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Tax Strategies for Asteroid Impacts

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On February 22, 2012, a telescope in Spain discovered an asteroid, 150 feet across, in an orbit that would bring it uncomfortably close to earth. Astronomers reassured us that we would be safe — this time — but that it was "a wakeup call for the importance of defending the Earth from future asteroid impacts." Last month, that asteroid, named 2012 DA14, passed within 17,200 miles of earth at a speed of nearly 17,500 miles per hour. That's a hair’s breadth in cosmological terms — it actually flew under the ring of communications satellites orbiting earth before it headed safely back out into space.

Earth isn't always so lucky. Ironically, on the same day that 2012 DA14 flew by, a meteorite struck outside the remote Russian town of Chelyabinsk with the power of 30 atomic bombs. Amazingly, no one was killed. A century ago, a meteor broke up with similar force over Russia's Tunguska forest, flattening an estimated 80 million trees.

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New Issues for Splitting Community Property

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As usual, we would be foolish to expect our laws and regulations to always make sense or to keep up with the times.

Over the years there have been significant technical challenges to all traditionally married couples in community property states that want to file separate income tax returns. What is often overlooked though is that  registered domestic partners and same-sex married couples face those same reporting challenges plus additional crazy hurdles for proper tax reporting.

The IRS requires registered domestic partners and same-sex married couples to split their community income between their tax returns, even though they require you to file as single taxpayers (remember, we can't apply logic or common sense to any of these rules).

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Sequestration & the IRS

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Not even the mighty IRS can avoid the latest political hot potato, sequestration (mandatory across-the-board spending cuts for nearly all federal agencies).

Yesterday the Senate rejected two bills that would have avoided the sequestration.  This means it is almost guaranteed that the automatic spending cuts required by the Budget Control Act of 2011, P.L. 112-25 will kick-in.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) told employees on Thursday that agency furloughs from sequestration would not begin until after tax-filing season, according to a union that represents agency workers.

With mandatory government spending cuts looming, Acting IRS Commissioner Steven Miller sent a memo to all IRS employees on Thursday, outlining the agency’s plans in the event sequestration occurs as planned on Friday. He outlined spending cuts the IRS plans to make, including employee furloughs,

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Cruising in Style

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Cruising the high seas has become an increasingly popular way to travel, with over 14 million Americans cruising in 2010. Cruise fans love the convenience of unpacking just once and letting a floating resort take them from one glamorous destination to another. Cruise critics cringe at the stereotypical cheesy Vegas-style shows, 'round-the-clock buffets, and abbreviated shore excursions to the same chain retailers they can visit at their local mall. But all of us were thoroughly disgusted by this month's sordid tale of the Carnival Triumph, the mega-ship that lost power in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico. Four-hour waits for onion sandwiches sound bad enough from a ship that prides itself on a reputation for all you can eat. But just imagine 4,200 passengers and crew lining up to use 12 working toilets, and you'll immediately understand why observers dubbed the ship a "floating petri dish."

Carnival's spinmeisters clearly recognize a PR disaster when they see a towboat dragging it past them at 5 knots. They've agreed to give passengers a full refund for cruise and transportation costs, plus

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Biggest. Crybabies. Ever.

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Here in America, we're used to people running to court every time life throws a curveball. Spill hot coffee in your lap? Sue McDonald's! Get drunk, drive your car into a bay, and drown because you can't open your seat belt underwater? Mom and Dad can still sue Honda and win $65 million! Electrocute yourself trying to rob a bar? There's a lawyer for that!

Earlier this month, though, we saw some satisfying comeuppance in one of those cases that makes us roll our eyes in amazement.

First, a little history. UBS is Switzerland's biggest bank — and, like most Swiss banks, it used strict Swiss secrecy laws to attract depositors. They solicited Americans to open accounts, knowing full well that many of them were using those accounts to cheat the IRS — and in some cases, even advising them how to do it. In 2007, a disgruntled employee blew the whistle (and earned a record $104 million reward in the process). Two years later, UBS paid $780 million

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Healthcare Reform To Cause Real Life Headaches

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As all of use hurtle down the road toward the implementation of the 2010 health care legislation it sure does appear that the health care legislation will certainly create its own health problems... especially for your tax adviser! There is a lot to know about the 2010 health care legislation in order to take advantage of favorable provisions and to avoid or minimize penalties. 

The health care legislation enacted in March 2010—the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), P.L. 111-148, as amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act, P.L.111-152—is almost 1,000 pages long. It involves numerous rules on employer-provided health care, insurance exchanges, insured rights, and the health care delivery system. There are numerous tax provisions. Guidance from the IRS and other government agencies has been emerging since 2010, and much of it is quite lengthy.

The Affordable Care Act includes a variety of measures specifically for small businesses that help lower premium cost growth and increase access to quality, affordable health insurance. Depending on whether