Taxable Talk

The IRS released the 2009 standard mileage rates today:

$0.55/mile for business
$0.24/mile for medical/moving
$0.14/mile for charity

Note that you should keep a written mileage log.

The current business mileage rate is $0.585/mile (it was $0.505/mile through June).

Every so often I get a phone call from someone who tells me, "Now Russ, I know that paying the income tax is completely voluntary and I don't really have to file." Or it might go like this: "Russ, I'm a citizen of California and not of the United States so I don't have to pay income tax." I've been referring individuals to the IRS page on frivolous arguments and Dan Evans' Tax Protester FAQ.

I now have yet another resource to refer them to. Jon Siegel, Professor of Law at George Washington University, has his own webpage titled, Income Tax: Voluntary or Mandatory? I thank Professor Siegel for his addition to the cause of educating those who continue to believe the malarkey that tax protesters dish out. Professor Siegel even has a blog where he occasionally covers tax cases.

Hat Tip: The Volokh Conspiracy