WHAT’S THE BUZZ, TELL ME WHAT’S A HAPPENNIN’?

The first BUZZ of 2019!

* Check out my new FREE monthly online newsletter BOBSERVATIONS. Lots of interesting stuff - including an item on taxes.

* Daniel Hood listed what in his opinion were the “The top tax and accounting stories of 2018” at ACCOUNTING TODAY.

What I forgot to mention in my review of the year in taxes was the appointment of a new IRS Commissioner.   

* As he does every year at this time, Russ Fox presented that most prestigious of prestigious awards “The 2018 Tax Offender of the Year” at TAXABLE TALK.

* Howard Gleckman announced the winner of a similar award - “The Tax Vox Lump of Coal Award ForThe Worst Tax Idea of 2018” - at TAX VOX, which also listed the 10½ nominees.

“The 2018 lump of coal (not a real thing) goes to the president who made an absurd, impossible-to-keep promise, and all those self-described experts who twtook him seriously. Congratulations, or something.”

Clearly Donald T Rump deserved a lump of coal for everything he did in 2018!  

* And we learned “TCJA Reg Writers Earn Tax Notes’ 2018 Person of the Year”.

“The IRS estimates that 530 full-time equivalent employees have logged more than 1.1 million hours translating the TCJA from law into regulations, guidance, FAQs, and other instruments useful to tax practitioners. Given that more IRS employees worked part time on tax reform or simply didn’t charge for hours they worked, the tax agency said exact numbers spent interpreting the TCJA were ‘challenging to determine’.”

* Jared Walczak of THE TAX FOUNATION identifies “Tax Changes Taking Effect January 1, 2019”.

* In case you missed the individual posts Kelly Phillips Erb, FORBES.COM’s TaxGirl, provides “The Complete List Of The 12 Days Of Charitable Giving 2018”.

* While it has nothing to do with income taxes, “Estate Planning Essentials” by Sterling Raskie at GETTING YOUR FINANCIAL DUCKS IN A ROW provides some good basic information on an important topic.

TTFN