In the blogs: Let’s be honest

Assessing the delays; myths about preparers;the numbers behind the season;and other highlights from our favorite tax bloggers.

Let’s be honest

• Tax Vox (https://www.taxpolicycenter.org/): Favorite headline of the week: “What’s Easier: Killing Aliens, or Levying a Vehicle-Mileage Tax?”
• Tax Warriors (https://www.taxwarriors.com/): Many are still unsure how to report winnings or losses from online sports better. Hint: Whether traditional or online gambling or sports betting, the IRS treats it all the same. A look at the details, as well as how losses can be a tax benefit for certain individuals.
• Taxable Talk (http://www.taxabletalk.com/): The question for our times: “Can the IRS Be Honest About the Delays in Processing?”
• Surgent Income Tax School (http://www.theincometaxschool.com/blog/): There are a lot of myths out there about tax pros: They’re boring, it takes a long time to become a preparer, they love math… “These are lies! It’s time to tell the truth about preparers and what it takes to become one.” Debunking all the myths the bloggers have heard over the years.
• National Taxpayer Advocate (https://www.taxpayeradvocate.irs.gov/taxnews-information/blogs-nta/): “In the interest of transparency,” here are challenges taxpayers are facing not only with the IRS but also with the Advocate Service itself.
• Mauled Again (http://mauledagain.blogspot.com/): A headline recently declared, “Americans Who Say They Pay Taxes Are Probably Lying.” Really? The odds are that people who pay taxes are lying that they pay taxes? Perhaps the odds are high that people overstate the amount of taxes that they are paying, though the blogger doubts it. A look at the wrangles of this discussion, including that increasingly foggy concept of “government.”
• Wolters Kluwer (https://www.wolterskluwer.com/en/solutions/tax-accounting-us/industry-news): “Congratulations, tax preparers, you made it! The 2021 tax filing season — also known as the tax season that never ends Part 2 — is over!” In terms of the raw numbers, though, how tough was the season?

Cases in point

• National Association of Tax Professionals (https://blog.natptax.com/): This week’s “You Make the Call” looks at Gaia, a U.S. citizen who lives and works in Israel. She meets the bona fide resident test. Under Sec. 911, she elects to exclude her foreign earned income of $96,000 from U.S. taxation on a Form 2555. Can she also claim the foreign tax credit on Form 1116, “Foreign Tax Credit,” for income taxes she paid to Israel?
• Federal Tax Crimes (http://federaltaxcrimes.blogspot.com/): In Rodgers v. United States, the court held (based on a prior appeal) that the preparer penalty under Sec. 6694(b)(2)(A) for a “willful attempt in any manner to understate the liability for tax on the return or claim” requires “specific intent to understate tax liability on tax returns or claims.” Basically, the panel held, the civil penalty requires the same level of intent as Sec. 7206 — specific intent to violate a known legal duty.
• Tax Pro Center (https://proconnect.intuit.com/taxprocenter/): The top four signs you’ve become a victim of ID theft.
• TaxMama (http://taxmama.com): What to remind them about unemployment benefit refunds.
• Avalara (https://www.avalara.com/us/en/blog.html): The latest sales tax headline news coast to coast.
• Procedurally Taxing (https://procedurallytaxing.com): Guest blogger James Creech discusses a recent opinion examining a taxpayer’s reasonable cause defense. This case involves a provision rarely discussed in this blog: the ASED extension for failure to notify the government of certain foreign transfers.
• Tax Foundation (https://taxfoundation.org/blog): Comments on the Wyden, Warner, Brown Discussion Draft include how differences in how the U.S. taxes the foreign income of multinationals and the way other countries do result in an uneven playing field in foreign markets — to the disadvantage of American firms and workers.

Multiple choices

• Turbotax (https://blog.turbotax.intuit.com): Debating whether to itemize is just one end-of-summer tax tip to pass on.
• Palm Beach Accounting and Financial Services (https://www.pbafs.com/blog): What to tell them about returning to work after retirement.
• TaxProf Blog (http://taxprof.typepad.com/taxprof_blog/): Just to make life interesting, a lesson from the Tax Court shows how the IRS can issue multiple “final” spousal relief determinations.
• HBK (https://hbkcpa.com/insights/): What to remind them about charitable trusts and taxes.
• Allison Christians: Tax, Society & Culture (https://www.allisonchristians.com/blog): A look at guest speakers at the upcoming McGill Fall 2021 Tax Policy Colloquium.
• Taxjar (http://blog.taxjar.com/): Is clothing taxable in Vermont?
• Bloomberg Tax (https://pro.bloombergtax.com/news-insights/): Senate Democrats are discussing a wider range of tax proposals than President Joe Biden has proposed, including levies on stock buybacks, carbon emissions and executive compensation, as part of a package of measures to help fund a ramping up in social spending. One idea: applying an excise tax on stock buybacks or treating them as taxable dividends to shareholders.
• Canopy (https://www.canopytax.com/blog): Best practices for building strong client relationships.