05/28/2026
Hawaii Is Latest To Add "Millionaire's Tax"
Hawaii Is Latest To Add "Millionaire's Tax"
The Land of Coconuts and Outrigger Canoes recently raised its top marginal income tax rate from 11% to 13%. This is a new tax bracket for single filers earning more than $500,000 annually. Local lawmakers are calling it a “Millionaire’s Tax,” even though they’re only off by half. This nearly...
05/28/2026
AI Systems Are Being Used To Incorrectly Choose State Audit Targets
AI Systems Are Being Used To Incorrectly Choose State Audit Targets
Older forms of AI like machine learning have been used by tax departments for decades. Often called Automated Decision Systems, these systems are used by tax administrators to evaluate returns and identify red flags. The machine learning model is trained to look for certain features that could indic...
05/22/2026
Remembrances This Memorial Day
Remembrances This Memorial Day
Back in 1982, I was an actively precocious sophomore at the Latin School of Chicago. Latin has something called Project Week, where students take a week out of the busy school year, go off campus, and spend time doing something completely different hopefully learning from the experience. One of the....
05/21/2026
State And Local Tax Collections Continue Their Meteoric Rise
State And Local Tax Collections Continue Their Meteoric Rise
The US Census Bureau releases total state and local tax collections figures, as well as tax collections broken down by tax type. In addition to individual and corporate income taxes, state and local governments collect sales, property, excise, and other taxes. The results were surprising. The one pl...
05/16/2026
OBBBA Delivers Beyond Our Wildest Expectations
OBBBA Delivers Beyond Our Wildest Expectations
My last column was a Call to Arms. I wrote about increasing wholesale and retail inflation, AI creating layoffs, and the continuing devaluation of the dollar. But there’s good news to share as well. The overall economics of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) are astonishing. According to Piper...
05/13/2026
Producer Prices Rise 6% Threatening All Of Our Businesses
Producer Prices Rise 6% Threatening All Of Our Businesses
The Labor Department reported Wednesday that its producer price index, which tracks inflation before it hits consumers, increased 1.4% in April. This was its largest monthly gain since March 2022. This means that producer prices rose nearly 6% from a year earlier. This was the most since December of...
05/11/2026
You May Be Eligible For An Additional IRS Refund
You May Be Eligible For An Additional IRS Refund
Tens of millions of Americans might be eligible to claim refunds from the Internal Revenue Service because of a federal-court decision. In Kwong v. United States, the court found that many pandemic-era tax deadlines didn’t actually apply. The ruling determined that the tax code’s relaxed rules f...
05/10/2026
The Weakening US Dollar May Be Killing Your Business
The Weakening US Dollar May Be Killing Your Business
A hidden force is quietly pushing up costs for everything from summer vacations to weekly grocery bills: a weaker U.S. dollar. The dollar has fallen about 10% against other major currencies since the New Administration returned to the White House. The Wall Street Journal Dollar Index which measures....
05/04/2026
Cannabis Industry Gets A New High
Cannabis Industry Gets A New High
Following the final order from the Department of Justice and the Drug Enforcement Administration to reschedule certain ma*****na products from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act, the IRS issued a press release detailing some forthcoming tax guidance. This administrative shif...
04/29/2026
Team Ethos
Team Ethos
I wrote the following several years ago. When hiring a new employee, we put them through a two day test where we learn about their strengths, and their weaknesses. If they get through those two days (most don’t), I’ll then read our Team Ethos to them. I kindly ask those who then look at me […]