Tax Chats

Send a textAway to Pay Taxes (to the tune of Away in the Manger)Re-release (originally released Christmas, 2021)Lyrics by Jeff Hoopes, Sung by Stacey HoopesOh Joseph and MaryThey were there for a taskThey came to the cityTo pay their taxBut as they remitted The tax on their worthOh Mary, a virginShe had to give birth They went to the cityBy Caesa­r’s decreeAs taxes touched JosephThey affect you and meWhen we give birthand when we dieHow much we workAnd what car we buy  For every decisionWe weigh how we actBy counting the costAnd we do it post-tax The pros and the consIn dollars and centsWe consider the taxesBefore we commence

Send a textIn honor of the fifth anniversary of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act...I Heard the Bells (of tax reform!)Sung to the tune of I Heard the Bells on Christmas DaySinging by two of Dyreng's DeductionsLyrics of Jeff HoopesI heard the tale about the dayThey passed the law TCJAThe rate was high our firms payed muchSo they were blessed by Donald’s touchThe rate brought low that fated dayWhen Congress put out on displayThat we are strong and we will beatOn taxes we will now competeFor mobile factors move and shiftTheir presence all boats will liftAnd the economy will growFor rates were high and now they're low

Send a textScott and Jeff chat with Daniel Hemel about the House Ways and Means Committee "Report on the Internal Revenue Service's Mandatory Audit Program" that reveals substantial information about former President Trump's tax returns. Additional information was revealed in a report by the Joint Committee on Taxation.

Send a textThe Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was signed into law on December 22, 2017. In honor of its birth five whole years ago, we talk with the American Enterprise Institute's Kyle Pomerleau, who had a front row seat to the passage of the TCJA. 

Send a textScott and Jeff chat with Daniel Hemel, Law Professor at New York University about the recently enacted excise tax on share repurchases or buybacks. Daniel has thought and written about buybacks, for example, here.We discuss buybacks, dividends, and why both progressives and conservatives might be in favor of a tax on buybacks.

Send a textScott and Jeff discuss the effect of capital gains taxes on  stock prices with Douglas A. Shackelford, former Dean of UNC's Kenan-Flagler Business School.  If the capital gains tax rate increases, should stock prices go up, down, or stay the same? Its much more complicated than you might think!

Send a textScott and Jeff discuss what constitutes candy, for sales tax purposes, in North Carolina. The discussion ends with the verdict on craisins--are they candy? Scott is quizzed on other types of food and whether they are candy, and, scores a perfect 0/5.

Send a textTodd Castagno, an equity research analyst at Morgan Stanley, responds to a list of possible ways corporations might  react  to the tax on book income recently passed as part of the Inflation Reduction Act.  

Send a textScott and Jeff talk about Tax Foundation with CEO and President Daniel Bunn. We talk about its missions, where it gets funding, and other tax-related issues. We discuss the pro-growth agenda of the Tax Foundation and note that there could be other legitimate objective functions for a think tank.

Send a textTax Chats is officially one year old! In honor of this anniversery, Scott and Jeff talk through a potential rebranding of Tax Chats with a different name, then go on to discuss two tax headlines. First, they discuss windfall profits taxes on oil companies, then talk about the disclosure of Donald Trump's tax returns.Jeff also misuses the Spanish verb "recordar."