New Rules for Your Taxes | Daniel J. Mitchell | Cato Institute: Commentary

New Rules for Your Taxes | Daniel J. Mitchell | Cato Institute: Commentary: "Here's where CBO accounting would be a big help. Why don't you assume that you were going to get a raise of $10,000. Because your pay 'only' went up by $5,000, you can claim your pay was reduced. The IRS will come down on you like a ton of bricks, but you can tell the agents as they cart you away that you were following official government methodology. (Maybe they'll go easy on you when you tell them that an identical approach helped push the IRS budget up to $12 billion.)"

"When filing your taxes, you can fantasize that you moved into a much larger house with a higher mortgage. Then, claim a bigger mortgage interest deduction. Once again, the IRS may frown upon that approach, but perhaps a judge will sympathize if you say you'll pay your full tax bill if and when Congress follows through on the supposed Medicare savings in the Obamacare legislation."