TaxVox

IRS Help Line Is Out Of Service

July 7, 2014 –

The IRS is getting a lot of flak these days about lost emails and alleged politically motivated activity. But last week I ran into a problem that hit...

Congress Is Back with Much To Do and Consider

July 7, 2014 –

On the Hill this week: The House may vote to make bonus depreciation permanent . The Senate Finance Committee may present a transportation funding...

Federal Budget and Economy

President Obama’s FY 2015 Budget

July 2, 2014 –

When President Obama proposed his 2015 budget last March, he vowed to cut taxes for working class Americans while making sure high income households...

Individual Taxes

A Payroll Tax Math Error Adds $5 Billion To The Deficit

July 1, 2014 –

Nothing gets lawmakers and pundits more outraged than government’s proverbial waste, fraud, and abuse. Nearly always, these stories involve spending...

Individual Taxes

Misguided Expansion of the Child Tax Credit

June 30, 2014 –

Congresswoman Lynn Jenkins (R-KN) wants to expand the child tax credit (CTC) with the Child Tax Credit Improvement Act of 2014. She’s on the right...

Highways, Pensions, Deficits and Reform: A Long and Winding Road

June 27, 2014 –

“Are we there yet?” It’s just a little (or a lot) further for the federal Highway Trust Fund . Congress just left for a week-long recess, leaving the...

State and Local Issues

Close But No Cigar: The Politics of Class, Race, and Taxes

June 26, 2014 –

This week, the District of Columbia City Council approved a major tax reform bill. And, as it happens, some important—but unspoken-- issues of race...

Federal Budget and Economy