1. Mortgage interest on your personal residence is tax deductible but rental payments are not. Is this fair to renters? Should rental payments be tax deductible? Or should mortgage interest be non-deductible? Does the tax deduction for mortgage interest favor the banking industry too much?
2. 1. Holly works as a flight attendant on Hilarity Airlines, owned by Conglomerate, Inc., which also owns Hooyacht Hotels. Conglomerate allows all of its employees, as well as their spouses and children, to fly for free (Hilarity Airlines) or stay for free (Hooyacht Hotels) on their vacations on a space-available basis. Holly and her husband Hal use this perk to fly at no cost to Hawaii (FMV $600 each for a total FMV of $1,200), where they stayed for free in a room at the Hooyacht Hotel in Honolulu for 5 nights (FMV $2,000 for all 5 nights). On the flight to Hawaii, they ate free meals and drank beverages. At the Hooyacht Hotel, the maid serviced their room each day, cleaning their room while there were on the beach. Which fringe benefit exclusion might apply to the facts? What are the separate and independent requirements that must be satisfied for the exclusion provision to apply? After isolating possible statutory issues, see Treas. Reg. §§ 1.132-2(a)(5)(ii) and -4(a)(1)(i) for help in resolving them.