AT Think

In the blogs: War and pizza

R&D amortization; FAQs’ limits; “tax” by any other name; and other highlights from our favorite tax bloggers.

War and pizza

  • Tax Vox (https://www.taxpolicycenter.org/): Why is Congress ready to spend billions to help Ukraine without offsetting tax increases or spending cuts while lawmakers demand that more COVID-19-related therapeutics and testing be fully paid for? It can’t be about the money. It can be the politics.
  • Current Federal Tax Developments (https://www.currentfederaltaxdevelopments.com/): The invasion of Ukraine now joins 9/11, natural disasters and the pandemic in that employers can establish tax-advantaged programs where employees donate unused paid leave for victims’ relief.
  • Don’t Mess with Taxes (http://dontmesswithtaxes.typepad.com/): Slice of Life Dept.: A long fight between a former pizza franchise mogul and the State of Kansas is over. The state owes $63 million to the one-time owner of the most Pizza Huts in the world — and who was supposedly incorrectly taxed as a Kansas resident when he lived in Florida. Interesting case in these days of widespread remote work.

Very FAQs

  • Avalara (https://www.avalara.com/blog/en/north-america.html): Consolidation of streaming services is underway. How will states and other tax jurisdictions look to make up the lost revenue?
  • Tax Foundation (https://taxfoundation.org/blog): Starting this year, firms must amortize their R&D expenses over five years rather than immediately deducting them from taxable income, a policy change designed to raise federal tax revenue in the short term. What’s the long-term economic benefit, if any?
  • Boyum & Barenscheer (https://www.myboyum.com/blog/): The pandemic, ongoing economic insecurity and overpowering overall uncertainty have prompted some nonfungible tokens to make board designations of unrestricted assets. What are such designations, why are they worth considering and how does the process work?
  • TaxProf Blog (http://taxprof.typepad.com/taxprof_blog/): The Tax Code does not tax individuals differently based on certain demographics. But some researchers note how that philosophy can result in disparate tax outcomes (which are supposedly unintentional). 
  • Taxable Talk (http://www.taxabletalk.com/): The tale of a 2553 sent three ways to the IRS, the last time 13 months ago — and still not processed. 
  • Tax Pro Center (https://proconnect.intuit.com/taxprocenter/): Favorite opening of the week: “NFTs, NFTs, NFTs, everywhere… Maybe you even know NFT stands for: nonfungible token…” Maybe you do. Now for the nonforgettable, tremendous number of tax questions still surrounding this cutting-edge asset.
  • Wolters Kluwer (https://www.wolterskluwer.com/en/solutions/tax-accounting-us/industry-news): Taxpayers may be able to use IRS FAQs to reduce or avoid penalties, according to a recent American Bar Association meeting. Just don’t rely on them for determining tax liability.
  • The Tax Times (https://www.thetaxtimes.com): A look at the recent update of IRS internal guidance for how the agency should account for deferred compensation expenses for calculating the deduction for foreign-derived intangible income. 
  • National Taxpayer Advocate (https://www.taxpayeradvocate.irs.gov/taxnews-information/blogs-nta/): Correspondence audits are little fun for anybody, but low-income taxpayers face special burdens when trying to communicate with the IRS — not to mention downstream consequences for the agency itself and taxpayers in general.

Sure smells sweet

  • Sikich (https://www.sikich.com/insights/): Rates, like-kind limits, depreciation, a wider net of taxpayers: Tax changes coming for the agriculture industry are as high as an elephant’s eye.
  • Taxbuzz (https://www.taxbuzz.com/blog): What to remind them about hitting the lottery big and then facing the taxes. Not a bad topic to make the losers feel a little better, too.
  • Parametric (https://www.parametricportfolio.com/blog): How to remind them that it’s the after-tax returns on a portfolio that matter.
  • AICPA Insights (https://www.aicpa.org/blog): Successful apprenticeships hinge on mentors. A look at the institute’s Registered Apprenticeship for Finance Business Partners.
  • Solutions for CPA Firm Leaders (http://ritakeller.com/blog/): It’s not tax, it’s not audit, it’s not accounting — it’s about managing your firm for efficiency and profit. A look at an upcoming can’t-miss conference for firm administrators.
  • Bloomberg Tax (https://pro.bloombergtax.com/news-insights/): Future jobs that depend heavily on tax might not even have the word in the title.

(In the Blogs will be off next week.)

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