Two bills proposed in the Senate last year that take aim at tax havens and the U.S. taxpayers that operate in them have been given greater impetus by the recent European and U.S. probes into accounts in Liechtenstein that were alleged to hide assets from national taxing authorities.S. 396, introduced by Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., would prevent American companies from deferring the imposition of a second layer of tax on their foreign-source income if they operate in selected low-tax nations. It would amend the Internal Revenue Code to treat certain controlled foreign corporations created or organized under the laws of a tax-haven country as domestic corporations for tax purposes. It sets forth a list of “tax-haven” countries, and grants the Treasury authority to remove or add a country from the list.

Despite a recently issued safe harbor now available for like-kind exchanges of vacation properties, the Internal Revenue Service continues to keep taxpayers guessing on the precise boundaries of the law itself.Last September, the Government Accountability Office came out with a critical report on like-kind exchanges in which it complained that the IRS needed to give taxpayers more guidance on like-kind exchanges of second homes and vacation retreats. The GAO claimed that the IRS had agreed with its findings and had promised to release more specific guidance. The latest IRS response seems to fall short of that commitment.

Until 1991, the accounting profession was largely guided by historical cost, transaction-based accounting.Granted, fair market value and historical cost at the point of the transaction were deemed equivalent, provided that arm’s-length transactions were involved. However, those making decisions — investors, auditors and regulators — grasped that unless someone gave and accepted consideration for something, its underlying value was arguable.

As investors and regulators increasingly question the role of fair value measurements and mark-to-market accounting in contributing to the global economic downturn, a group of speakers weighed in at a panel discussion sponsored by the CFA Institute Centre for Financial Market Integrity.

CPAs who conduct valuations in the normal course of their practices are now required to comply with detailed standards.

The Securities and Exchange Commission is offering investors a new interactive tool for comparing the costs, risks, investment strategies and past performance of mutual funds using Extensible Business Reporting Language.

The Treasury Department has released a report on The Changing Nature and Consequences of Public Company Financial Restatements as part of an effort to encourage U.S. capital markets competitiveness.