IRS to tax employer cell/smart phones?

[Mommy Dearest]

What about shared cell phones? You know the ones that get passed around from person to person depending on who is on call? How the hell do you track who made personal call son that thing and when?

How does the government prove a call was for personal reasons? Example:
IRS: Mr. Smith, your records show you calling your home during the work day from your cell phone on June 4th of last year. We need to tax you for that.
Mr. Smith: I was calling the house to ask my wife if I had left a flash drive sitting in my home office. That was completely work related. We spoke about nothing else. So you can't tax me for that.

They can't prove a single call is personal unless they have transcripts of the calls too.

And my argument about taxing us for company provided pens, paper, internet access, laptops, PCs, etc. is valid if this ignorant shit gets pushed.

Why is it that all of the money I make is taxed, then if I die and leave it to my son it is taxed, then if he spends it it is taxed?

I've always wondered how that shit is even legal. Whatever happened to money not being taxed twice?

It is going to get even worse real soon. All of the tax breaks that were put into effect in 1999/2000 are scheduled to expire in 2011. We go from 0 estate tax no matter how large the estate back to taxing every estate over approx. $600,000.00. Don't you wonder what idiot thought that one up?

[GORDON]

If the Democratic congress lets it expire, then it is their fault.

Every law should have a sunset clause.

[Malcolm]

If the Democratic congress lets it expire, then it is their fault.

Every law should have a sunset clause.

Yeah, & ideally, every law should be written by those w\ expertise on the subject matter in question. You can't always get what you want.

[GORDON]

Which is why a sunset clause makes so much sense.

[TPRJones]

Every law should have a sunset clause.

Except the law about every law having a sunset clause. That one can stay.

[TheCatt]

The Obama administration on Tuesday said it will back repealing a hard-to-enforce tax on personal use of work cellphones, appeasing the business community, phone makers and users.

A 1989 law requires companies seeking to deduct worker cellphones as an expense to track personal use with painstaking documentation of minutes. The government, in a notice last week sought public comment on making compliance easier, but now says the law should be scrapped altogether.

Treasury "Secretary (Timothy) Geithner and I ask that Congress act to make clear that there will be no tax consequence to employers or employees for personal use of work-related devices such as cellphones provided by employers," Douglas Shulman, the Internal Revenue Service Commissioner, said in a statement.

"The passage of time, advances in technology, and the nature of communication in the modern workplace have rendered this law obsolete," the statement added.

Under current law, workers are required to pay tax on personal use of a work cellphone as a fringe benefit.

The U.S. House of Representatives last year passed a repeal of the law, and the Senate got 60 sponsors for its bid. The measures, which have bipartisan backing, have been reintroduced again this year.

The Chamber of Commerce and cellphone trade group wrote key lawmakers earlier this month, arguing for repeal.

[Mommy Dearest]

The Obama administration on Tuesday said it will back repealing a hard-to-enforce tax on personal use of work cellphones, appeasing the business community, phone makers and users.

A 1989 law requires companies seeking to deduct worker cellphones as an expense to track personal use with painstaking documentation of minutes. The government, in a notice last week sought public comment on making compliance easier, but now says the law should be scrapped altogether.

Treasury "Secretary (Timothy) Geithner and I ask that Congress act to make clear that there will be no tax consequence to employers or employees for personal use of work-related devices such as cellphones provided by employers," Douglas Shulman, the Internal Revenue Service Commissioner, said in a statement.

"The passage of time, advances in technology, and the nature of communication in the modern workplace have rendered this law obsolete," the statement added.

Under current law, workers are required to pay tax on personal use of a work cellphone as a fringe benefit.

The U.S. House of Representatives last year passed a repeal of the law, and the Senate got 60 sponsors for its bid. The measures, which have bipartisan backing, have been reintroduced again this year.

The Chamber of Commerce and cellphone trade group wrote key lawmakers earlier this month, arguing for repeal.

I really do believe it was tra 1986 however let me explain a little of the original argument. Congress created a group of items called "listed property". Property on this list were items that were easily assesable(sic) for personal use. Therefore anything on this list required special record keeping to claim as deductions as well as special rules for depreciation and recovery of deductions if the items were sold. Among these items were: Vehicles, cell phones, and video cameras. Why has it taken over 20 years for this law to get out in the open and cause controversy?

[Malcolm]

Why has it taken over 20 years for this law to get out in the open and cause controversy?

Cos back in '86, there were about five cell phones & the total taxes would be about $20.

[Mommy Dearest]

The same tra made you include the difference between what your lease payment was for a luxury car and what the IRS figured was a "standard car" At that time they thought a "standard car" was about $16500.00. This number was not indexed for inflation and still remains about the same. Go figure.