WHAT’S THE BUZZ – TELL ME WHAT’S A HAPPENNIN’

* The “blogosphere” has been truly abuzz with commentary and information on Chuck Rangel’s misnamed “mother of all tax reforms”. Most notably “A State-by-State look at Rangel's ‘Mother of All Tax Reforms’ Bill” at the Tax Foundation’s TAX POLICY BLOG.

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* Kelly Phillips Erb, the TAX GIRL, writes a guest post on “46 Tax Deductions that Bloggers Often Overlook” at PROBLOGGER.

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* IR-2007-178 announces that the “IRS Grants Tax Relief for Southern California Wildfire Victims”. California also provides state tax relief for victims, as I expect most states will.

* Kristine McKinley of Beacon Financial Advisors, who writes the FINANCIAL TIPS FOR WAHMS blog, offers a free report outlining “Tax Tips for WAHMS” (and presumable also WAHDs and all other types of WAH-ers). I downloaded a copy and found it to be a very good basic primer for the newly self-employed who work at home. It covers in simple language just about everything a true beginner needs to know, and includes IRS resources for each topic discussed.

* According to an article from Comcast.net News titled “Tax Law: Are You Eating Those Pumpkins?", the Iowa Department of Revenue is taxing pumpkins this year, as state officials decided that pumpkins are used primarily as Halloween decorations and not food. Iowans who are planning to eat their pumpkins can get a sale tax exemption if they fill out a form. Another headline from Comcast.net read “TS Noel Leaves People Dead, Missing”. A trans-sexual serial killer?

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Wait, what is this? Comcast.net now reports that “Iowa Governor Gives Pumpkins a Reprieve”! Responding to pressure from pumpkin growers, Iowa’s governor has ordered the Department of Revenue to “do the common sense thing” and give a refund to anyone affected by this “ridiculous policy”.

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Apparently Iowa has some strange sales tax rulings. Iowan Joe Kristan of the ROTH AND COMPANY TAX UPDATE BLOG tells how the his home state treats the “classic” Milky Way bar and the Milky Way Midnight bar differently for sales tax purposes in his posting on “Pumpkin Amnesty”.

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* Carl Bernstein, half of the Woodward and Bernstein team of “All the President’s Men” fame, made some excellent observations on the current state of journalism to a group of college prep students, covered in “Reporter Bernstein Raps Celebrity News”, an article on my mail.com homepage. Right on, Carl!

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* The IRS Small Business/Self Employed “division” offers a free electronic mail service designed to provide tax information for small business owners and self-employed individuals. It’s “e-News for Small Businesses”, distributed every Wednesday, provides important upcoming tax dates for SB/SE customers, info on what's new for small businesses on the IRS Web site, reminders and tips to assist small businesses/self-employed with tax compliance, and IRS News Releases and special IRS announcements that pertain to SB/SE "customers". Click here to view a sample issue, and here to subscribe to the e-newsletter.

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* NATP’s TAX PRO WEEKLY email newsletter for tax professionals provides the following update on the hybrid energy credit:

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“Purchasers of certain qualified Ford Motor Company hybrid vehicles may continue to claim the alternative motor vehicle credit.

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· 2008 Ford Escape 2WD Hybrid - $3,000
· 2005, 2006, and 2007 Ford Escape 2WD - $2,600
· 2008 Ford Escape 4WD Hybrid - $2,200
· 2005, 2006, and 2007 Ford Escape 4WD - $1,950
· 2008 Mercury Mariner 4WD Hybrid - $2,200
· 2006 and 2007 Mercury Mariner 4WD - $1,950
· 2008 Mercury Mariner 2WD Hybrid - $3,000

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Purchasers of qualified General Motors Corp. hybrid vehicles may continue to claim the alternative motor vehicle credit.

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· 2006 and 2007 Chevrolet Silverado Hybrid 2WD - $250
· 2006 and 2007 Chevrolet Silverado Hybrid 4WD - $650
· 2006 and 2007 GMC Sierra Hybrid 2WD - $250
· 2006 and 2007 GMC Sierra Hybrid 4WD - $650
· 2007 Saturn Vue Green Line - $650
· 2007 Saturn Aura Hybrid - $1,300

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The IRS has certified that the 2008 Honda Civic GX meets the requirements of the qualified alternative fuel motor vehicle credit. The 2008 Honda Civic GX is an alternative fueled vehicle that operates on compressed natural gas. This vehicle should not be confused with hybrid vehicles. The qualified alternative fuel motor vehicle credit amount for the 2008 Honda Civic GX is $4,000.”

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* The new issue of Tax Watch, the Tax Foundation's bimonthly tax policy newsletter is available online. The November-December 2007 issue includes:

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· Where Are the Best Business Taxes?
· Top One Percent Pay More Income Tax than Bottom Ninety
· Should America Raise the Federal Gas Tax?
· K-12 Schools Growing More Dependent on Federal Government

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The front page article on business taxes reports that, according to the Foundation’s 2008 State Business Climate Index, Wyoming has the country’s simplest and best designed business tax system. Rhode Island has the poorest designed business tax system, followed closely by New Jersey (constipation, Mr. Holmes).

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TTFN