Jim Wetzler @jwetzler.bsky.social · 07/10/2026Congratulations to Michael Love for winning the National Tax Association’s Musgrave award for best article of the year in the National Tax Journal. 000
Jim Wetzler @jwetzler.bsky.social · 01/10/2026MAGA has to rehab Nixon. If what Nixon did was wrong, Trump’s an order of magnitude wronger. 030
Jim Wetzler @jwetzler.bsky.social · 17/09/2026If the Dems control both Houses next year, might be nice to have a debt ceiling bill. We’ll know in the lame duck session. 000
Jim Wetzler @jwetzler.bsky.social · 15/09/2026In contrast, an estate tax, which CA lacks, can only be imposed once (absent reincarnation). 000
Jim Wetzler @jwetzler.bsky.social · 15/09/2026Statutorily, it’s a one-time tax paid over 5 years. But the legislature can’t commit to never doing it again, so billionaires who might be willing to pay a one-time tax but not several such taxes may out-migrate for fear of a recurrence. That would lose income tax revenue even if CA never repeats. 100
Jim Wetzler @jwetzler.bsky.social · 15/09/2026On regulating AI— Giving Trump more reg authority in any area is foolish. There are no more independent reg agencies. Regs will be political. Post-Trump, there is no assurance that norms of good government will be restored. The AI Labs don’t understand their models. How will regulators? 000
Jim Wetzler @jwetzler.bsky.social · 15/09/2026In what sense is the tax a gift for the rich? I agree the tax is well designed, but you don’t address what I see as the principal argument against, which is that, if it is successful, it would create an expectation of another wealth tax the next time the state has a fiscal problem. 200
Jim Wetzler @jwetzler.bsky.social · 14/09/2026Elected officials should be forced to recite the Kol Nidre after the election so that they’re absolved from the sin of reneging on campaign promises. 000
Jim Wetzler @jwetzler.bsky.social · 11/09/2026Cost would actually be less because the $5k would be taxable. Quirk in budget scorekeeping means this revenue isn’t officially scored. 001
Jim Wetzler @jwetzler.bsky.social · 21/08/2026Ted Striggles, Who Helped His Fellow Dancers as a Lawyer, Dies at 84 www.nytimes.com/2026/08/20/a... My friend Ted Striggles passed away Sunday. May his memory be for a blessing.nytimes.comTed Striggles, Who Helped His Fellow Dancers as a Lawyer, Dies at 84He was best known for the influential 1976 guide “Poor Dancer’s Almanac,” which aimed to help starving artists survive in New York. 000
Jim Wetzler @jwetzler.bsky.social · 18/08/2026In 1980, I asked Russell Long why carryover-of-basis was the hottest tax issue in the Senate when it affected only 1% of people. He said there’s a parish in Louisiana where only one person understands COB but that, if you have his support, you win Plaquemines parish. 000
Jim Wetzler @jwetzler.bsky.social · 18/08/2026Mamdani Officials Will Skip Council Hearing on Second-Home Tax www.nytimes.com/2026/08/17/n... This is unfortunate. The pied-a-terre tax is very difficult to administer. The Mamdani administration should take advantage of the opportunity to educate the Council and the public about these issues.nytimes.comMamdani Officials Will Skip Council Hearing on Second-Home TaxThe administration plans to submit written testimony instead of attending, city officials said. A lawsuit over the rollout of the tax is pending. 000
Reposted by Jim WetzlerMicah Lasher @micahlasher.bsky.social · 13/08/2026After a campaign hiatus, "Into the Weeds" is back! I wrote on my Substack about the factional dispute consuming the Democratic Party.substack.micahlasher.comThe Argument, 2026On the one within the Democratic Party, and the one we need to make to voters 051
Jim Wetzler @jwetzler.bsky.social · 11/08/2026Does Trump dislike regression, or is he dissatisfied with the statements about lack of statistical significance without showing the size of the coefficients? 000
Jim Wetzler @jwetzler.bsky.social · 08/08/2026Lawsuit Takes Aim at Deal Granting Trump Sweeping Tax Protections www.nytimes.com/2026/08/06/u... Bravo.nytimes.comUnion Representing IRS Workers Sues Over Trump’s Deal Granting Sweeping Tax Protections (Gift Article)The request was the first time that anyone had used the courts in an effort to directly kill the sweeping tax protections offered to the president and his family. 022
Jim Wetzler @jwetzler.bsky.social · 05/08/2026We learned some time ago that Trump got a $100M refund that didn’t survive JCT review and was under IRS audit. I’ve not seen any reporting about whether that refund issue has been settled or whether no-changing that audit is covered by the Justice Department’s giveaway to Trump. 021
Jim Wetzler @jwetzler.bsky.social · 03/08/2026By the time the Dems take control, the statute will have expired on all the relevant tax returns absent fraud or a substantial understatement of gross income. 000
Jim Wetzler @jwetzler.bsky.social · 03/08/2026It’s illegal for the President to order IRS not to audit a specific taxpayer. So this whole agreement by the Justice Dept. to give Trump and kids a no-change on existing audits is just an end-run around that law. Wonder if this mess has anything to do with the firing of Ken Kies. 020
Jim Wetzler @jwetzler.bsky.social · 31/07/2026Rookie mistake by Mayor Mamdani repeatedly to express glee over imposing his property tax surcharge on second homes. The tax was clearly going to be difficult to administer and to impose compliance burdens on some NYC residents. He ought to be expressing regret for this, not glee. 000
Jim Wetzler @jwetzler.bsky.social · 30/07/2026Not sure I understand. There’s still a revenue-maximizing income tax rate, and taxing wealth directly is unconstitutional. Why does a low federal/private debt ratio make the problem any easier? 220
Jim Wetzler @jwetzler.bsky.social · 07/07/2026www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0... This gets it right IMO.theatlantic.comThe Elixir of the Payroll-Tax Cap and Other Social Security MythsProgressives are wrong about how to reform the program. Conservatives are, too. 020
Jim Wetzler @jwetzler.bsky.social · 06/07/2026I’d have more sympathy for the Belgian soccer team if its attitude was that it would rather play the full complement of US players instead of that it would prefer to benefit from a marginal red card. 000
Jim Wetzler @jwetzler.bsky.social · 23/06/2026Agree with you. There’s also the issue that expensing produces wildly different investment incentives if businesses believe tax rates will change over the life of the investments. 020
Jim Wetzler @jwetzler.bsky.social · 18/06/2026Can we stop referring to Elon Musk as a trillionaire? The minute he starts to sell any SpaceX stock, the price crashes. 020
Jim Wetzler @jwetzler.bsky.social · 18/06/2026You did do a good job. Is there a debt attribution rule to deal with leveraged purchases of Treasuries? 000
Jim Wetzler @jwetzler.bsky.social · 04/06/2026www.vanityfair.com/culture/stor... I’ve reached the pinnacle of NY success—my picture (with my wife) in Vanity Fair. Not for my career in tax policy and tax administration but for being a regular at our local Irish bar. All the best to Maureen, Mary and the rest of the team.vanityfair.comThe Last Days of Donohue’s: Saying Goodbye to the Legendary Manhattan Steakhouse After 75 YearsIt was a low-key place for the kinds of people whose names are dropped, and now it’s moving to Long Island. 000
Jim Wetzler @jwetzler.bsky.social · 03/06/2026How does it make sense for Trump to get his Justice Department to publicly pressure his IRS to no-change his audits this close to an election? He could accomplish the same thing in private, and the corruption wouldn’t become public until a Democratic Congress gets the info through sec 6103. 000
Jim Wetzler @jwetzler.bsky.social · 03/06/2026Prices are higher in some blue states. Doubt that inflation, the rate of change in prices, is higher. I’d guess that inflation is highest where people consume more gas, ie the red states. Hassett’s embarrassing himself. 010
Jim Wetzler @jwetzler.bsky.social · 28/05/2026If the whole scheme is illegal, the substance is that Trump is just stealing the money and giving it to the 1/6 crowd. Taxable income to him, gift tax for him to the extent the payouts exceed the per-donee exclusion and lifetime exemption. 110
Jim Wetzler @jwetzler.bsky.social · 08/05/2026Ok to limit to primary residents. I don’t think you can also exempt resident’s 2nd homes in CA. 000
Jim Wetzler @jwetzler.bsky.social · 08/05/2026Constitutional issues. States can’t discriminate against non- residents. Privileges and Immunities Clause. 120
Jim Wetzler @jwetzler.bsky.social · 07/05/2026Lot of talk about taxing AI. How about states’ modifying utility regulation so that data centers pay the marginal cost of the electricity they use instead of the (presumably much lower) average cost? 000
Jim Wetzler @jwetzler.bsky.social · 04/05/2026Maybe Treasury should just revoke Rev. Proc. 93-27, set up some cases on audit, and see what happens. 000
Jim Wetzler @jwetzler.bsky.social · 04/05/2026The official revenue estimates always seemed low in relation to the amount of effort devoted to blocking legislation to close the loophole. 100
Jim Wetzler @jwetzler.bsky.social · 28/04/2026NYS has more market power in NYC than upstate, so it price discriminates with NYC-only taxes. 000
Jim Wetzler @jwetzler.bsky.social · 28/04/2026Don’t the parents bear the economic cost or benefit from a strike? Looks like they thought it would be a net loss. 000
Jim Wetzler @jwetzler.bsky.social · 28/04/2026All correct IMO. Elasticities vary from state to state—some states have more market power than others. This complicates empirical work in ways I don’t think have been well studied. 110
Jim Wetzler @jwetzler.bsky.social · 20/04/2026NY could neutralize a lot of opposition to the pied-a-terre tax by allowing a credit for it against income tax, so that the tax is limited to people who really don’t contribute fiscally. Would cut into revenue yield but some of that could be offset with rate adjustments. 010
Jim Wetzler @jwetzler.bsky.social · 15/04/2026Do you have a view on what is the revenue maximizing income tax rate for NYS/NYC? 000
Jim Wetzler @jwetzler.bsky.social · 15/04/2026Gov. Hochul’s proposed tax on pricey 2nd homes in NYC raises constitutional issues. If limited to non-NYC residents, it violates the privileges and immunities clause. If not, there’s no exemption for people who pay the steep NYS/NYC income tax. 000
Jim Wetzler @jwetzler.bsky.social · 13/04/2026To be fair, the IRS metric wasn’t very useful. Of course, they could have waited for the new metric before spiking it. 110
Jim Wetzler @jwetzler.bsky.social · 07/04/2026All true. But remember that, unlike the Israelis and Iranians,Trump doesn’t care about the substance of the ultimate resolution, only the perception that his unique talents led to a great deal for the US. The high-profile blustering may help him in this regard after he concedes the substance. 020
Jim Wetzler @jwetzler.bsky.social · 06/04/2026What process determines the Chair of the Open Market Committee, which makes monetary policy? I thought the committee picks its own chair, who by tradition is the Chair of the FRB. 211
Jim Wetzler @jwetzler.bsky.social · 02/04/2026If Dems win the presidency in 2028, dealing with the tariffs will be a major headache. Do you let Congress roll them back and claim credit for the revenue gain? Does POTUS just do it? 010
Jim Wetzler @jwetzler.bsky.social · 31/03/2026Doubt the elasticity is constant across such a wide price range. 000