Amy Tsai, CPA

03/19/2016

In New York, an uncut bagel is tax exempt, but an 8-cent tax is added to any altered bagels. If you ask for it with cream cheese, or if you just want it sliced, that’s considered preparing it for consumption on the premise – which adds that extra 8 cents.

03/18/2016

Unusual Taxes: Texas “pole tax” is a tax on strip clubs that serves alcohol. The tax collected goes to sexual assault victims and low income health insurance.

Florida, Georgia, Illinois, and Nevada also have similar 'sin tax'.

http://www.mystatesman.com/news/news/state-cracking-down-on-strip-club-tax/nmNY8/

State Comptroller Glenn Hegar has begun cracking down on strip clubs that have been slow to pay a $5-per-patron fee more commonly known as the “pole tax.

07/23/2014

Help donate to your charitable organizations by shopping through AmazonSmile! :)

05/30/2014

Ireland, Denmark, and other EU nations has begun to tax cattle owners on cow flatulence - a leading cause of global warming. Cow flatulence costs $18 per cow in Ireland and $110 per cow in Denmark.

http://dailycaller.com/2014/04/11/republicans-warn-of-a-federal-tax-on-cow-flatulence/

Senate Republicans warn that President Obama’s new focus on agricultural methane emissions could mean a tax on livestock emissions -- including cow flatulence. South Dakota Sen. John Thune and fe

05/23/2014

The Gettysburg address has 269 words; the Declaration of Independence has 1,337 words; the Bible has 773,000 words. However, the tax law has grown from 11,400 words in 1913 to 7 million words today (70,000 pages including statutes, regulations, and caselaw).

03/21/2014

Overbite and Clarinet: Thanks to an 1962 provision that was added after orthodontists argued that playing clarinet helps with a child’s overbite, now both the clarinet and the clarinet lessons are considered treatments for tooth misalignment and therefore deductible as medical expenses.

For more strange tax deductions, see:
http://tsaicpa.wordpress.com/2014/03/21/10-wakcy-but-legitimate-federal-tax-deductions/

1. Pet Moving: Most people are aware that they can deduct moving costs for relocating for a new job, if they meet a few requirements. However, what they may not be aware of is that they can also...

03/21/2014

“Pecunia non olet!” (Money doesn’t stink!) is a Latin saying. During the 1st century AD, Roman emperor Vaspasian imposed a tax on urine. Similar to sales tax, buyers of urine paid the tax. Urine from public urinals was sold as an essential ingredient for several chemical processes (it was used in tanning, though not exactly sure how), and also by launderers as a source of ammonia to clean and whiten woolen togas etc. Therefore, those who purchased valuable urine were charged a tax.

For more weird tax facts, see:
http://tsaicpa.wordpress.com/2014/03/15/10-weird-tax-facts/

1. "Pecunia non olet!" (Money doesn't stink!) is a Latin saying. During the 1st century AD, Roman emperor Vaspasian imposed a tax on urine. Similar to sales tax, buyers of urine paid the tax....

03/16/2014

"Unquestionably, there is progress. The average American now pays out twice as much in taxes as he formerly got in wages." – Henry Louis Mencken (1880-1956)

03/14/2014

“The U.S. Senate is considering a bill that would tax Botox. When Botox users heard this, they were horrified. Well, I think they were horrified. It’s difficult to tell.” –Craig Ferguson [About the healthcare reform bill in 2009]

03/12/2014

"It would be nice if we could all pay our taxes with a smile, but normally cash is required." - Anonymous