The Inflation Reduction Act recently signed into law by President Biden provides for $80 billion in increased IRS funding over ten years. This increased budget will provide for the hiring of tens of thousands of additional and replacement IRS employees. Despite the claim that new enforcement is to focus on higher income taxpayers, Republicans in
Taxes
Today’s Social Security column addresses questions about how spousal benefit amounts are calculated, whether previous COLAs can increase spousal benefit rates and when spousal benefits can be higher than retirement benefits. Larry Kotlikoff is a Professor of Economics at Boston University and the founder and president of Economic Security Planning, Inc. See more Ask Larry
Earlier this month, Heinrich Schweizer got bad news from my favorite Tax Court judge Albert Lauber, “Scholar Al” as Lew Taishoff has dubbed him. Lauber ruled that Schweizer’s failure to meet the disclosure requirements for a charitable contribution of property was not “due to reasonable cause”. The opinion illustrates Reilly’s Fourth Law of Tax planning
Many urban downtowns hope converting empty and underused office buildings to apartments will mitigate the fiscal impacts of increased working from home. But can office districts and buildings be converted to residential, building new neighborhoods? A great exhibit at New York’s Skyscraper Museum, curated by Museum Founder and Director Carol Willis, says “yes” by documenting
Structured settlements can help resolve most any case and are regularly used in personal injury lawsuits. They increase the value for a plaintiff of the defendant’s payment, “bridging the gap” between negotiating parties. Afterward, the plaintiff can depend on monthly, annual, and even lifetime payments. Often, news articles about “structures” tell stories of fraud. And