October 2023

If you travel for your job, you probably have to deal with per diem rates or the amounts that you can deduct for your travel expenses.  Here are the latest rates for the next federal fiscal year:

Those that can afford to buy high priced art pieces can properly claim donations of art on their taxes. But some unscrupulous promoters may use direct solicitation to promise values of art that are too good to be true. These promoters persuade taxpayers, usually high-income taxpayers, to purchase the art, wait to donate the art and then take an incorrect deduction for the art donated. Be aware though, the IRS has active promoter investigations and taxpayer audits underway in this area.

The Internal Revenue Service today announced tax relief for individuals and businesses affected by the terrorist attacks in the State of Israel. These taxpayers now have until Oct. 7, 2024, to file various federal returns, make tax payments and perform other time-sensitive tax-related actions.

Oct 9 - Last week we witnessed a dramatic, historical first: A Speaker of the US House of Representatives was removed from that position by a vote from Members of that body. US Rep. Matt Gaetz was able to gather enough Republicans dissatisfied with the leadership of then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy to send him packing.

Eco activists such as Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates have thrown their weight, and checkbooks, behind the practice of cutting down trees and burying them to address fears over carbon emissions.  Gates is well known for his attempts of addressing his climate concerns—from buying up vast swaths of U.S. farmland to backing wild-card experiments such as solar geo-engineering and his latest rant is criticizing tree planting as a viable means of reducing CO2.

As part of the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, long-term funding was provided to the IRS for the agency to transform its operations and improve taxpayer service, enforcement and technology. It also directed the IRS to study the possibility of a free, direct e-file program, which the IRS submitted in a report to Congress in May 2023.

The Inflation Reduction Act change the credits available for taxpayers who purchase electric vehicles. Taxpayers may claim a credit up to $7,500 for a new clean vehicle and a credit up to $2,500 for a previously owned clean vehicle. 

President Joe Biden announced last week that the United States would be funding – and possibly fighting - three wars in three different parts of the world at the same time. It is an ambitious foreign policy for a president who doesn’t even seem to be able to express a coherent thought without the help of a teleprompter.

Nearly every word of Biden’s speech was untrue, including the preposterous suggestion that “American leadership is what holds the world together. American alliances are what keep us, America, safe.”

The Internal Revenue Service announced the availability of expanded chatbot technology to help quickly answer basic questions for people receiving notices about possibly underreporting their taxes.