Tax changes / proposals - discussion

Finance Tax
1979

How is this any different than from prior years when IRS had more agents and did more audits? My understanding is they’ve doing fewer and fewer audits (as a percentage of returns) for a few years due to low budget / short staffing.

Firstly, you might not even know if your return was audited if they can figure it out without ever contacting you. Secondly, I thought that if you filed with a tax prep firm or an accountant, they automatically promise to represent you in case of an audit, right?

And if you file taxes yourself, why should you get an accountant right away? I don’t think it’s the same as being accused of a crime and having to hire an attorney.

2 Likes
1980

Yeah, I don’t understand the whole “audits are expensive!” thing. A vast majority of audits barely count as a hassle, and often aren’t anything more than mailing in answers to a couple questions. Can it be expensive? Of course. Will it be expensive (aside from any tax you failed to pay)? Probably not.

1981

You definitely don’t automatically get representation, and its definitely not included.

1 Like
1982

Details on the 1% stock buyback tax. It appears to hit all sorts of corporate situations, not just traditional open market buybacks. Everything from redemption of preferred stocks, SPAC redemptions as part of their merger, leveraged buyouts, liquidations, etc.

New 1% Excise Tax on Stock Repurchases by Publicly Traded Corporations | Insights | Sidley Austin LLP (click “more” to see the full article)

1983

This tax just seems like the bitter response from idiots who are incapable of participating in such ‘sexy’ financial shenanigans, an attempt to force their way into the equation for the sake of making it “inclusive” (thus, “fair”).

1984

That’s not an audit. I don’t know a single person that would ever say, after not being contacted by the IRS, that they were audited. If that’s how it worked, I could claim that Christie Brinkley and I had an affair. I got over her and fell for another girl in 8th grade before I ever contacted her, but it was pretty hot and heavy for a little while before I figured things out.

No. Audit representation is not included in your tax prep fees. Is costs extra. In fact, the IRS courts have found that you are responsible for errors that your tax preparer makes.

It really depends on your individual situation and how familiar you are with how to answer the sort of questions the IRS agent will have.

6 Likes
1985

This $739 billion tax-and-spending bacchanale includes $80 billion to swell the Internal Revenue Service’s payroll from 93,654 to 180,506 – up 92.7 percent. The IRS will have more staffers than the 148,511 aggregated employees at the federal departments of Commerce (35,406), Education (3,532), Energy (13,809), Health and Human Services (64,985), Housing and Urban Development (7,334), Labor (13,720), and State (9,725), as the Office of Personnel Management tallied them in 2018 – the latest totals available.

These 86,852 new IRS agents are a bit much, if Democrats want them to find billionaires, capsize them, and shake them until the gold bars and stock certificates cascade from their pockets. Forbes counts 735 American billionaires. IRA would underwrite 118 IRS agents per billionaire.

Don’t be shocked if IRS audits aim lower – much lower – as they already do.

My opinion:

Democrats did everything they could, back during the Trump tax cuts in 2017, to convince us those cuts were primarily for the rich. This was, of course, untrue.

Now those same Democrats are lying once again as they pass legislation to resume the higher taxation of average folks which Trump cut back, while claiming their new plan will only soak Americans making over $400,000.

Can the dirty Democrats pull this off? You bet!! They have the enthusiastic, even giddy, support of the American mainstream media at their beck and call.

4 Likes
1986

“I have finally built an army of tax collectors worthy of Mordor,” exclaimed the corrupted White Wizard as he looked upon his creation. “Tax collectors were elves once, taken by the dark powers, tortured and mutilated. A ruined and terrible form of life. Now… perfected! Go and collect tribute from men and elves!”

2 Likes
1987

I’m proud to pay my taxes and support the society and government that’s made my modest success relatively easy.

Maybe now the IRS will have someone around to pick up the phone if I’ve got a tax question, or talented tech writers to create clearer instructions so I don’t have questions in the first place.

1 Like
1988

Golf Foxtrot Lima! Have you read anything the IRS computer system, the multiple attempted upgrades, and their progress? I’ve worked on the hardware, and it’s slightly less antiquated than NASA … at least as of 20 years ago. I presume NASA has upgraded since then.

For $80 BILLION, the IRS should answer the phone before it rings.

4 Likes
1989

For $80 BILLION, the IRS should answer the phone before it rings.

For $80B, they should just be doing our taxes for us and save everyone the trouble.

3 Likes
1990

People already bitch about the [1099, etc] reporting that is required. Imagine the outrage over the amount of reporting that would be necessary to allow them to do your tax return for you?

3 Likes
1991

For most returns they already have everything. For mine they’re only missing Schedule C. They could pre-fill my forms and allow me to input anything that’s missing.

2 Likes
1992

FL and TX have no state income tax. I wish AZ would join this pack. I’d rather have a property tax increase (which I can control with size of house etc) Less paperwork too.

1 Like
1993

Agreed. Send you a “bill” and you put in deductions. Too bad HRBlock etc will lobby against.

1 Like
1994

Only? A schedule C is pretty much a full business return within a personal return. And I find it hard to believe you havent received any taxable payments (whether you actually reported them or not), or interest from a bank that totaled less than $10, or etc, etc.

The last thing we need is “We’re now just going to do your return for you, as long as you dont fall under one of the follow exceptions that’ll disqualify 80% of people.” It’ll also preclude prosecuting anyone for tax fraud, since 'the IRS listed that amount, not me!"

1 Like
1995

Are you saying there are unreported taxable payments besides those I would have included on a Schedule C?

As far as the < $10 interest, I actually thought I wasn’t required to report it. Have I been wrong all these years? I probably owe the IRS a couple bucks…

1996

Instead, they’re going to increase their Pell Grants. :rofl:

1997

Yikes! I’ve been reporting every dime. Nah, you must have to report it all, or there would have been a thread on Fatwallet about how to open thousands of accounts earning $9.99 in interest. :smiley:

2 Likes
1998

Little did they know that, in the past few years, that would have been quite the accomplishment given recent rates…

1 Like