2018 Federal Tax Law Course

Tax Interview #2

1. Introduction - For the introduction part of this essay, you may want to first answer the following ten questions with one paragraph each and then come back to fill in the introduction and mention something from each of the ten paragraphs.

2. A shareholder that provides services to a corporation may be deemed to receive a dividend if the corporation pays the shareholder service-provider for which services or what amount of services?

3. When is filing Form 1040 required for taxpayers? When can you file Form 1040A instead. Form 1040EZ is very limited. When can we use Form 1040EZ? Can we use Form 1040 for everything and forget about trying to figure out when to use 1040A or 1040EZ?

4. How does the taxpayer sign the tax return in order to file your tax return electronically? Can the taxpayer also sign Form 4868 when asking for extensions of time to file?

5. On October 22, 1986, President Reagan signed into law the Tax Reform Act of 1986. What did this act called? Besides sending all the mentally ill patients into our streets and being accredited for the creation of new towns called skid Row in Los Angeles and many other large cities in the United States, what else is Reagan given credit for when it comes to taxation?

6. In 2004, the U.S. was forced to eliminate a corporate tax provision that had been ruled illegal by the World Trade Organization. What does the WTO have to do with our tax system? Why do they even have a say? Two tax bills signed in 2005 and 2006 extended through 2010 the favorable rates on capital gains and dividends that had been enacted in 2003, raised the exemption levels for the Alternative Minimum Tax, and enacted new tax incentives designed to do what?

7. You receive interest income as a nominee. What does this mean? If the income is less than $10 the bank will most likely not send you a form asking you to report this income. Does this mean you don't have to report it?

8. On or before the first Monday in ________ (which month?) each year the President is required by law to submit to the Congress a budget proposal for the fiscal year that begins the following October. When did this process start? When did it start to be a formal process? Why?

9. In 1997, President Clinton signed a tax revenue act. What did this tax revenue act include? Have the items increased or decreased over the years or have they been completely eliminated?

10. If you changed your name because of marriage, divorce, etc., be sure to report the change to the Social Security Administration (SSA) before you file your return. What does this prevent or how does this help? Why does it matter that the change be reported? Can't this be done automatically? Who is in charge of changing names, of divorces? (Hint: State governments are not always connected to Federal agencies).

11. Your direct deposit request will be rejected and a check will be sent instead if the request is not filled out correctly or if you disagree in any manner with the form. What are the items that are most common in the reason direct deposit requests will be rejected? Why would it not make sense to have a direct deposit sent to an account that belongs to someone else?

12. Conclusion - For the conclusion part of this essay, you may mention something from the ten previous paragraphs and offer an opinion. What do you think about all this?

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Revised: 04/25/18

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