Voices

In the blogs: Private matters

More last-minute tax strategies to cram in before Dec. 31; an overview of prevalent tax scams; and other highlights from our favorite tax bloggers.

Private matters

  • Philadelphia Estate and Tax Attorney Blog (http://frommtaxes.wordpress.com/): An overview of the number tax scams out there these days, straight from the IRS.
  • Taxing Subjects (http://taxingsubjects.com/thebuzz): Taking stock of security to keep data safe on both the lip of another season and a continuing heyday for ID theft.
  • Procedurally Taxing (http://www.procedurallytaxing.com/): And how does one get a copy of a fraudulent return filed in their name?
  • Intuit Proconnect (http://taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com/): Preparer Jacqulin McCoy takes a tax pro’s look at ID theft of a client. “When a client’s tax return is derailed, it can affect your ability to work with your other clients,” yet taking time to help fix the mess is a tremendous tool to build trust and client loyalty.
  • Due Diligence (http://www.mahanyertl.com/mahanyertl/): In this week’s collection: “Cyberhacking and the FDIC”; “$95 or 10 Years in Prison? Medicaid Fraud Post”; “NY Pension ‘Pay to Play’ Scheme Examined”; “Wells Fargo, PNC Hit with Huge Fines for Cybersecurity Lapses”; “Whistleblower Retaliation Case Leads to $1.4 Million Fine”; “Florida Eye Clinic Accused of Medicare Fraud”; and “North Carolina Medical Biller Gets Nine Years for Medicaid Fraud.”

Stated cases

  • John R. Dundon II EA (http://johnrdundon.com/): How Colorado’s USE Tax offers a good example of the Internet sales explosion necessitating review of each transaction to make sure a client knows if sales tax is being charged.
  • Tax Vox (http://taxvox.taxpolicycenter.org): All the recent presidential-campaign news (fake or real, take your pick) tended to bury how state revenue outlook has few bright spots. “Despite low unemployment and a strong stock market, state economists expect tepid economic growth over the next few years, which will result in relatively slow revenue growth ...”
  • Mauled Again (http://mauledagain.blogspot.com/): A pair of judicial updates on matters previously discussed in this blog: Philly’s soda tax and a tax dispute between Comcast and the state of California that lasted 17 years.
  • Tax Policy (http://taxfoundation.org/blog): Washington’s governor wants to resuscitate a “tax trifecta” – a capital gains tax, a carbon tax and an increase on gross receipts taxes on services – previously rejected by the state’s legislature and voters.

Big letters

  • Taxjar (http://blog.taxjar.com/): How VAT works for non-EU businesses selling digital products to U.S. buyers.
  • H&R Block (http://blogs.hrblock.com/): Got side-giggers among your clients, those who, “with the click of a mouse,” became their own bosses without considering the tax-filing wrinkles?
  • Liberty Tax (https://www.libertytax.com/tax-lounge/): Better remind them too of the penalty for not having coverage in 2016.
  • Summing It Up (http://blog.freedmaxick.com/summing-it-up): The Research and Development Credit can be a pretty handy tool to help your client companies save on taxes, but you better make sure you’re clear on who owns what and who took all the risk in the R and the D.
  • Dinesen Tax Times (http://dinesentax.com/blog): What difference can one letter make? This week’s biz-tax glossary entry: C corps and S corps.

Happenings

  • TaxMama (http://taxmama.com): More end-of-year-and-before-Trump tips, from charitable contributions to RMDs and brokerage accounts and “certain routine bills.”
  • Bloomberg BNA (http://bnas.wpengine.com/): Last-minute tax-planning tips in light of the incoming Trump presidency include comprise paychecks, retirement planning and other categories. And, believe it or not, “it is not just the wealthy that can benefit from the right tax planning; middle-income taxpayers can attain tax savings as well.”
  • Tax Analysts (http://www.taxanalysts.org/tax-analysts-blog): Can tax cuts still be tax reform? Now that “Trump’s happened,” we’ll see.
For reprint and licensing requests for this article, click here.
Tax practice Tax preparation Tax franchises Tax tools IRS
MORE FROM ACCOUNTING TODAY