BLOG BUZZ

The postings to some of the various tax blogs I check out regularly have been rather limited lately – perhaps a result tax season burn-out. It looks like some have given up completely. However, I have nonetheless come across some interesting “stuff” this past week.

* Mark Minassian, your guide to business law and taxes at About.com provides a helpful “Home Office Deduction FAQ” page on his blog.

* Want to know HOW TO SOLVE AMT? FIX THE REGULAR TAX! Duh - constipation, Mr Holmes. Of course such a simple solution would be too easy for the cafones in Congress. Someone, I don’t recall who, very astutely said that “the creation of the original add-on Minimum Tax is an example of just how lazy Congress is”. Anyway, this posting to the ROTH AND CO TAX UPDATES blog discusses the Tax Foundation’s new study to fix the alternative minimum tax.

* Not only is Kelly Phillips Erb’s TAX GIRL blog presenting Presidential candidates’ responses to a tax policy questionaire, but she also posts a regular weekly “Getting to Know You Tuesday” interview with fellow tax bloggers. Last week she featured law professor Jim Maule of MAULED AGAIN, and this week the spotlight is on the Yellow Rose of Taxes – Kay Bell of DON’T MESS WITH TAXES. I, too, was interviewed for this series, and my Getting to Know You Tuesday posting will probably be the first one in July.

* The Small Business Taxes and Management “News and Tip of the Day” blog's May 24th posting reports that a bill titled the Universal Higher Education and Lifetime Learning Act has been introduced to consolidate the HOPE and Lifetime Learning education credits and the “above-the-line” deduction for tuition and fees. Under this bill the maximum consolidated credit would be $3,000, computed as 50% of the first $3,000 and 30% of the next $5,000. Phaseout of the credit would begin at $50,000 for single taxpayers and $100,000 for joint filers.

TTFN