About Income Taxes; Tidbits
1812
The first attempt to impose an income tax on America occurred during the War of 1812. After more than two years of war, the federal government owed an unbelievable $100 million of debt. To pay for this, the government doubled the rates of its major source of revenue, customs duties on imports, which obstructed trade and ended up yielding less revenue than the previous lower rates.
And to think that the Revolution was started because of Tea Taxes in Boston?
Excise taxes were imposed on goods and commodities, and housing, slaves and land were taxed during the war. After the war ended in 1816, these taxes were repealed and instead high customs duties were passed to retire the accumulated war debt.
What is Taxable Income?
The amount of income used to arrive at your income tax. Taxable income is your gross income minus all your adjustments, deductions, and exemptions.
Some specific taxes:
Estate Taxes:
One of the oldest and most common forms of taxation is the taxation of property held by an individual at the time of death.
The US still has Estate Taxes, although there are proposals to do away with them.
State Tax Information
All states also have their own tax system. Typically there is a tax on real estate, and there may be additional income taxes, sales taxes, and excise taxes. Oil and mineral producing states often have a severance tax, which is similar to an excise tax in that tax is paid on products produced, rather than on sales. Taxes on hotel rooms are common, and politically popular because the taxpayers usually do not vote in the jurisdiction levying the tax.
These states do not levy an individual income tax: Alaska, Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming. New Hampshire and Tennessee only tax interest and dividend income. Delaware, Oregon, Montana and New Hampshire have no state or local sales tax. Alaska has no state sales tax, but allows localities to collect their own sales taxes up to a state-specified maximum. California has all the mentioned taxes, with the result that tax liability often exceeds 51% of income for many California residents.
History Of The Federal Income Tax
The powers of Congress, and the limitations set upon those powers, are set forth in Article I of the United States Constitution. Section 8 specifies both the power to collect, “Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises,” and the requirement that, “Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States.”
One of the major concerns of the Constitutional Convention was to limit the powers of the Federal Government. Among the powers to be limited was the power of taxation. It was thought that head taxes and property taxes (slaves could be taxed as either or both) were likely to be abused, and that they bore no relation to the activities in which the Federal Government had a legitimate interest. The fourth clause of section 9 therefore specifies that, “No Capitation, or other direct, Tax shall be laid, unless in Proportion to the Census or enumeration herein before directed to be taken.”
What Is Tax Law?
The federal tax code is complex. This complexity generally arises from two factors: the use of the tax code for purposes other than raising revenue, and the feedback process of amending the code.
While its main intent is to provide revenue for the federal government, the tax code is frequently used to direct the behavior of businesses and individuals in an attempt to achieve social, economic, and political goals.
For example, the tax law provides a deduction for mortgage interest in order to encourage home ownership. A theoretically pure income tax would not allow this deduction, which is not an expense incurred for the production of income. The allowance of the mortgage interest deduction is seen by some as discrimination against taxpayers who rent, rather than own, their home: the payment of rent for one’s home is not deductible. Of course in theory, landlords generate tax savings on their mortgage interest payments, and pass these savings on to renters.
Send Your Kids To Summer Camp and Write It Off
If you paid someone to care for a child so you could work, you may be able claim a tax credit for child and dependent care expenses on your federal income tax return. This credit is available to people who, in order to work or to look for work, have to pay for child care services for dependents under age 13.
The credit is a percentage, based on your adjusted gross income, of the amount of work-related child and dependent care expenses you paid to a care provider. The credit can range from 20 to 35 percent of your qualifying expenses, depending upon your income.
For 2004, you may use up to $3,000 of the expenses paid in a year for one child or $6,000 for two or more children. These dollar limits must be reduced by the amount of any dependent care benefits provided by your employer that you exclude from your income.
To claim the credit for child and dependent care expenses, you must meet the following conditions:
1. You must have earned income from wages, salaries, tips or other taxable employee compensation, or net earnings from self-employment. If you are married, both you and your spouse must have earned income, unless one spouse was either a full-time student or was physically or mentally incapable of self-care.
What You Need To Know About Taxes If You?re Getting Married
It may not be high on the list of wedding planning activities, but there are a few simple steps that can help keep tax issues from interrupting your newly wedded bliss. If you recently married, check out your new tax situation. You might save money or even prevent the problem of a missing refund check.
The first things to handle are changes of name and address. Later, as tax season approaches, consider whether or not you’ll itemize deductions, which tax return form is right for you and what filing status you’ll use.
No one should delay the cake cutting or honeymoon because of taxes. But here are some helpful hints for later:
Use Your Correct Name
You must provide correct names and identification numbers to claim personal exemptions on your tax return. If you changed your name upon marrying, let the Social Security Administration know and update your Social Security card so the number matches your new name. Use Form SS-5, Application for a Social Security Card.
Change of Address
What to Do If You Can?t Pay Your Taxes
The end of tax filing extensions is quickly approaching. What do you do if you can’t pay the amounts you owe? You should still file your return by the due date and pay as much as you can. There are, however, additional steps that might help.
Credit Cards
You can charge your taxes on your American Express, MasterCard, Visa or Discover cards. If you go in this direction, you can use either of the following two sources:
Official Payments Corporation
1-800-2PAY-TAX (1-800-272-9829)
www.officialpayments.com
Link2Gov Corporation
1-888-PAY-1040 (1-888-729-1040)
www.pay1040.com
If a credit card is out of the question, you may be able to pay any remaining balance over time in monthly installments through an installment agreement. If you are completely wiped out and the future looks grim, you may also want to consider getting the tax amount reduced through the Offer in Compromise program.
To apply for an installment payment plan, fill out and attach Form 9465 to the front of your tax return. The IRS has streamlined the approval process if your total taxes (not counting interest, penalties or other additions) do not exceed $25,000 and can be paid off in five years or less. Be sure to show the amount of your proposed monthly payment and the date you wish to make your payment each month. Make absolutely sure you can make the payments.
IRS Statute of Limitations: Do Taxes Ever Expire?
Many Americans believe that an IRS debt is a debt for life and that the tax collector can hound them to the grave. Thankfully, that is not the case and there are statutory time limits on the ability of the IRS to examine and collect taxes. Taxes do expire at some point and in some cases IRS does not get the money they were legally entitled to collect.
Basically, IRS has 10 years from the date they send out their first bill to collect the tax. The 10 year rule does not apply to the states. Some, like California have no statute of limitations and the state tax collector can indeed hound you forever. The federal tax collector must get the cash before the clock runs out.
For tax assessments made after November 5, 1990, the IRS cannot collect the tax after 10 years from the date of the original assessment absent special circumstances. Special circumstances that may extend the statute are: a bankruptcy not completed or wherein the tax is not discharged; filing an Offer-in-Compromise; or signing a Form 900 Waiver allowing the United States additional time to collect the tax. Also, it is possible for the government to sue to reduce the tax claim to judgment before the 10 years expires.
Furnishing Evidence in E-Tax Compliance
Self-assessment relies on taxpayers voluntarily meeting their tax obligations. This concept is recognised in all tax statutes, which sets out taxpayers’ primary obligations, and clearly spells out that taxpayers are required to determine the amount of tax payable correctly and to pay it on time.
Disclosure in this context serves two main purposes. First, it is necessary to provide information for audit selection. Secondly, disclosure is relevant to the issue of the abatement of penalties.
Taxpayers have a statutory obligation to disclose to the Commissioner in a timely and useful way all information required to be disclosed under the tax laws. Disclosure here covers items specifically required to be disclosed by statute, and items for which disclosure is required by the Central Board of Revenue Department. For income tax, under section 26 of sale tax act 1990 and 114 of income tax ordinance 2001, the departments requires a complete statement of the taxable income of the taxpayer for the preceding year, together with such other particulars as may be prescribed. The department’s disclosure expectations cover any requirements set out in a particular tax return, in the guide accompanying a particular tax return, or matters for which a specific disclosure form is prescribed.
Euro Tax Haven Threat
Media reporting of a new EU savings tax directive has left many people wondering whether European tax havens could soon become obselete.
The July directive requires banks throughout Europe, including low and no tax areas such as Gibraltar, Monaco, Malta and Andorra, to disclose bank account owner information to their home country’s tax authority.
But Roger Munns, Managing Director of tax haven property specialists Tribune Properties, says that some of the reporting has been less than accurate.
‘The purpose behind this directive is primarily aimed at those who hold illicit funds, such as drug dealers, who will need to look outside of the European banking system to place large cash deposits. The main attraction of Monaco and Andorra is the zero per cent income and inheritance taxes, and this remains intact and there are no plans whatsoever to change this’.
Monaco and Andorra have long been favoured destinations for the well to do, but with new technology allowing businessmen and women to run their offices from anywhere in the world, operating from low tax bases has seen added interest for Europe’s primary tax havens, doubling property prices in the last ten years.
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