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stories filed under: "irs"
Politics

Politics

by Mike Masnick

Wed, Jun 17th 2009 6:43pm


Filed Under:
fringe benefits, irs, mobile phones, taxes



Actually, Now IRS Wants Congress To Repeal Tax On Work-Provided Mobile Phone

from the wow,-public-response-worked dept

Earlier this week, we wrote about how the IRS was exploring how to enforce an old law that required people whose mobile phones were paid by their employers to pay taxes on the phone service as a "fringe benefit." That got quite an uproar, and it appears the IRS is now saying that it agrees it's a really stupid idea and hopes that Congress will repeal that old law. Of course, it's not clear why it was even explored late last week as a possibility if the administration is so against the idea.

13 Comments | Leave a Comment..

 
(Mis)Uses of Technology

(Mis)Uses of Technology

by Mike Masnick

Mon, Jun 15th 2009 5:43pm


Filed Under:
fringe benefits, irs, mobile phones, taxes



IRS Wants To Tax Your Work-Provided Mobile Phone As A Fringe Benefit?

from the searching-for-cash-under-the-cushions dept

It appears that the Federal Treasury really is searching for cash under the cushions these days. Its latest idea? Claiming that mobile phones provided by employers are actually a "fringe benefit" that should be taxed. So even if your company pays for your mobile phone, you may owe the IRS taxes on it. The mobile operators are fighting this, but given the state of the economy, it shouldn't be much of a surprise if the IRS moves forward with this.

40 Comments | Leave a Comment..

 
Politics

Politics

by Mike Masnick

Wed, Jan 14th 2009 2:11pm


Filed Under:
irs, second life, tax collections, taxes, virtual worlds



IRS May Be Gearing Up To Send Tax Collectors Into Second Life

from the how-much-is-the-tax-on-a-magic-sword? dept

It wasn't difficult to predict that this day was coming -- especially with both China and Australia already experimenting with charging taxes on virtual goods and transactions in virtual worlds. However, Game Politics points us to the news that the US's "taxpayer advocate" (we have such a thing?) is now suggesting the IRS start taxing transactions in virtual worlds as well. While the initial suggestion is for the IRS to just issue "guidelines" for taxpayers, that's the start down the path to active taxation in those worlds. This could get troublesome fast -- as you could easily see scenarios where kids who thought they were just playing a game suddenly owe significant real world taxes, just because they've been successful in the game and accumulated "valuable" assets. It seems fairly pointless, and potentially troublesome, to do any kind of taxation on virtual transaction until such time as real dollars exchange hands.

36 Comments | Leave a Comment..

 
(Mis)Uses of Technology

(Mis)Uses of Technology

by Mike Masnick

Thu, May 15th 2008 6:39am


Filed Under:
audits, irs, snooping, tax returns



IRS Employees Caught Snooping On Tax Returns

from the nice-to-see-someone's-checking dept

Last week, in writing about the Italian government's defense of its decision to put everyone's tax returns online for everyone else to see, we noted the bizarre statement by the official who made the decision: "In the USA, tax filings are already public, check any American TV-movie and you'll see." This totally false statement didn't get much play in the American press (someone in the comments suggested that maybe it seemed so unbelievable that the press thought he was joking). However, as if to make it painfully clear how false this statement actually is, five IRS employees have been charged for snooping on tax returns they were not authorized to look at. While it is a little troublesome that IRS employees were able to do this in the first place, it's at least somewhat comforting that the IRS's auditing system seems to be able to catch people doing this, even when they're only looking at a very small number of unauthorized returns (each worker only looked at one to four unauthorized returns).

9 Comments | Leave a Comment..

 
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