Obama Signs Tax Package: What’s in it for me?

President Obama signed the 2010 tax package into law Friday, December 17, 2010. This is the Act that's been so much in the news lately. Check out the TaxProf Blog's compilation of both technical and opinion resources for answers to questions like: "What's in the Act?" and "How will this Act affect me personally?" If there's an acronym for the Act's title yet, then I don't know what it is. Here's the official title:

“TAX RELIEF, UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE REAUTHORIZATION, AND JOB CREATION ACT OF 2010”

It looks like a hard title to 'acronym-ize' into something memorable like COBRA, for example. COBRA (The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985), like the 2010 Act, changed parts of the Internal Revenue Code. COBRA denied employers tax deductions for health insurance premiums if the employer’s plan failed to provide for continuing coverage for separated employees. While I’ve heard many people speak of ‘COBRA coverage’ over the years, I’ll bet few of them knew their right to COBRA medical insurance came as a result of a change in the tax code. Check out the TaxProf Blog to find out what new, COBRA-like changes may be buried in the 2010 "TRUIRJCA". No! That will never do as an acronym for the

“TAX RELIEF, UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE REAUTHORIZATION, AND JOB CREATION ACT OF 2010”

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New chapter on arbitration in Missouri

I know that this is a shameless self-promotion, but here goes. I've often ranted about the way unscrupulous businesses take advantage of consumers by inserting horrendously unfair mandatory arbitration clauses in their contracts. A new Missouri CLE Deskbook for lawyers was released yesterday and it features a highly detailed chapter on arbitration clauses. I was one of two co-authors, along with John Campbell with whom I have the honor of working at the Simon Law Firm in St. Louis, Missouri. This manual is geared to help Missouri consumer lawyers, but it could be valuable for anyone who wants to know the state of the law of consumer arbitration. It worth noting that Missouri law has paralleled the arbitration law of many other states, especially on the issue of unconscionability (John and I argued for the winning side of the August 31, 2010 case decided by the Missouri Supreme Court, Brewer v. Missouri Title Loans). If you are interested in taking a look at this chapter, I would assume that you will soon be able to find this book in most law libraries and on the library shelves of many law firms. For a glimpse of how complicated this topic of arbitration has gotten, I'm printing out the Table of Contents below: [More . . . ]

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Former Drug Czar of the UK: Legalize all drugs

Bob Ainsworth, who was once responsible for drug policy as drugs minister in the UK, has declared prohibition to be counterproductive.

We need to take effective measures to rob the dealers of their markets and the only way that we can do that is by supplying addicts through the medical profession, through prescription. We cannot afford to be shy about being prepared to do that. . . It is far better they are going to a doctor, or going to a chemist and are getting their script [prescription] than turning tricks as a prostitute or robbing their mates.

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Will Netflix Destroy the Internet?

I lifted this question from John Carroll at ZDNet: Net Neutrality: Will Netflix destroy the Internet? But the basic discussion is, how can internet carriers afford to pipe unlimited video at the same price that they charge to support slow and relatively sparse packet data like email and pictures? Back…

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Judges: No problem taking valuable gifts from litigants

Why should members of Congress get to receive lots of tainted largess, whereas judges are left behind? At least three federal judges don't see a problem with judges accepting expensive services from an organization financed by large corporations, corporations that often appear before the judges as litigants: "An organization called the Foundation for Research on Economics & the Environment (FREE) routinely hosts free junkets for federal judges where they can ride horses, bunk with industry attorneys, and learn how to decide environmental cases in ways that benefit FREE’s corporate funders. Those funders include corporations such as Texaco, Exxon, General Electric, Koch, Monsanto, and Shell. FREE’s board of trustees includes three sitting U.S. Court of Appeals Judges: Edith Clement of the Fifth Circuit and Alice Batchelder and Danny Boggs, both of the Sixth Circuit. Yet, despite the obvious ethical problems raised by Clement, Batchelder and Boggs’ service on the board of an organization that both provides free trips to judges and is funded by frequent litigants before those judges’ courts, these three judges continue to serve." http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/09/bpa-found-on-receipts-and_n_794067.html

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