Tax Chats

Send us a textIn this episode we talk about the tax consequences of student loan forgiveness. Generally, debt forgiveness is treated as income, and is therefore taxable. If the Biden Administration's current plan to forgive portions of student loans comes to fruition, the forgiven amount would normally be taxable. Provisions have been made to make student loan forgiveness tax free at the federal level. Some states, including North Carolina, would still treat the loan forgiveness as taxable, and borrowers would owe state taxes on the forgiven amounts. We discuss that issue, along with other issues related to taxes and higher education in North Carolina, along with the general business climate and taxation in the state of North Carolina with Senator Phil Berger, President Pro Tempore of the NC Senate.

Send us a textScott and Jeff discuss recent headlines from the New York Times:Opinion | There Is a Tax That Could Help With Inflation - The New York Times (nytimes.com)The Purpose of Extra-Large Marshmallows? A U.K. Court Weighs In. - The New York Times (nytimes.com)Lawsuit Seeks to Block Biden’s Student Debt Cancellation Plan - The New York Times (nytimes.com)Endowment Tax on Wealthiest Universities Netted a Fraction of Predictions in 2021 - WSJ

Send us a textScott and Jeff discuss several people Jeff has invited to be on the show, but who have (as of yet!) been unable to make a Tax Chats appearance. Scott guesses why Jeff invited each person to be on Tax Chats.  The "John Edwards Tax Shelter", gas taxes and electric vehicles, soda taxes, and taxing assault rifles are all briefly discussed. 

Send us a textScott and Jeff discuss Pillar 1 of the OECD's Inclusive Framework with Heydon Wardell Burrus of the Centre for Business Taxation at Oxford University.

Send us a textScott and Jeff chat with Larry Zelenak, Professor at the Duke Law School about taxes in sitcoms. Larry has documented the extensive list of episodes that use the federal income tax as a major component of the plot. His work documenting these facts can be found in these two articles:"Six Decades of the Federal Income Tax in Sitcoms""Seven-Plus Decades of the Federal Income Tax in Sitcoms: An Update"In the episode, we refer most frequently to three episodes:3Rd Rock From the Sun, Season 4, Episode 12 "Dick and Taxes"Roseanne, Season 2, Episode 22 "April Fool's Day"The Simpsons, Season 9: Episode 20 "The Trouble with Trillions"

Send us a textIn this episode, Scott and Jeff discuss the some of the fascinating details related to the taxation of tobacco. We often think of the tax system as a tool to raise revenue. But the tax system is also used to encourage or discourage behavior. Taxing tobacco is one example of this type of tax, but the existence of the tax creates many strange incentives that affect the way people behave, including, counterintuitively, smoking more under some circumstances.

Send us a textJeff quizzes Scott about the tax status of the Royal Family in England.Long live the Queen.

Send us a textDespite our best efforts to inform the world about the perils of taxing financial statement income, the Corporate Alternative Minimum Tax based on financial accounting income passed as part of the Inflation Reduction Act. Jeff and Scott discuss the adjustments to financial accounting income that are part of the act, and describe how these adjustments will result in a situation where some firms will report high profits to shareholders and low or no tax, despite the minimum tax.

Send us a textScott and Jeff discuss a program called Tax Inspectors Without Borders with Rusudan Kemularia, Head of Tax Inspectors Without Borders. The program is part of the OECD and is connected with the OECD's BEPS as part of an effort to help provide developing countries with the tools necessary to enforce tax laws in the complex international tax arena.

Send us a textJeff and Scott discuss some interesting tax-related observations Jeff made while visiting Oxford University and Mannheim University in England and Germany.