IRS Instructions as Clear as Mud, Even to the IRS
Tax time is just around the corner and that means it will be time once again to comb through all the jargon that is IRS tax forms. Many taxpayers have long bemoaned tax forms and instructions as just plain confusing and in some cases, downright sinister. However, even though filing taxes on your own accord can be a risky proposition, as long as you stick to the code and follow the IRS’s instructions carefully and exactly, you should be OK, right? Well, not necessarily.
What? How could that possibly be true? The fact is tax instructions don’t actually fall under the tax law. So, in reality, you could even follow the instructions on a tax form with exactness and still end up with an error. Of course, the IRS would understand if that happened to you, right? Well, not exactly. Many taxpayers have used this argument to no avail. In most instances, the courts side with the IRS and rarely hold the agency to what is written in its forms and instructions.
That’s because, unfortunately, according to legal precedence, the only things that hold up in court as tax law are regulations, official statutes and judicial decisions. That means even if you fill out your tax forms incorrectly and it’s the IRS’s fault, you will still be held accountable for those mistakes. It doesn’t seem fair that the IRS is ultimately not responsible to write correct instructions, but nevertheless when it comes to the IRS there isn’t too much that does seem fair.
Will Taxing the Rich Even More Improve Inequality?
Will Taxing the Rich Even More Improve Inequality? It’s been the cry of democratic lawmakers and many of the less fortunate for years: “We need to tax the wealthy even more.” “The rich have to pay their fair share of taxes, too.” The problem is the rich already pay a huge portion of the country’s…
It Pays to Be Rich for These Five Tax Breaks
It Pays to Be Rich for These Five Tax Breaks Although it’s true that the ultra-wealthy are heavily taxed, and in many cases unfairly, there are also some tax break advantages that favor the upper class more than those in the middle. Let’s take a look at some of these breaks. Most common and first…
New Jersey Governor Says Enough is Enough on Taxing the Wealthy
New Jersey Governor Says Enough is Enough on Taxing the Wealthy It seems that no tax is a bad tax when it comes to the “left” side of the government. It’s a well-known fact that the wealthiest Americans pay the largest portion of the country’s taxes. However, there are some government leaders that lean “right”…
Clinton’s Using Careful Strategies to Avoid Tax They Support
Clinton’s Using Careful Strategies to Avoid Tax They Support Have you ever wondered what wealthy democrats do when tax laws they support and vote for come back to apply to them? Although people typically associate being wealthy with republicans, there are plenty of rich democrats in the nations’ capitol as well. So just what do…