Practice Management

Highlights of some of our favorite tax-related blogs from the past week.

A pair of Democratic lawmakers have introduced a bill that would provide tax relief to student loan borrowers who have been granted debt relief after consistently repaying their student loan debt for at least 20 years, giving them an exemption from being taxed on the amount forgiven on the loans.

Corporate America is at a tipping point. According to an IDC report, the digital universe is doubling in size every two years and will reach 44 trillion gigabytes by 2020. Simultaneously, according to the Information Economics Assessment Kit published by CGOC (Compliance, Governance and Oversight Council), while the value of aging data decreases rapidly over time, the cost to manage it remains constant, creating an ever-increasing expense.

Tobacco makers were able to avoid paying billions of dollars in federal excise taxes by reclassifying their “roll-your-own” tobacco products as pipe tobacco, and small cigars as large cigars, according to a new government report and witnesses at a Senate hearing Tuesday.

Reeling from a series of budget cuts in recent years, the Internal Revenue Service has slashed the customer service functions at its walk-in offices, but did not evaluate the potential impact of reducing or eliminating key services at 386 Taxpayer Assistance Centers prior to implementing changes at those locations, according to a new government report.

The Internal Revenue Service is being pressed to provide more awareness of tax breaks for victims and survivors of terrorist attacks such as 9/11, including first responders.

While it is inevitable that a firm or company will eventually age and die, it is the responsibility of the managing partner or CEO to ensure that the firm or company remains viable.

The IRS Return Preparer Office plans to mail letters this week to approximately 5,000 preparers who are doing returns without valid PTINs.

The scheduled depletion date for Social Security’s Disability Insurance Trust Fund is only two years away, in late 2016, according to a new government report.

Crowe Horwath LLP has announced the sale of its subsidiary, Creative Financial Staffing, to its employees through an employee stock ownership plan.