Theoretically, our beloved Internal Revenue Code allows you to claim an itemized deduction — on Schedule A of your Form 1040 — for personal casualty losses to the extent they are not covered by insurance. Exactly what is a casualty loss? It’s when the fair market value of your property or asset is reduced or wiped out by a hurricane, flood, storm, fire, earthquake or volcanic eruption (not to mention sonic boom, theft or vandalism).

In reality, however, many disaster victims won’t qualify for any personal casualty loss write-offs because of the following two rules. First, you must reduce your loss by $100. Obviously, that’s no big deal. Then you must further reduce the loss by an amount equal to 10% of your adjusted gross income (AGI) for the year (AGI is the number at the bottom of page 1 of your Form 1040). That is a big deal. Say you incur a $20,000 personal casualty loss this year and have AGI of $100,000. Your write-off is a relatively puny $9,900 ($20,000 minus $100 minus $10,000). You get absolutely no tax break if your loss before the two required subtractions is $10,100 or less, and you have no chance at all if you don’t itemize.

**********************************************

Barack Obama

may consider introducing a tax on carbon emissions to help cut the U.S. budget deficit after winning a second term as president, according to HSBC Holdings Plc.

A tax starting at $20 a metric ton of carbon dioxide equivalent and rising at about 6 percent a year could raise $154 billion by 2021.

Hurricane Sandy

sparked discussion on climate protection in the election after presidential candidates focused on other debates, HSBC said. A continued Republican majority in the U.S. House of Representatives means Obama’s scope for action will be limited, Robins said. Cap-and-trade legislation stalled in the U.S. Senate after narrowly passing the house in 2009.

Obama and the U.S. Congress should consider a carbon tax to help meet the government’s looming need for revenue, according to the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions in Arlington, Virginia.

The tax would not necessarily add to the economy’s total tax burden, according to Elliot Diringer, executive vice president of the research group. Such a tax may free up space for reductions in company taxes that dissuade employment, for example.

***************************************

You're a disbarred attorney who's just been evicted from his office. Do you a) take a sledge hammer to the walls? b) Draw penises all over the place? c) Smear poop on the floor? d) All of the above?

A state district judge ordered disbarred Dallas attorney Tom Corea back in jail this morning because he allegedly trashed his Design District office and drew penises all over the walls after being evicted last month.

Corea was charged earlier this year with four felonies alleging he stole from his clients

. He was arrested, posted bond and was released.

Weeks later, he was evicted for not paying rent for his upscale office in the 2000 block of Farrington Street near Interstate 35E and Market Center Boulevard, according to testimony before state District Judge Mike Snipes. Corea was ordered out by Oct. 31.

When the president of the real estate company that represents the building, Doug Molny, showed up the next day to check out the property, he found "complete destruction," including "penis graffiti on every single wall throughout the building," Molny said.

Written next to some of the penises was the name Doug. Molny said it appeared someone took a sledgehammer to granite counters. Doors, light fixtures, cabinets and appliances were destroyed or removed.

There was feces and urine on the floor, Molny said.

Prosecutor Jacob Harris presented photos of some of the damage, including a derogatory message directed at an Arizona judge who found him in contempt of court in an unrelated case. The message included the judge’s name and a phone number