The season so far; true networking; Sanders and taxes; and other highlights from our favorite tax bloggers.

March Madness

• Liberty Tax (http://www.libertytax.com/tax-lounge): Remind the appropriate clients that beating the college basketball brackets every spring might leave them with more than bragging rights — namely, a tax bill for the winnings.
• Houston Tax Attorney (http://www.irstaxtrouble.com/blog/): If a taxpayer cannot deduct gambling losses as gambling losses, can they deduct them as casualty losses instead? What if the gambling losses are attributable to prescription medications known to cause compulsive gambling? The court addresses this in Mancini v. Commissioner.
• Tax Girl (https://www.forbes.com/sites/kellyphillipserb/): A history of our most recent holiday passed: Daylight Saving Time (“Before 1966, laws setting dates for DST were somewhat fluid…”). We remember when President Nixon tried to introduce it in the middle of winter to save energy in the afternoons — only to discover that it stayed dark until after 9 a.m.
• TaxMama (http://taxmama.com): A quick note on some of this month’s tax deadlines. This Friday appears overloaded.
• Taxjar (http://blog.taxjar.com/): March sales tax due dates, by state.
• Taxbuzz (https://www.taxbuzz.com/blog): A chat with tax pros covers what’s going well and not-so-well so far this season.

Making friends

• IRS Mind (https://www.irsmind.com/): Most of the over 152 million taxpayers each year never have to deal with a tax problem like an audit, collection action, penalty or IRS notice. But more than 20 million individual taxpayers each year have an IRS problem. What should you tell them about approaching the problem?
• Income Tax School (http://www.theincometaxschool.com/blog/): “5 Ways to Keep Your Employees Motivated Through the Busy Tax Season” include remembering “that your employees are not there just because they love you so much (although hopefully that’s part of it).”
• Solutions for CPA Firm Leaders (http://ritakeller.com/blog/): Firm leaders advise and encourage their managers and younger team members to get out there and network. But collecting contacts is not making friends.
• SageNext (https://www.thesagenext.com/blog): It’s no secret that baby boomers are generally richer than millennials. Why does this generation struggle with finances in the first place? The answer’s multi-faceted and involves a lot that preparers and planners with these clients should know.
• Boyum Barenscheer (https://myboyum.com/blog/): “Vehicle Expense Deduction Guidelines for Individual Taxpayers,” or at least what the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act has left of them (the deductions, not the taxpayers).

Ship of states

• Don’t Mess With Taxes (http://dontmesswithtaxes.typepad.com/): Following up last week’s entry on tax help with losses from natural disasters, a look at filing extension deadlines in storm-struck Alabama.
• Taxable Talk (http://www.taxabletalk.com/): What goes into moving to a new state? Lately, it seems taxes top the list.
• Tax Foundation (https://taxfoundation.org/blog): In the TCJA and SALT fracas, states have tried a number of increasingly creative workarounds, including taxes on pass-through businesses to avoid the SALT deduction cap. Under recently introduced legislation, Rhode Island looks to join their ranks.
• Avalara (https://www.avalara.com/us/en/blog.html): Who’s responsible for sales tax in New York, the marketplace or the vendor? Is an out-of-state online marketplace responsible for collecting and remitting New York sales tax on sales facilitated in New York? Or is the marketplace seller itself responsible for the sales tax? Unclear on this point, an online marketplace sought guidance from the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance.

Old is new again

• Rubin on Tax http://rubinontax.floridatax.com/: Four Years Already Dept.: Should a Democrat win the White House in 2020, recent tax moves may sunset and others spring up a lot sooner than 2025. A look at the proposals of Bernie Sanders.
• National Taxpayer Advocate (https://taxpayeradvocate.irs.gov/about/nta-blog): This entry highlights problems with the transparency of the IRS Office of Chief Counsel. One big aspect of the trouble: how and why bits of Program Manager Technical Advice flow.
• Mauled Again (http://mauledagain.blogspot.com/): If there’s anything on which almost everyone, no matter the side of the aisle, agrees, it’s need to repair, improve and maintain the nation’s transportation infrastructure. Some states have already raised fuel taxes; proposals to raise federal fuel taxes are again being introduced in Congress. It’s also not surprising that the anti-tax movement is rising up yet again to oppose any increases. The latest condemnation comes from Americans for Prosperity. A look at their four points.
• Wolters Kluwer (http://news.cchgroup.com/): Where will the fees of tomorrow be made? Via new technologies, yes, but also in newer, fee-rich services. Ignore the numbers at your peril.