Tax Chats

Send us Fan Mail Scott and Jeff discuss progressive taxation. While most agree progressive taxation is desirable, there is less agreement about how much progressivity is desirable, what it even is, and if our current tax system is progressive.  Scott and Jeff tackle these issues by asking each other questions about taxes on income, property taxes, taxes on cigarettes, and other scenarios. They con...

Send us Fan Mail Scott and Jeff discuss the reasons a corporate tax makes sense. The answers might surprise you. Among the least compelling arguments: corporations have a lot of income, corporations use infrastructure, corporations have special legal status. Among the most compelling arguments: corporations make efficient collection agents, corporations have cash, and taxing corporations allows th...

Send us Fan Mail Scott and Jeff discuss Crypto taxes with Tyler Menzer, PhD student at the University of Iowa studying the tax implications of Crypto currency in the marketplace. We briefly discuss some of the basics, but, also discuss slightly more complicated crypto issues like airdrops and staking.

Send us Fan Mail Scott and Jeff talk with Rich Prisinzano of the Penn Wharton Budget Model about revenue scoring. Scott, Jeff and Rich discuss topics such as how precise revenue scores are, how private revenue scores are different from those provided by the government, how politicians might use private revenue scorers to get the best "price" for a piece of tax legislation, etc. They end...

Send us Fan Mail Scott and Jeff discuss tax justice with Amy Hanauer, Executive Director of Citizens for Tax Justice and its sister organization, ITEP (Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy). We ask Amy what a fair tax system would look like. We discuss problems with the current tax system. We touch on methods the government uses to redistribute income, like the earned income tax credit and th...

Send us Fan Mail Jeff explains how some non-profits owe income taxes on the unrelated business income, but, how because of the mission of the Girls Scouts, they don't pay taxes on the proceeds from the cookies sales.

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Scott and Jeff discuss why financial accounting rules and tax accounting rules are different. They give some examples. They talk about some firms that have reported very high income while also paying very low taxes. They also talk about how the opposite happens, but doesn't get much media attention.

Send us Fan Mail Scott and Jeff discuss Cannabis taxation with economist Caroline Weber . We chat about the history of cannabis taxation, the advantage of legalizing cannabis to make it easier to tax, the use of taxes to set a price floor, and other issues related to cannabis taxation. We also discuss whether the taxes collected from Cannabis production and sales are used to remedy some of the soc...

Send us Fan Mail Scott and Jeff interview Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform (ATR). We discuss the Taxpayer Protection Pledge , which has been signed by many national and state-level politicians, including past presidents, many senators, sitting governors, and others. The signing is mostly partisan, with Republicans mostly signing, and Democrats rarely signing. Grover Norquist...

Send us Fan Mail Scott and Jeff discuss tax boycotts. Some corporate mangers say they are careful with their tax planning because they don't want to make their customers mad--customers might not buy things from a company they perceive as overly aggressive with their taxes. In this episode, Scott and Jeff discuss a recent study by Jeff and co-authors Scott Asay (U Iowa), Jake Thornock (Brigham...

Send us Fan Mail Scott and Jeff talk with Ken Kies about TRA86, the last major tax reform since the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Ken was the Chief Republican Tax Counsel of the House Ways and Means Committee during the process of passing TRA86. How bipartisan was the TRA86? Was Ronald Reagan involved in the details? How much did the lobbyists matter? This episode gets into the details of TRA86 from some...

Send us Fan Mail Scott and Jeff interview Lincoln Rice, Coordinator of the National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee, a group which would have you ask yourself "are you praying for peace, but paying for war?" We learn what it means to be a War Tax Resister. We discuss the risks, if any, of not paying taxes, and how the tax system is used by some as a tool for voicing opposition...

Send us Fan Mail Capital Gains Sea Shanty Sung by Dyreng's Deductions Lyrics by Jeff Hoopes There once was a man who bought some stock In a little firm they call gamestop The price went up so he sold his shares Sittin on his gains so unaware Then, oh, the taxman come To tax his gains and stop his fun Oh, when, the taxin’ is done He’ll have some pennies and change So what could you do to stop...

Send us Fan Mail Scott explains the step-up in basis loophole. He describes how it can help you pass your wealth to your heirs tax efficiently.

Send us Fan Mail Are big countries bullying developing countries under the guise of the OECD's Inclusive Framework? It the framework really inclusive, or is it really an exclusive club of rich countries looking out for themselves? Jeff and Scott discuss these issues with Afton Titus who gives the African perspective.

Send us Fan Mail Jeff talks about the relationship between taxes and inflation, and, introduces us to the term  seigniorage. 

Send us Fan Mail Martin Luther King Jr. is the only person to have ever been tried for perjury with regards to state income taxes in Alabama. Jeff and Scott interview Edgar Dyer about the tax perjury trial of Martin Luther King Jr. in 1960. Eddie wrote an article entitled " A Triumph of Justice in Alabama: The 1960 Perjury Trial of Martin Luther King, Jr. " Fred Grey, Martin Luther King&...

Send us Fan Mail Scott and Jeff discuss the principle of realization. As a general rule, most income taxes are levied when it is realized, usually when a transaction takes place. For example, gains in shares held as an investment are not taxed unless those shares are sold. The principle of realization also manifests itself in a variety of interesting ways, which we discuss in this episode.

Send us Fan Mail Taxes Taxes, Where's my Refund Taxes Taxes Where’s my refund? Taxes Taxes I’m so angry Cuz I paid too much and April is so far away (far away) Taxes Taxes Where’s my refund? Taxes Taxes Give me what is due Cause I need money Help me pay my debts I know I’ve claimed some things That might not be legit My daughter’s wedding costs The dog food that I bought But I have paid so mu...

Send us Fan Mail Scott discusses one of the factors contributing to whether you should invest in a Roth IRA or a Traditional IRA.

Send us Fan Mail Scott and Jeff welcome Brian Galle, Professor of Law at Georgetown University to discuss the proposed Billionaires' Income Tax , which is a tax on unrealized capital gains. Brian and 218 other law professors and economists recently sent a letter to Congress in favor of the proposal. The letter can be found here . We discuss how the tax is being positioned as being different f...

Send us Fan Mail Jeff describes how knowing how many billionaires there are and how much wealth they have, a key component to estimating how much revenue many new taxes that target the ultra-rich would bring in, is more complex than you might think.

Send us Fan Mail Jeff talks with Scott about a few of The Tax Museum's thousands of items. Jeff shows Scott a stack of expired lotto tickets purchased on EBAY and describes what they have to do with tax fraud. They discuss some old revenue stamps, an actual stamp from Burkina Faso, and other items that have amazing connections with taxes.

Send us Fan Mail Scott describes a year-end tax planning technique called bundling. 

Send us Fan Mail Lyrics by Scott Dyreng Sung by Scott Dyreng and Three of Dyreng's Deductions Lyrics Tax Advice, Tax Advice So many options confuse me. Roth I R A 401-K Which is the one that best suits me? Pay my tax now or pay when I am old Maybe not pay forever Tax Advice, Tax Advice Help me choose which is better  Pay the Price, For the Advice That will help me choose wisely. L L P? S-Corp...