Another Tribune season is coming to a close as April 15, 2025, fast approaches. Congratulations on almost crossing the finish line!

Have you noticed that among our Tribune topics, food plays a significant role? From timeless tax time treats to national Egg McMuffin Day to caffeine and ayahuasca, to “good snacks that change weekly with a combination of healthy and some not-so-healthy,” per Mike Giangrande — it’s clear that a successful tax season is both sweet and savory.

So it’s appropriate that everyone say farewell to the Tribune for now and toast filing season survival with some special cocktails and hors d’oeuvres. Click here and let the celebrations begin!

Starting next week, Spidell’s California Minute^® podcast returns for its 10th season. Spidell’s Federal Tax Minute^® follows on April 22.  

We look forward to staying connected and providing you with everything you need to know about California and federal tax issues.

In the meantime, relax with a cheese puff.

It’s been a couple of years since we’ve sweetened the Tribune with a PEEP delight. But have no fear, PEEPs are returning this year in style … and I mean literally in style.

We know people are regularly tuned in to the annual “PEEPs show” where people can put their Peepsonality on full display by creating art pieces and dioramas with PEEPs:

www.peepsbrand.com/art-diorama-contests/

There are a plethora of PEEPs recipes, including ones for a PEEPtini and PEEP Jello-shots, which will definitely come in handy on April 15:

www.delish.com/holiday-recipes/easter/g3312/peeps-hacks/

But some people are taking PEEPs to a whole new level and are coming out with PEEP clothing, using actual PEEPs:

www.facebook.com/craftymorning/posts/save-those-peeps-so-you-can-get-started-on-your-easter-dress-credit-httpswwwinst/661486856217294/

www.lovetosewstudio.com/take-a-look-at-this-peep-fashion-show/

Being the doomsdayer that I can be, one of my first thoughts (after “wow, people really went there”) was “I just hope there are no April showers” because that could give a whole new meaning to a “PEEP show” …. Ba dum dum.

Recently, Chip Leighton, author of New York Times Bestseller “What Time is Noon,” shared on Instagram some classic texts from kids (who were attempting to handle their own taxes) to their parents.¹ The children are our future, and they want to know:

• Do I just give the tax guy my WD40?
• What do you use for taxes? Geico?
• Do I just take my stuff to the taxidermist’s office?
• I thought W2 was a band.
• Am I a ward of the state?
• Have I ever worked for the railroad?
• Do we live in a halfway house?

Thanks to everyone who submitted creative ways to punish those tax clients who make things more difficult than they should be during tax season.  Here are a few final punishments suggested by Stacie D.:

“I want to hang water balloons on the ceiling above where the clients sit. I also want a remote control to release them. Because for some reason, almost everyone I ask about business miles seems to think it’s written up on the ceiling above them!  If the balloons were to drop and peg them once, or twice, they’d remember this is supposed to be documented and supported…and it’s not written on my ceiling.

I would love to hand out, free of charge, a gift bag of manure for every farmer who has sales of $10,100-$10,300 every single year.

A tube of lipstick for the clients who bring in numbers that we call “Revlon.” Because it is all make up.

And tiny fiddles for all the clients that balk about bringing in proof for due diligence for child tax credits. According to them, we’re the ONLY place that requires this. Um, yeah, ok.”

It’s the year 2042, and you’ve taken a job on the moon. The commute’s a breeze (no traffic lights in low gravity), your neighbor is a robot named Kevin, and—somehow—the Wi-Fi is better than it ever was on Earth. But just when you’re settling into your space routine, Tax Day shows up, and your screen hits you with the dreaded question: “Please select your state of residence.”

As Mars missions inch closer to reality and space travel becomes less science fiction, it’s only a matter of time before tax pros face their most out-there challenge: figuring out where tax nexus ends… and space begins.

Astronauts employed by NASA are still considered federal employees—and yes, they file returns like the rest of us. But what about a SpaceX technician based on the moon? Or someone mining crypto in a Mars colony? If you’re not physically in any state, does that mean no state income tax? Or will every state want a slice of that sweet, sweet space income?

California might.

Residency rules can get weird even on Earth. Say you move to Nevada but leave a couple things behind in your old L.A. apartment—like your surfboard and a houseplant that’s barely hanging on. That could still be enough for California to stake a claim. Now try explaining that from orbit: “I haven’t set foot in California since the rocket launch, I promise.”

And what about use tax? If you order snacks from Earth to your lunar pod, is that considered a taxable purchase? Asking for a friend who just wants peanut butter pretzels.

There’s also the matter of carbon credits on rocket fuel. And lunar property taxes? Good news: the moon still doesn’t have zoning laws. Yet.

Until the tax code catches up with space life, we recommend staying grounded—literally. For now, you’re still subject to good old earthly rules, even if you’re filing from low Earth orbit. But the day may come when CPAs have to ask: “Did you spend more than 183 days in the thermosphere?”

And when that day comes… we’ll be ready. With solar-powered calculators.

A report from the Tax Foundation suggests that excise taxes on sugary beverages may not be a miracle weight loss solution after all.¹ Many countries, including the United States, slap a tax on sugar-sweetened beverages – the thought is that with the price increase, people will consume less of these beverages, improving health. Apparently, people tend to just go find their sugar elsewhere rather than not consuming it at all.

The report studied sugar-sweetened beverage taxes (SSBTs… not to be confused with SSTBs, specified service trades or businesses for the purposes of the §199A deduction) across Europe and generally found that although the SSBTs successfully increased prices and decreased consumption of targeted beverages, the overall impact on public health remains as flat as day-old soda. When consumers face higher soda prices, they simply substitute other high-calorie options.

SSBTs can incentivize manufacturers to reduce sugar content in their products, for example the UK’s Soft Drinks Industry Levy has different tax rates for beverages containing 5-8g of sugar per 100ml versus those with 8g+ per 100ml. The thresholds create financial incentives for manufacturers to reformulate products to fall just below tax rate bands.

Besides, the report notes, simply reducing sugar will not (on its own) improve health outcomes. There are other studies that suggest that a broader tax on sugar would be more effective in reducing sugar consumption, but could be complex to implement.

The bottom line is that soda taxes may generate some revenue fizz, but when it comes to public health benefits, they’re mostly empty calories.

In its March 21, 2025, issue of CalTaxletter, the California Taxpayers Association shared this Tax Trivia factoid explaining how 40,000 people came to have the same Social Security number. Reprinted with permission.

Q: According to the IRS, “The most misused Social Security number of all time was 078-05-1120,” which has been used by approximately 40,000 people since 1938, when it was shown in a promotion by the manufacturer of what type of product?

A: Wallets. The IRS explains: “In 1938, wallet manufacturer the E. H. Ferree company in Lockport, New York, decided to promote its product by showing how a Social Security card would fit into its wallets. A sample card, used for display purposes, was inserted in each wallet. Company Vice President and Treasurer Douglas Patterson thought it would be a clever idea to use the actual SSN of his secretary, Mrs. Hilda Schrader Whitcher. The wallet was sold by Woolworth stores and other department stores all over the country. Even though the card was only half the size of a real card, was printed all in red, and had the word ‘specimen’ written across the face, many purchasers of the wallet adopted the SSN as their own. In the peak year of 1943, 5,755 people were using Hilda’s number. The Social Security Administration acted to eliminate the problem by voiding the number and publicizing that it was incorrect to use it. (Mrs. Whitcher was given a new number.) However, the number continued to be used for many years. In all, over 40,000 people reported this as their SSN. As late as 1977, 12 people were found to still be using the number.”

(CalTax: We’re not convinced that using a half-sized replica demonstrates that a full-sized card would fit in the wallet, but that’s another story.)

A group of 24 men in Georgia broke the record for the longest basketball game during a charity game to raise money to fight sex trafficking.¹ The new Guiness World Record for a continuous basketball game is 121 hours and 3 minutes, which broke the previous record of 121 hours, set by the same group of men in 2024.²

The players, ages 17 through 64, were required to stay inside the gym the entire time, even during breaks, and were required to eat and sleep on the court.³ The game was played with no quarter breaks or timeouts, and groups of six played two-hour shifts during the day with a five-hour sleeping shift at night.

The final score was 13,096 to 12,972. As compared to the highest scoring game in real March Madness history: in 1990, LMU beat Michigan 149-115.

Well, the answer is an Englishman who had such a “splendid” experience using it the day before that he was compelled to return later with friends and steal it. Of course, it helps that the toilet was made of solid 18-carat gold and was insured for more than $6 million.

The latrine in question was a fully functional one-of-a-kind work of art located at Blenheim Palace – the country mansion where Winston Churchill was born.

The authorities never found the toilet, and it is presumed to have been cut up or melted and sold. I, for one, hoped they melted it down if for no other reason than to sanitize the gold before selling it.

The toilet has an interesting American history because it had previously been on display at The Guggenheim in New York and was reportedly offered to President Trump during his first term in office.

Kansas and Oklahoma both recently eliminated their statewide taxes on groceries (although local taxes may still apply, and sales tax may apply to certain foods), leaving a handful of states that still apply a state-level tax to groceries.¹

The 10 states that still impose a tax on groceries are:

• Alabama: 3%
• Arkansas: 0.125%
• Hawaii: 4% (average) excise tax*
• Idaho: 6%*
• Illinois: 1%
• Mississippi: 7%
• Missouri: 1.225%
• South Dakota: 4.2%
• Tennessee: 4%
• Utah: 3%

* State offers a grocery tax credit

Last year we ran an article on tax season treats. Not surprisingly, tax pros opt for fairly predictable options such as Smarties, Almond Joys, and microwave popcorn (burnt, of course).

But what if tax offices were to follow some of the trends of food makers that are getting far more creative with their culinary delights, such as:¹

• Van Leeuwen Ice Cream’s Hidden Valley Ranch or pizza ice cream;
• Jones Soda’s gravy-flavored soda;
• Oreos’ Sour Patch Kid Oreos;
• IHOP and Lay’s Rooty Tooty Fresh n’ Fruity potato chips, designed to taste like strawberry-topped pancakes with a hint of bacon; and
• United Kingdom’s Walker’s special Christmas-edition brussel spout-flavored potato chips.

So, what would you like to find in your tax office’s break rooms? Here are some AI-inspired suggestions (thanks Claude and ChatGPT!) to perk up your staff:

• Deductible donuts: These special donuts come with a sticky note that says, “100% business expense. Don’t ask questions”;
• Return receipt rolls: Pinwheel sandwiches with different fillings (e.g., baloney and mustard for reviewing your client’s shoe box receipts; turkey and Velveeta cheese for your tax-cheating clients, etc.);
• Audit-approved appetizers: A grazing board with cheese cubes, crackers, and small bite-sized vegetables with dip (how healthy (yawn));
• Write-off waffles: They don’t actually count as a deduction, but we can dream, can’t we?
• IRS-themed fortune cookies: Every fortune just says, “You’re getting audited” ;
• Schedule C cinnamon rolls: Mini cinnamon rolls arranged in a dollar sign pattern;
• Capital gains candy bar: A DIY candy/chocolate bar with various toppings;
• Extension energy bites: No-bake protein balls with oats, peanut butter, and espresso;
• Itemized ingredient cups: Individual fruit and yogurt parfaits;
• April 15th assortment: A countdown calendar with different treats for the final 15 days of tax season;
• Tax bracket tacos: Tiered according to spice level:
• 10%: Mild salsa, easy filing;
• 22%: Spicy but manageable;
• 37%: Ghost pepper — because, at this rate, nothing matters; and
• Bottom line brownies: Brownies cut into dollar sign shapes.

Illinois residents recently voted on a new design for their state flag after considering thirteen options that included ten new designs,¹ the 1918 Centennial flag, the 1968 Sesquicentennial flag, and the current flag. After culling 4,800 design entries and putting the issue to vote, Illinoisans have spoken: keep the current flag.²

Despite being derisively referred to as “SOB” (seal on a bedsheet, in reference to the circular emblem on a plain white field), the current flag received 43% of the votes, more than any other option. Technically, there were more total votes for the new designs, and the Illinois General Assembly will have the final vote, although it’s unlikely they will deviate from voters’ selection.

You can view all 50 state flags, territory flags, and Native American tribal flags at:

https://bit.ly/flags-us-states-territories

Admittedly, I only recognized a couple, and my personal favorite designs are Arizona, Maryland, Utah, and Chinook Nation.

Michigan Chief Judge William Crawford II has canceled the “Walmart Washes” that we reported on last week. The judge who came up with the sentence didn’t seek approval from other court officials, Crawford said, and Walmart headquarters objected to the car washes being held on store property.¹

However, the legal system has yet to weigh in on the following tax season punishments suggested by Tax Season Tribune readers:

“My punishment isn’t for that one client. It is for Congress who writes the laws. I think every Congress member should be required to prepare their own returns, by hand, without a computer.” — Terri H.

“No matter how many times I tell clients not to send me jpegs of their documents via text message, there is always one or two who do. Their punishment should be that I send them their tax return one page at a time as jpegs to their phone. Let’s see how they like it.” — Linda S.

Do you have any other tax season punishments in mind?  Send them to editor@spidell.com.

Dozens of shoplifters hit a Walmart in Grand Blanc, Michigan, over the past few months, but it’s the store’s other shoppers who will be making a clean getaway.

That’s all thanks to Genesee County District Court Judge Jeffrey Clothier, who sentenced the 48 shoplifters to four weekends of free car washes in the store’s parking lot.

"I came up with a wash for Walmart. Everybody who’s here in the courtroom today is going to be doing community service, washing cars, so the people that actually go to Walmart and pay for their goods, they are going to get a free car wash from the people that think it’s a good idea to go there and steal," the judge told a Michigan TV station.¹

According to the Associated Press,² the judge believes as many as 100 people will take part in the Walmart washes this March and April. And they’ll be joined by the judge himself.

Fast food fight

A judge in Ohio cooked up a creative punishment in 2023 after a Chipotle customer threw her burrito bowl at an employee because she didn’t like how it looked.³

Parma Municipal Court Judge Timothy Gilligan said the food-flinging customer could have her jail sentence reduced by 60 days if she spent two months working a fast-food job instead.

“I bet you won’t be happy with the food you are going to get in the jail,” he said.

What would you do?

It’s the middle of tax season, and any tax professional reading this is probably reminded of that one client that is trouble every single year. If you were judge for one day — April 16, let’s say — what punishments would you come up with? Mandatory paperless/PDF account statements for anyone who comes in with a box of unorganized paperwork? Two weeks of work with no days off for anyone who doesn’t give you their W-2s until after April 1?

E-mail us at editor@spidell.com with your punishment ideas and we’ll share them in a future issue.  Here’s one from Mike Giangrande to get you started: “Spend 12 weeks reading the Internal Revenue Code for 8 hours a day. If you fall asleep, you have to start over.”

Tax agencies have long used taxpayer social media accounts to troll for information during an audit. In this TMI age, the IRS and state tax agencies use taxpayer social media accounts to compare taxpayers’ reported income against their visible lifestyle on social media; confirm business service offerings and pricing; check event announcements for possible unreported revenue; and use social connections to reveal potential unreported business relationships.

But even if the taxpayer isn’t the one posting images online, customers might be.

An Orange County, California, nightclub was found to have underreported its taxable sales by approximately $1.85 million after an audit revealed unreliable information regarding its purchases.¹ During an audit from the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA), which administers California’s sales and use taxes, the CDTFA determined that the nightclub’s liquor markup percentage (which was around 40%) was far below normal, indicating understated sales.

Purchase records from the nightclub’s vendors showed beer purchases, but documentation for liquor purchases was largely absent. The CDTFA examined Yelp reviews of the business, where photos and videos showed a fully stocked bar with various name-brand liquors. Based on these images, the CDTFA estimated that the taxpayer’s liquor purchases equaled its beer purchases (a 50:50 ratio).

Using this ratio and a 463.40% markup from a prior undisputed audit (which is a normal markup percentage for a bar/nightclub), the CDTFA calculated unreported taxable sales of $1,854,547, resulting in unpaid tax of $145,000.

Certain styles of building could be the result of creative genius or… tax policy. Here are some examples of architectural design influenced to get around tax laws of the time:¹

1. In the 18th and 19th centuries in England, France, and Ireland, taxes on windows led building owners to brick over existing windows to avoid paying the tax.
2. Narrow houses in Amsterdam were a response to a 16th century building tax that was calculated based on the width of the building’s façade.
3. Paris taxes that were levied on the number of floors below the roof line could be lowered by a Mansard-style roof.
4. In present day Greece, properties with pools are subject to a luxury tax, causing some pool owners to dye the water green so the pool is less visible from satellites searching for pools to tax.

The IRS released its annual Dirty Dozen tax scams, and one of the threats on the list for 2025 is bad social media tax advice.¹ The IRS pointed out that “social media platforms routinely circulate inaccurate or misleading tax information,” (what, really?) “including on TikTok where people share wildly inaccurate tax advice.” For example, the advice being peddled by social media influencers includes:²

1. Oh, look. It’s Mike Giangrande’s favorite topic: anyone and everyone can claim their car as a business expense.
2. Use tax software to create a fake W-2 with large income and withholding amounts, plus a fictitious employer.
3. Claim your 4-pound chihuahua as a guard dog.
4. Invent household workers and file Schedule H to claim fake sick and family medical leave wages.
5. Anyone who’s self-employed can take the “self-employment tax credit” of up to $32,000. (The actual credit applied only to narrow COVID-19–related circumstances in 2020 and 2021.)

The frustrating thing is that when the IRS catches up with the taxpayers who fall for these scams, the taxpayer is the one liable for the tax and penalties; the influencers generally are not held accountable. However, the IRS does encourage reporting anyone promoting an abusive tax scheme by filing a Form 14242, Report Suspected Abusive Tax Promoters or Preparers.

Have you seen the funny desk sign – “I’m silently correcting your grammar”? I love it! I would also like “I’m silently correcting your pronunciation.”

Word has it that English is crazy difficult to learn if it’s not your first language. It reflects our characterization as a melting pot, with a splash of Old Norse, pinches of Latin, a heavy peppering of Germanic variations, a soupcon of French.

So there’s obviously no consistency with pronunciation, which is a real problem. Just consider “tough,” thorough,” “though,” and “through,” and laugh. Then throw in “lough” (pronounced “lok” (Scottish/Irish)), and weep. Check out itsbobbyfinn on Instagram for an entertaining English lesson. He plays both the nerdy scold and his befuddled, frustrated alter ego who can’t pronounce words correctly because they don’t follow a predictable pattern (ear … so, fear … but, bear … but, hear … but, heard … you get the idea).

There can be some stumbling blocks even for those who think they can pronounce everything correctly: synecdoche (si-nek-duh-kee (Greek)), which is a figure of speech where a part of something is used to refer to its whole, e.g., a hired hand is a worker, floccinaucinihilipilification (flok-se-now-suh-ni-hi-li-pil-i-fi-kay-shun (Latin)), which means the act of estimating something as unimportant, and chiaroscuro (kee-ar-o-skoo-ro (Italian)), meaning the treatment of light and shadow in drawing or painting, just to name a few.

And let’s not forget about another English oddity – the silent medial “t.” “Often” is probably the most obvious example and the most oft-repeated. Often has been around since the early 1300s and used as a variant of oft, so the “t” was pronounced early on but then fell away. It’s been making a resurgence, however, so we’re not allowed to considered someone illiterate if they pronounce the “t.” When I hear the “t,” I admit to silently correcting it.

On the other hand, there’s the issue of the silent medial “b.” Consider “subtle.” Under no circumstances should the “b” be pronounced. My colleague heard the “b” included when she was at a restaurant recently and lost her appetite. It was an ignominious (on a top 31 list of mispronounced words) offense.¹

Hope you’re having a great March weekend, being carefree in your floccinaucinihilipilifications, and taking in some of the rural (another top 20²) charms of your area.

According to U.S. Census Bureau data for the period July 1, 2023, and June 30, 2024, South Carolina had the greatest population growth for the second year in a row, while the state with the highest population loss was Hawaii. You can see the other top population changes at:

https://taxfoundation.org/data/all/state/americans-moving-to-states/

While we know most tax professionals will equate March 17 this year with filing partnership and S corporation returns, most of the rest of the world will actually be celebrating dear old St. Paddy.

For those who can’t break away from their desks to celebrate, we thought you’d like to know what’s happening away from your computers:¹

• In Portland, Maine, they’ll be taking the Paddy’s Day Plunge into the Atlantic Ocean at 5:30 a.m., where the average water temperature is around 40 degrees;
• In New Orleans, where a good parade and party can never be resisted, they’ll be flocking down to the Irish Channel neighborhood for a huge street party, where many will be participating in a cabbage food fight;
• Chicago, my old hometown, turns its river bright green, which is definitely a step up from the murky green it used to be; and
• Not to be outdone is Hot Springs, Arkansas, which manages to host an hour-long parade over a 98-foot bridge. How can it be an hour long?  Well, there’s the Blarney Stone kissing contest … and of course Elvis impersonators.

But these celebrations are not limited to Ireland, the U.S., or even the world. In Montserrat, a Caribbean island, the festivities last 10 days, and St. Patrick’s Day, where both the saint and a slave rebellion are celebrated, you’ll find residents partaking in a calypso competition and eating Creole food.

St. Patrick’s Day is even celebrated on the international space station, where you will find the astronauts belting out an out-of-this world rendition of “Danny Boy” and playing the Irish flute.

As for me, I may be sitting at my desk that day, but I’ll not be alone. I’ve found a fabulous new Irish drink: a Boozy Shamrock Shake, with a little vanilla ice cream, milk, Irish crème de menthe, and a not so little amount of Bailey’s Irish Cream. Care to join me?

I recently purchased a Little Golden Book; not one of the vintage titles that we are all familiar with, like “The Poky Little Puppy” or “The Little Red Hen”, but a brand new one. I am well beyond the typical age for a Little Golden Book reader, also I do not have children. But I was equal parts horrified and delighted to see that one of my favorite movies of all time had been turned into a Little Golden Book… “Jaws”.

That’s right, Tribune reader, everyone’s favorite movie featuring blood-stained water, severed limbs, and a haunting retelling of the USS Indianapolis sinking is now a charming book that illustrates opposites, as the little boat chases the big shark. I probably don’t need to tell you that the above-mentioned features have been scrubbed from the storyline. Instead of homemade moonshine and plates of beans and rice, our sailors sing songs over coffee and croissants (also, Quint lives). Spoiler alert: at the end, the shark gets tired and goes home.

I love that Little Golden Books has released bios of famous people such as Lebron James, Zendaya, and Harry Stiles. And their Taylor Swift bio sold 1 million copies in just 7 months.¹  But turning bloody 70s thrillers into children’s books seems weird. Although, when they release the Little Golden Book version of “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre”, you know I’m going to buy it.