tax strategy

There’s Gold in Them Thar . . . Hills?

by

It’s morning on January 24, 1848, and a sawmill operator notices some shiny flecks in the American River just downstream of his mill. The Gold Rush is on, and San Francisco explodes from a village of 200 to a boomtown of 36,000.

Nearly 200 years later, a new breed of San Francisco-area companies are mining a new form of gold. Except, instead of yellow metal, they’re digging for personal data. And state governments are still struggling to tax the boom. Two law school professors have just released a paper in the Notre Dame Law Review advocating one possible solution.

Their answer: a digital service tax like the one recently adopted in Maryland.

Boring Is as Boring Does

by

The U.S. Constitution begins with some of the most ambitious words in the history of governance: “We the People of the United States of America, in Order to form a more perfect Union…” For over 200 years now, the Supreme Court of the United States has helped shape that effort like a river’s banks shape its flow. The Court has weighed in on some of the thorniest, most contentious issues in American life. Is “separate but equal” really equal? Does the Constitution protect a right to privacy? Where do the limits of free speech apply?

From Russia with . . . Taxes

by

On March 29, 2023, Russia’s Federal Security Service detained a Wall Street Journal reporter named Evan Gershkovich on trumped-up charges that he was spying on a Russian tank manufacturer for the CIA. The State Department officially designated the reporter as “wrongfully detained.” Diplomats, the Journal, and even the last remnants of Russia’s own independent press called for his release. Meanwhile, a Moscow court repeatedly extended his detention. Last month, it found him guilty of espionage and sentenced him to 16 years in prison.

Understanding Disaster Losses for Your Taxes

by

We seem to be living in an age of natural disasters. Floods, fires, hurricanes, tornados, and other disasters often dominate the news. If a disaster strikes you, the tax law may help. It’s important to note that there are differences on how personal losses and business losses are treated and deducted under our current tax […]

Have a Coke and a S̶m̶i̶l̶e̶ Tax

by

On May 8, 1886, a Civil War veteran and pharmacist named John Pemberton was experimenting with a nonalcoholic alternative to the morphine he had become addicted to after a saber wound at the Battle of Columbus. He accidentally mixed the base syrup with carbonated water and then decided to sell it as a fountain drink […]