Spurred by rising car prices and a sharp reduction in the tax deduction for interest payments, more people are leasing automobiles for long terms.
So sharp are his powers of deduction that people assume he really has a sixth sense, even though he constantly tells them: "There's no such thing as a psychic".
"Now with these new rules, with investment income taxes, Obamacare, the phaseout of deductions, not even the sharpest and most accurate practitioner can do a prediction".
But the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act does pay for some of the sharp corporate tax reduction by eliminating or lowering many deductions for individuals even while expanding the standard deduction.
If Dalgliesh's deductions are not at their Holmesian sharpest this time, it's true that he has other matters on his mind.
Similar to the deduction of inequalities (2.6) and (2.7), the sharp versions of (1.9) and its reversion are (2.9).
I'll make this as clear as possible: Mr. Romney can cut tax rates by 20 percent, preserve mortgage interest and charitable deductions for the middle class, and accept a sharp uptick in the deficit.
Still, the sharp reduction in tax rates and the abolition of so many deductions and credits would amount to the most thorough overhaul of the nation's tax law since World War II.
So if the couple gives away $1 billion worth of stock next year, it could conceivably yield less than $100 million in charitable deductions, better than getting poked in the eye with a sharp stick, but not in proportion to the gift.
White House officials have suggested they don't think this approach is necessary, saying in recent days that a sharp cut in tax rates wouldn't necessarily need to be offset by the elimination of deductions.
All this stands in sharp contrast with the charitable contributions made by the same wealthy who might avail themselves of the mortgage interest deduction.
