Tinkering with the Code Can’t Fix this Problem

by Daniel J. Pilla

As the current IRS scandal continues to unfold, cries are rising from quarters throughout Washington for “reforming the IRS.” I have said many times that tax reform cannot solve the problem of IRS abuse. The system is built on an unsound foundation. And when the foundation of a structure is not sound, the only solution is to bulldoze it and start over again.…

TREASURY INSPECTOR GENERAL FINGERS THE IRS

Agency Reels from Revelation of Abuse

A firestorm of controversy preceded the release of the report of Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) on the IRS’s handling of the applications for…

Is There Any Real Relief for the American Taxpayer?

By Dan Pilla

The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 is yet another major tax reform bill that doesn’t really do much to reform taxes. True, some of the key provisions of the Bush-era tax cuts are now permanent (to the extent that any tax provision is ever permanent today). However, the Act still leaves in place far too many temporary provisions. These have…

AMT “INDEXING” IS NOW PERMANENT

No More Annual Scramble for a “Patch”

by Daniel J. Pilla

One of the maddening things about tax policy in the past eleven years was Congress’s unwillingness to permanently index the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) exemption levels to inflation. For more than a decade, Congress merely passed an annual last minute “patch,” which simply extended the temporary rules for…