corporations to a frazzle. And: cleaning up...
The legislative process has been likened to sausage making. Sausage doesn’t get more appetizing if you keep looking at it closely over a period of weeks, and neither does the Camp “tax reform” plan....
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Tax Roundup, 3/24/14: Iowa corporate tax, $409 million; Iowa tax credits,...
How about a trade: Corporate Income Tax for Corporate Welfare. Interesting numbers from The Des Moines Register: The state awarded $278.5 million in tax credits during the 2013 fiscal year, down 9.3...
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Tax Roundup, 3/31/14: A little fire won’t stop us!
There was a little disruption around the Tax Update neighborhood over the weekend. The 115 year-old Younkers Building, kitty-corner from our quarters in The Financial Center, burned over the weekend....
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Tax Roundup, 4/3/14: Iowa Tax Burden ranks 29th. And: Koskinen doesn’t seem...
The Tax Foundation yesterday released its annual ranking of “State-Local Tax Burdens.” Iowa came in at 29th highest. The Tax Foundation explains: For each state, we compute this measure of tax burden...
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Tax Roundup, 4/22/14: $418,000 per-job edition! And: AGI and farm subsidies.
Iowa Watchdog reports Iowa to give Microsoft millions in exchange for 86 jobs: The West Des Moines City Council on March 24 approved asking the IEDA to award Project Alluvion $18 million in sales tax...
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