Taxmageddon is Coming! LAARAs, Too!

David Leonhardt of The New York Times offers an extensive guide to the revenue-raising ruckuses that await us at the end of the year. The accompanying charts offer useful, but always arguable, comparisons. With a revenue system as complex and messed up as ours, just how do you define a "tax," a "tax preference," a "capital gain"?

For instance, I hold a few shares of Citi acquired more than two decades ago (don't ask!). On the computer screen the shares show a 49% profit, taxable as long-term gain.  Hah! After adjusting for inflation, I'd need a 66% gain just to break even.

Out of Taxmageddon should come one or more LAARAs (Lawyers and Accountants Relief Acts). Hence this suggestion for tax and investment advisers: grab all the vacation you can this year.