Taxes

I kept my swearing to a minimum this tax season. Honestly, that says more about IRS than it does about me. It felt like a different tax season. Last year, the IRS marked a dismal 15% Level of Service to taxpayers. The “Level of Service” is the number you get when you divide the number

Does naming and shaming tax debtors and tax defaulters violate their human rights? Particularly their human right to privacy? From the perspective of several tax authorities around the world, the answer is no. Their common argument is that taxpaying is a public activity, and debtors and defaulters who shirk their public duty should not be

With the release of the IRS’ strategic operating plan (you can read about it here), there has been a lot of conversation about enforcement. Specifically, there are worries that the IRS will use extra funding from Congress to target working families and small businesses making under $400,000—a charge that both Treasury Secretary Yellen and IRS

Every now and again, a case comes across your desk that makes you say, “Whoa.” Alon Farhy v. Commissioner is just such a case. The U.S. Tax Court gave Farhy a win, ruling that the IRS could not collect from him in this instance—the IRS had no statutory authority to assess penalties under section 6038.

Today’s Social Security column addresses questions about whether people living outside the US can still collect their Social Security benefits, how payments are made when eligible for two benefits at once and survivor’s benefits before retirement benefits. Larry Kotlikoff is a Professor of Economics at Boston University and the founder and president of Economic Security