Last year’s stimulus bill extended the Child Tax Credit to millions of poor children, boosting their families’ incomes by as much as $825 in 2009 and 2010. Now, Congress must decide whether to continue that benefit beyond this year, when the credit is scheduled to shrink for low-income families who need it the most.

IRS Taxpayer Advocate Nina Olson’s annual critique of the nation’s tax system opens this year with her list of the five “Most Serious Problems Encountered by Taxpayers.” Topping that list is the increasing difficulty taxpayers have getting telephone information from the IRS.

The stock market collapse of 2007-2009 was the worst since the 1930s, and rivaled in modern times only by the crash of 1973-74. But the real question for those counting on equities to help fund their retirement security is: “What are my long-term prospects in the wake of the carnage?”

On Friday, January 15, TPC and the University of Southern California law school will be running an all-day program at USC called Train Wreck: A Conference on America's Long-term Fiscal Crisis. The title pretty much says it all.

Nice to hear the IRS is finally going to regulate tax preparers. For years, fly-by-night tax prep outfits have been doing, how shall we say, a less-than-stellar job filling out returns for the confused and vulnerable. But cracking down on those seasonal shysters who abuse the system is only attacking a symptom of the real disease, which is our insanely complex tax code.

I’m procrastinating (uh, I mean working) and came across this item about Rick Warren, pastor of the Saddleback megachurch in California and bestselling author. He says he “reverse tithes”—gives 90% of his income to his church.

Just when you thought Congress would never solve its tax and spending problems, it has taken a bold step forward: It has suspended the laws of nature and arithmetic starting January 1, 2010. Just wait until you see what it has in mind:

If you’re single, not in great health, and are worth a lot but not a really huge lot, you could do your heirs a favor and die today or tomorrow. Sure, you may want to hang around to ring in the New Year but that could cost the beneficiaries of your will a chunk of change.

Let’s face it, from a tax policy perspective, 2009 was a bust. Except for creating a bunch of new credits in the name of economic stimulus, Washington pretty much ignored the revenue code. 2010 will be very different. Facing trillions of dollars of expiring Bush-era tax cuts, President Obama and Congress will be forced to make some critical decisions in the new year.

As 2009 draws to an icy conclusion, Tax Vox is pleased to announce its Third Annual Lump of Coal Award for the worst tax ideas of the year. So many choices. So little time.