6 Questions Everyone Should Ask The IRS

By Robert W. Wood – The lackluster IRS testimony so far suggests we may never know what happened, who did what, who knew, when they knew and worse. Confusion and Staff Troubles Rife at I.R.S. Office in Ohio.

Amid all the noise, many Americans should ask simpler questions:

• Why is the tax law so horribly complex?
• Can I feel secure that I will be dealt with fairly by the IRS?
• Doesn’t the IRS police its employees?
• Why does it seem that there’s always someone getting away with something in the tax world?
• Can I feel secure that my private taxpayer information will remain private?
• Why is staying off the IRS radar so important?

more> http://tinyurl.com/bc4q3rc

Verizon eyes $100 billion bid for Vodafone’s Wireless stake

By Soyoung Kim and Kate Holton – The two sources said Verizon was considering a 50:50 cash and stock bid for the 45 percent stake it does not already own, an asset it has long coveted but that Vodafone will take some persuading to give up. It has not put a proposal to Vodafone yet but has hired both banking and legal advisers for a possible offer.

“The tax problem has always been the issue. If a way can be found around that, then it is highly likely that a deal will be done,” the top-15 investor said. more> http://tinyurl.com/bc9owmy

Related>

• Verizon gorilla eyes Vodafone gorilla – who will win? →
• Verizon beats estimates and raises Vodafone pressure ←

10 Remarkable Facts About Online Sales Tax

By Robert W. Wood – With all the hype both pro and con about the online sales tax bill you might have a belly full. Still, these facts about sales and use taxes might surprise you.

• In 1932, Mississippi was the first state to impose a general state sales tax. By 1940, 23 other states implemented a general sales tax
• Lost tax revenue on Internet sales was an estimated $11.4 billion in 2012. California alone forecast a loss of $1.9 billion; Texas, $870.4 million; and New York, $865.5 million

more> http://tinyurl.com/a3sckjj

Related>

• The Real Reason Wall Street Is Fighting the Online Sales Tax, Christopher Matthews, TIME

With Key Vote Looming In Senate, Click And Pay Internet Sales Tax Is Here

By Robert W. Wood – Legislation giving states the power to compel retailers outside their borders to collect online sales tax is a touchy subject for Internet merchants and consumers alike. Tax applies now, but consumers are supposed to self-report. Most don’t despite the fact that sales and use tax applies in 45 states and DC.

A growing number of states extend sales tax to online retailers with in-state sales affiliates. Thus, Amazon  started collecting tax in Pennsylvania, Texas, California and Connecticut according to the Marketplace Fairness Act website. more> http://tinyurl.com/c7y48ye

Related>

• Amazon Sales Tax Everywhere Very Close Now, Robert W. Wood, Forbes
• Internet sales tax advances after Obama endorsement, Brendan Sasso and Bernie Becker, Hill

Populists, plutocrats and the GOP sales tax

By Charles Postel – February 1913 marked a turning point in U.S. history. One hundred years ago this month, the states ratified the 16^th Amendment, clearing the way for adoption of a federal income tax.

In the decades before the income tax, the rich grew extremely rich while most Americans struggled on the edge of poverty. Mark Twain dubbed it the Gilded Age: Plutocrats built ever-bigger mansions; hard times pressed on everyone else. Yet by the 1950s, the income tax had played a crucial role in the mix of policies that narrowed the income gap and built a broad middle class.

Over the past 35 years, however, those policies have been under siege. more> http://tinyurl.com/arzd2ky