When damage awards are taxable; avoiding New Jersey taxes; cutting-edge workflow; and other highlights from our favorite tax bloggers.
- Don’t Mess With Taxes (
http://dontmesswithtaxes.typepad.com/ ): As Amazon offered taxable deals on Prime Day, online shoppers and marketplace sellers faced a new tattle-tale sales tax law as states join the feds in the extravaganza of online sales tax. - Tax Girl (
http://blogs.forbes.com/kellyphillipserb ): Even as Amazon claimed “hundreds of thousands of deals” with “new deals starting as often as every five minutes,” Tax Girl notes that it fought imposition of sales taxes on a state-by-state basis and still “does not collect sales tax in Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire and Oregon: Those states don’t have a state sales tax.” - Turbotax Blog (
http://Blog.turbotax.intuit.com ): On a cheerier note: “How the Sales Tax Holiday Can Boost Your Back-to-School Savings.”
‘The mixed bunch’
- Houston Tax Attorney (
http://www.irstaxtrouble.com/category/tax-blog/ ): Damage awards received on account of personal physical injuries or physical sickness are not taxable. If a taxpayer receives a non-taxable award under this rule and then is discriminated against by his employer due to the physical injuries, is a second award paid by the employer also non-taxable? The court recently addressed this in Rajcoomar v. Commissioner. - Procedurally Taxing (
http://www.procedurallytaxing.com/ ): Designated orders from late June, “quite the mixed bunch,” included whistleblower cases, a last-known address issue and a discovery order in a major transfer pricing dispute between Coca Cola and the federal government. Also: granting an IRS motion for summary judgment as to a non-responsive CDP petitioner and a remand in a tax shelter TEFRA proceeding.
The write stuff
- Rubin on Tax (
http://rubinontax.floridatax.com ): An update to the blogger’s guide on U.S. taxation of nonresident aliens. - The Wandering Tax Pro (
http://wanderingtaxpro.blogspot.com/ ): Favorite headline of the week: “Experience the Joy of Avoiding N.J. Taxes!” The blogger’s book has gone to press, a study in what one state’s taxes get away with when most residents concentrate on their federal return. (Sure doesn’t sound like a day at the closed public beach…)
Power thinking
- The Income Tax School (
http://www.theincometaxschool.com/blog/ ): Military personnel and their families can find alternative career paths tricky amid the schedule-shattering alerts and moves from base to base. Why tax prep might be one answer. - Intuit Proconnect (
http://taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com/ ): A video explores implementing a firm of the future workflow, from the cloud journey to value pricing and digital marketing. - TaxMama (
http://taxmama.com ): “Disasters and Other Pleasant Experiences” and tips on how to prepare for them – inspired by the blogger’s recently returning home on the hottest night of the year so far to find the power off.