On Friday, a New Jersey state tax court ruled on appeal that a filing by three Trump casinos for overpaid utility taxes was barred by the four-year statute of limitations. The appeal was to recover nearly $3 million in overpaid taxes which were charged in error by Atlantic City Electric between 1998 and 2001. The appeals court dismissed Trump’s attorneys argument that the statute of limitations should have been extended because the tax was not clear on the bill. The court held that the error could have been discovered earlier.

Court Opinion

Businessweek, Trump casinos lose appeal on $2.7 million tax overpayment

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IRS Homebuyer Credit Video

by Joshua on August 13, 2010

The IRS has released the helpful video clip below which explains the extension of the deadline to close and what steps you need to take in order to obtain the credit.

If you want to learn about how the homebuyer tax credit closing extension passed, watched this informational video.

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European golf tour officials are in talks with the British government about changing certain tax laws that may deter top golfers from competing in this year’s Ryder Cup. The recent rules issued by the HMRC (HM Revenue and Customs) allow the agency to tax endorsement and sponsorship earnings as well as player winnings. The agency’s rules have deterred Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt from competition’s in Britain.

Andre Agassi lost a landmark case against the agency four years ago regarding these rules and regulations. In light of the court’s ruling in this case, for example, if an athlete competes 40 percent of the time in Britain, that athlete’s global endorsement earnings can be taxed 40 percent.

AP: Tour Officials Hampered by UK Tax Rules

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Happy Holidays! State Sales Tax Breaks Start

by Joshua on August 9, 2010

For those that are in the market for a new Jansport backpack, a new lunchbox, or trapper keeper, now may be the perfect time to make your purchase. In many states, this month marks the start of sales tax holidays. WalletPop has kindly listed which states are offering a sales tax breaks and the dates the the sales tax holiday runs through. For many states on the list, sales tax holiday season is over. However, if you live in one of these states you are in luck.

Connecticut: From Aug. 15-21, clothing and footwear costing less than $300 per item are exempt. Store rain checks for clothing — given out to customers when an item is on back order — are also good for the tax holiday. So if something is sold out and you get a rain check for it during the tax holiday, you won’t have to pay sales tax when the item is available.

Florida: From Aug. 13-15, clothing and books costing $50 or less and school supplies of $10 or less. Items bought at a theme park such as Walt Disney World, hotels or airports are still taxable.

Illinois: Through Aug. 15, clothing, shoes and school supplies costing less than $100 each.

Maryland: From Aug. 8-14, clothing and shoes of $100 or less are exempt from sales tax.

Massachusetts: Aug. 14 and 15, most items costing $2,500 or less are exempt from the sales tax. While beer, wine and liquor bought to be consumed later are exempt from sales tax that weekend, cars, boats and tobacco products are still subject to the tax.

Texas: On Aug. 20-22, clothing, footwear and school backpacks of $100 or less per item are exempt.

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Here is a link to a calculator created by the Tax Foundation which will compute your 2011 income taxes under three different scenarios: (1) If Congress allows all Bust tax cuts to expire; (2) Congress Acts to extend Bush tax cuts through 2011; and (3) Congress enacts tax laws as suggested in President Obama’s budget.

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According to sources, Chef Gordon Ramsay’s firm owes over $2 Million in taxes. Reports have indicated that U.S. Authorities have issued the chef’s firm three outstanding tax bills in the last eight months. The last bill was for about $500,000.The news comes days after the celebrity chef was forced to shut down his restaurant in Cape Town last week.

FOX23 News: Chef Ramsay in tax trouble

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From NPR’s Cities, Websites and Hotels at Odds Over Taxes:

Atlanta won a court case last week that will bring in more money for the city. And the same legal argument heard there — about whether the city now is simply able to collect taxes that it said it was already owed, or whether it’s imposing a new tax altogether — has taken place in courtrooms all across the country.

A seemingly technical question about taxing hotel rooms has triggered dozens of lawsuits nationwide, as well as a big-money lobbying fight in Congress.

On one side are online travel companies such as Expedia and Travelocity, which claim that cities — because of their miserable budget situation — are attempting a money grab by demanding tax payments to which they’re not entitled.

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Hello Again!

by Joshua on July 30, 2010

Tax Docket Readers –

I know it has been awhile since my last post. For the past few weeks I have been in bar exam study mode. Now that the exam is over, I will be back to posting the tax news you yearn for. For now I will take the liberty to welcome myself back to the tax blogging world with the “Welcome Back Kotter” theme song.

Thanks for reading!

Josh

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From Forbes, Did Tax Ploy Help Saints Win Super Bowl?

In a just-filed U.S. Tax Court lawsuit, the partnership owning the Saints acknowledges that it didn’t treat an $8.5 million annual payment from the state of Louisiana as income and therefore didn’t pay taxes on the sum. Rather, the team said the money was an addition to “working capital” and a nontaxable transaction.

……..

According to the lawsuit, the $8.5 million was one of a series of “inducement payments” starting in 2001 for 10 years to keep the National Football League team in New Orleans. The lawsuit says, the money was to be used, among other things, to “acquire additional and higher-priced player contacts” to make the team “more competitive in the NFL.”

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On Wednesday, the Senate approved legislation which allows home buyers (first-time home buyers and home buyers purchasing home for primary residence) that signed contracts by April 30 to close by September 30 in order to still be eligible for the tax credit. The tax credit is $8,000 for first time home buyers and $6,500 for home buyers purchasing a home as their new primary residence. Congress has sent the bill to President Obama.

Reuters, Senate Agrees to Extend Home Tax Credit

New York Times, Home Buyers’ Tax Credit Extended

ABC News,Congress Approves Home Tax Credit Extension

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