Free Republic

Two things keep the IRS out of most people's hair: the annual gift tax exclusion and the lifetime exclusion. Nerdy takeaways: * A gift tax is a tax owed on the transfer of money or property to another person while receiving nothing or less than full value in return. * The gift giver is the one who generally pays the tax, not the receiver. * If you give more than the annual gift tax limit, you may have to file a gift tax return, but this does not necessarily mean that you'll owe taxes on the gift. * The 2024...

The IRS unit headed by Lois Lerner not only harassed conservative nonprofits seeking tax exempt status, it evidently set in motion harassment of donors to nonprofits. Talk about a chilling effect! The details are laid out in a Wall Street Journal story: At the same time the Internal Revenue Service was targeting tea-party groups, the tax agency took the unusual step of trying to impose gift taxes on donors to a prominent conservative advocacy group formed in 2007 to build support for President George W. Bush's Iraq troop surge. The probe of the group, Freedom's Watch, began in the unit...

WASHINGTON – The Internal Revenue Service is investigating five donors for making contributions to the kind of nonprofit groups that have become popular for spending millions of dollars on political ads in the past few years. The IRS is trying to determine whether the donors owe federal gift taxes for the donations, an agency spokeswoman said Thursday. The IRS did not name the donors or the nonprofit groups to which they contributed. But the agency's confirmation of an investigation could have a chilling effect on politically active groups that have become integral to campaigns for Congress and could play a...

It is no secret that the Obamas are advocates for free handouts, but even in her personal life Michelle Obama does not appear to have shied away from accepting free goodies. Numerous news outlets have reported on the first lady’s proclivity for high fashion. And Mrs. Obama’s pricey tastes have not precluded her ability to wear the outfits over which many women drool. Rumors abound as to exactly how the first family obtains all the pomp and frills associated with Mrs. Obama’s wardrobe. Do the Obamas pay for it all themselves or are the first lady’s outfits given to her...