Week in Insights: Tax Knowledge Is Anything But a Write-Off

In the “Seinfeld” episode “The Package,” Kramer entreats Jerry to use postal insurance to get his stereo replaced. When Jerry asks about the ethics of having the postal service pay for his new stereo, Kramer dismisses the cost as “just a write-off for them.” Kramer admits he doesn’t know what a write-off is—but is confident that “the ones writing it off” do.

This type of knowledge gap doesn’t exist only on TV—or just between tax practitioners and everyday taxpayers, either. Even within the tax world, practices have their own specialized lexicons, intricacies, and nuanced frameworks built over decades.

A tax ...