Poring through tax documents at peak season can become so, well, taxing. Industry blogs, with their pithy analysis, can be a great to way make sense of regulatory changes and acronyms. Think of them as the IRS Tax Manual with more personality. Some even have a healthy dose of skepticism. Here is a roundup of some blogs worth visiting to stay on top of industry news.
1. TaxProf Blog: Penned by Paul Caron, a law professor at the University of Cincinnati, this blog offers a diverse menu of industry news, event updates from coast to coast, and stories worth a second glance. And Caron isn't above devoting entries to celebrities. You'll find links to such goodies as a Steven Colbert video on estate-tax repeal and a recent write-up about the Arizona Cardinals' Antrel Rolle's IRS woes. And, like most professors, the TaxProf provides plenty of supplementary reads at the end of most entries.
2. Tax Policy Blog: Don't be deterred by the bland name. The Tax Foundation, a nonpartisan tax-research group based in Washington, presents changing tax policy on the federal, state and local levels in a digestible style. Though they highlight the work of scholars, the posts are written to appeal to a neophyte. The site recently, for example, waded through the reactions of experts and columnists to the tax proposals mentioned in President Obama's State of the Union Address. Prior to the speech, the site also posted questions to ponder in anticipation of Obama's proposals on middle-class taxes, replete with current tax stats, of course.
3. Don't Mess With Taxes: Though tax professionals hardly need tax advice, the colorful news items and perspective dispensed by Kay Bell, a self-proclaimed tax geek and native Texan, makes this site worth the visit. The blog's roundup of humorous and wonky industry news items is a refreshing take on an otherwise dry business. Sprinkled in are tips on how to make the work less tedious. For a straight-talk approach, Bell has a second blog, Eyes on the IRS.
4. Tax Watch: Run by the folks at Thomson Reuters, Tax Watch is a great resource to get up-to-the-minute tax news. This site would be particularly useful for those who like to monitor all things taxes on Capitol Hill.
5. A Taxing Matter: Sharp analysis and blunt delivery make this academic take on taxes work. The blogger Linda Beale writes entries that don't shy away from tearing down or giving props to fellow tax bloggers. It is no wonder that Beale, as a law professor and former corporate tax attorney with a Ph.D. in linguistics, is expert in strong arguments.
Write to Yoree Koh
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