Business
**Tax Chats**

Taxes touch every aspect of society, including who rules, where factories are built, what people drink, what car they buy, when they have children, and when they die. Scott Dyreng (Duke) and Jeff Hoopes (UNC), two accounting professors, chat about taxes, including current events, with the energy of an over-caffeinated chihuahua. Listening is guaranteed to be far more entertaining than actually paying your taxes.

Latest Episodes:

Tax Tune - Capital Gains Sea Shanty Feb 01, 2022

Show notes

Capital Gains Sea Shanty
Sung by Dyreng's Deductions
Lyrics by Jeff Hoopes
There once was a man who bought some stock
In a little firm they call gamestop
The price went up so he sold his shares
Sittin on his gains so unaware
Then, oh, the taxman come
To tax his gains and stop his fun
Oh, when, the taxin’ is done
He’ll have some pennies and change
So what could you do to stop the pain?
To keep the taxman from your gains?
To keep the tax from being incurred
The best way is to just defer
Then, oh, the taxman come
To tax his gains and stop his fun
Oh, when, the taxin’ is done
He’ll have some pennies and change
Deferrals not the only game in town
To save your money just share it around
To spare your gains from a high tax rate
You just need to donate
Then, oh, the taxman come
To tax his gains and stop his fun
Oh, when, the taxin’ is done
He’ll have some pennies and change
Ooooohhhhh
Ooooohhhh
Oooooohhhh
Oooohhhh
Chorus Ooooohhh
Chorus Ooooohhh
Chorus Ooooohhh
Chorus Ooooohhh
Another trick to save tax costs
Is to harvest your loss stocks
Sell as many as you have in gains
To save yourself from taxman pains
Then, oh, the taxman come
To tax his gains and stop his fun
Oh, when, the taxin’ is done
He’ll have some pennies and change
If you defer your gains so well
Because you’re dead as a doornail
You’re dead but your estates got luck
Because your basis gets stepped up
Then, oh, the taxman come
To tax your gains and stop your fun
Oh, when, the taxin’ is done
You’ll have some pennies and change
Oh, when, the taxin’ is done
You’ll have some pennies and change

Tax Short - Can Stepped-Up Basis Help You Save Taxes? Jan 28, 2022

Show notes

Send us Fan Mail

Scott explains the step-up in basis loophole. He describes how it can help you pass your wealth to your heirs tax efficiently.

The In(Ex)clusive Framework: A Conversation with Afton Titus on Why the Global Minimum Taxes Might Harm Developing Countries Jan 26, 2022

Show notes

Send us Fan Mail

Are big countries bullying developing countries under the guise of the OECD's Inclusive Framework? It the framework really inclusive, or is it really an exclusive club of rich countries looking out for themselves? Jeff and Scott discuss these issues with Afton Titus who gives the African perspective.

Tax Short - Is Inflation a tax? Jan 19, 2022

Show notes

Send us Fan Mail

Jeff talks about the relationship between taxes and inflation, and, introduces us to the term seigniorage.

Martin Luther King Jr.'s Tax Perjury Trial: A conversation with Edgar Dyer Jan 15, 2022

Show notes

Send us Fan Mail

Martin Luther King Jr. is the only person to have ever been tried for perjury with regards to state income taxes in Alabama. Jeff and Scott interview Edgar Dyer about the tax perjury trial of Martin Luther King Jr. in 1960. Eddie wrote an article entitled "A Triumph of Justice in Alabama: The 1960 Perjury Trial of Martin Luther King, Jr."
Fred Grey, Martin Luther King's attorney, said of the trial, "No one would have predicted that an all-white jury in Montgomery, Alabama, the Cradle of the Confederacy, in May 1960, in the middle of all the sit-ins and all of the racial tension that was going on, would exonerate Martin Luther King, Jr. But it really happened." Coretta Scott King said of the trial, "A southern jury of twelve white men had acquitted Martin. It was a triumph of justice, a miracle that restored your faith in human good." Dr. King said it was a "turning point" in his life. Tune in to hear about this triumphal tax trial, which was a turning point for Martin Luther King.

Realizations about Realization Jan 12, 2022

Show notes

Send us Fan Mail

Scott and Jeff discuss the principle of realization. As a general rule, most income taxes are levied when it is realized, usually when a transaction takes place. For example, gains in shares held as an investment are not taxed unless those shares are sold. The principle of realization also manifests itself in a variety of interesting ways, which we discuss in this episode.

Tax Tune - Taxes Taxes, Where's my Refund? Jan 11, 2022

Show notes

Send us Fan Mail

Taxes Taxes, Where's my Refund

Taxes Taxes
Where’s my refund?
Taxes Taxes
I’m so angry
Cuz I paid too much
and April is so far away (far away)
Taxes Taxes
Where’s my refund?
Taxes Taxes
Give me what is due
Cause I need money
Help me pay my debts

I know I’ve claimed some things
That might not be legit
My daughter’s wedding costs
The dog food that I bought
But I have paid so much
I feel no guilt at all
My friends say I’ve lost touch
And some are just appalled

Taxes Taxes
Where’s my refund
Taxes Taxes
What is that you say?
You work for who?
The I R S?
Get out of my house!

I hate taxes

Tax Short - Should You Invest in a Roth IRA or a Traditional IRA? Jan 10, 2022

Show notes

Send us Fan Mail

Scott discusses one of the factors contributing to whether you should invest in a Roth IRA or a Traditional IRA.

Tax the Billionaires' (Income)!? A Conversation with Brian Galle About Taxing Unrealized Gains. Jan 05, 2022

Show notes

Send us Fan Mail

Scott and Jeff welcome Brian Galle, Professor of Law at Georgetown University to discuss the proposed Billionaires' Income Tax, which is a tax on unrealized capital gains. Brian and 218 other law professors and economists recently sent a letter to Congress in favor of the proposal. The letter can be found here. We discuss how the tax is being positioned as being different from a wealth tax. We question whether the tax might eventually be expanded to everyone, not just billionaires.

Tax Short - How many billionaires are there, and, how much are they worth? Jan 04, 2022

Show notes

Send us Fan Mail

Jeff describes how knowing how many billionaires there are and how much wealth they have, a key component to estimating how much revenue many new taxes that target the ultra-rich would bring in, is more complex than you might think.