IRS should stop California

Re “Don’t want to pay your taxes?” editorial, Jan. 7

The California Legislature’s approach to simultaneously creating a tax credit for California that is also a federal deduction is laughable.

The Times editorial misses the critical point about that tax treatment: Any federal tax authority for such treatment is based not on any specific federal tax statute, but on Internal Revenue Service administrative guidance that was narrow in scope and may be withdrawn, modified or replaced at any time based on direction from the secretary of the treasury. Think President Obama and his pen and phone.

The Internal Revenue Code contains several civil and criminal penalties for ordinary citizens who “promote” tax shelters. Perhaps the IRS should consider using them against defiant California legislators who are behaving like the large accounting and law firms that marketed gimmicky tax shelters at the turn of this century. Kip Dellinger

Santa Monica The writer, a certified public accountant, was the tax policy and practice columnist for Tax Notes magazine.

Re “‘Donate’ state taxes? Let’s give this nutty plan a try,” column, Jan. 8

George Skelton forgot something.

While 6.1 million Californians will lose an average of $8,438 in itemized deductions, all people filing returns with their spouses will gain $12,000 more in the standard deduction. Ignoring the increased standard deduction is convenient, but it is not intellectually honest.

Consider: Who benefits most from itemized deductions? Rich people.

President Trump’s opponents often complain that the rich should pay more in taxes, but now they complain that the rich are losing something that allows them to pay less. Do they want rich people to pay more or less? They can’t have it both ways.

Arnie Sklar

Beverly Hills