Voices

In the blogs: Giveaways, tweaks, and the spice of life

The consequences of not signing a return, price spikes at the pump, Congress gets off to a strong start, and other highlights from our favorite tax bloggers.

Giveaways

  • H&R Block (http://blogs.hrblock.com/): The tax implications of changing jobs, from moving expenses to the fees of outplacement agencies.
  • Taxable Talk (http://www.taxabletalk.com/): What to remind your clients about that most wondrous time of the year: 1099 time.
  • Turbotax (http://Blog.turbotax.intuit.com): The estimated tax deadline broken down for your self-employed folks.
  • The Income Tax School (http://www.theincometaxschool.com/blog/): “Should You Give Away Free Services and Information This Tax Season?” looks not only at the sometimes-thorny question for practices at season’s approach, but also what does and doesn’t work for giveaways in such categories as return-checking and guarantees.
  • Solutions For CPA Firm Leaders (http://ritakeller.com/blog/): “Do we have a skill gap in public accounting?” Maybe when it comes to technology, but yes certainty in many cases when it comes to accepting change.
  • Taxing Subjects (http://taxingsubjects.com/thebuzz): How “security” is the byword for this year’s filing season, starting with the reminder that your physical office space and procedures have to be just as secure as your computer.
  • Intuit Proconnect (http://taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com/): If you haven’t heard of “blockchain,” you’ve certainty heard of the phenom the technology underpins: bitcoin. How does blockchain technology affect a tax professional?

Tweaking

  • IRS Tax Trouble (http://www.irstaxtrouble.com/category/tax-blog/): In Martin v. United States, the court concludes that taxpayers retained the right to sue the IRS for substantial refunds for taxes that were overpaid prior to a bankruptcy, despite having discharged their debts in bankruptcy.
  • Procedurally Taxing (http://www.procedurallytaxing.com/): In Diversified Group v. United States and Larson v. United States, two cases deal with whether promoter penalties under Sec. 6707 are divisible for refund claim purposes. “An interesting issue, and one that may require a tweak to the law from Congress.”
  • Bloomberg BNA (http://www.bna.com/news/#!topic=istax&type=isblogpost): Unkindest cut? What constitutes a “change in law” is important because it could mean escaping big penalties for corporate taxpayers affected by California’s Gillette Co. v. Franchise Tax Board.
  • Mauled Again (http://mauledagain.blogspot.com/): In Sullivan v. Comr., we see how just forgetting to sign a return could trigger a late-filing penalty.

Spice

  • John R. Dundon II EA (http://johnrdundon.com/): The blogger fields a procedural question about a “fascinating” situation regarding depreciation and disposition of residential rental real estate. “Tax questions that cause me to pause,” writes Dundon, “are the spice of life.”
  • IRS Problem Solver Blog (http://www.getirshelp.com/irsblog/): One tax attorney’s take on how the Trump plan will affect taxes, from embracing simplification to where jobs will indeed flock to here back home.
  • Don’t Mess With Taxes (http://dontmesswithtaxes.typepad.com/): Who’da Thunk It Dept.: The 115th Congress is actually off to a hardworking, or at least busy, start, if the eight tax bills already introduced are any indication.
  • Tax Policy (http://taxfoundation.org/blog): How real businesses that do international trade interact with each other, and how that all relates to recent policy proposals.

Fuel for thought

  • Taxjar (http://blog.taxjar.com/): What’s changed in Arizona’s version of sales tax?
  • Tax Girl (http://blogs.forbes.com/kellyphillipserb): To the death and taxes litany of the inevitable should be added, for most Americans anyway, “gassing up.” What’s causing the price at some states’ pumps to suddenly spike? Hint: It’s not death.
  • Rubin on Tax (http://rubinontax.blogspot.com/): Will proposed Sec. 2704 regs will ever be finalized? Best preparers stay tuned.
  • Tax Vox (http://taxvox.taxpolicycenter.org): The series Tax Line, which “digs into the data behind the day’s most pressing tax policy issues,” this week delves into various and very varying states’ ability to raise revenue.

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