A Comparative Look at Three British Tax Cases. Three well-known British tax cases, Watson v. Hornby, Sharkey v. Wernher, and Mason v. Innes, all involved what we in the United States would have designated as nontaxable, imputed income. Yet, the British ruled that two of them, Watson v. Hornby...

Most tourists who engage in gold panning find gold which is worth less than their price of admission to the gold mine. From a tax standpoint, they have nondeductible, personal losses. Those precious few who find gold which is worth more than their price of admission should not have taxable...

Bruce Bartlett has written a wonderful guide to tax reform, targeted at the general reader. However, he wants major tax reform, as soon as possible. I believe that we have tried that, and it has not worked. The 1986 Tax Reform Act is my best example. It would be better to make small, incremental...

Payments of $20,000 or more to colleges should be denied charitable contribution deductions when (1) the child or grandchild of the payer has applied for admission and (2) the payment is made during the year in which the application is considered

The payment and receipt of interest is a violation of both Islamic and Jewish law. Yet, one cannot function without borrowing money, and one must pay for the privilege of doing so. Both Islamic and Jewish law have derived ways to allow payments which substitute for interest, without violating...

In Californians Helping to Alleviate Medical Problems, Inc. v. Commissioner (CHAMP), the Tax Court allowed business deductions for the expenses incurred in the sale of marijuana, despite the provisions of Internal Revenue Code Section 280E, which appears to disallow such deductions. This piece...

This article tells the story of Revenue Procedure 2003-14. It was designed to be a safe harbor, to allow Indian tribes to get rabbi trust treatment when they established trusts to hold casino revenues for the benefit of Indian children. However, Newman reports, so far it hasn't worked

Ronda Rousey won the Bronze Medal in judo at the Beijing Olympics in 2008. She was the first American woman to do so. The medal itself would have brought her a measly four bucks, if she had been crass enough to sell it. Her reward from the United States Olympic Committee for her unique...

Not all transfers of value to qualified charitable organizations are deductible. When you buy a book from the college bookstore, your payment is not a contribution; you got what you paid for. If you give $300 to your local public radio station, and they give you a tote bag, you've made a...