Practice Management

Mitt Romney released his 2011 tax return this afternoon, which revealed that the Republic presidential candidate paid taxes of $1,935,708 on $13.7 million in income, mostly from investments, giving him an effective tax rate of 14.1 percent.

The Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations held a hearing on offshore profit shifting and the U.S. tax code, examining in particular the practices of Microsoft and Hewlett-Packard, while questioning an Ernst & Young tax partner who services HP.

Congress’s two tax-writing committees, the House Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Finance Committee, held a joint hearing Thursday to discuss capital gains taxes and how they might be reformed.

Government debt hit a record $16 trillion last week, accompanied by the usual calls for tax increases to help plug the gap between revenue and expenditures. But for those who believe that the way out of our deficit includes raising taxes, there’s a cautionary study that suggests otherwise.

California Governor Jerry Brown signed a law Thursday allowing CPAs from outside California to practice across state lines without needing additional licenses.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid predicted that Congress will reach a deal after the Nov. 6 election to avert hundreds of billions of dollars in tax increases and spending cuts known as the “fiscal cliff” set to begin in January.

CPA firm management consultants Rita Keller of Keller Advisors and Gary Adamson of Adamson Advisory have introduced SurveyCPA, a set of survey tools designed for the accounting profession.

Tax business owners, as well as small businesses in general, are focusing more on such Internet marketing techniques as e-commerce and social media even while relying on such traditional methods as networking and targeted advertising to attract new clients, according to Chuck McCabe, CEO of The Income Tax School Inc.

PricewaterhouseCoopers US said it will collaborate with Microsoft to develop and deploy a portfolio of services designed and branded by PwC, and powered by Microsoft.

Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited saw its highest revenue growth in the past four years, reaching $31.3 billion worldwide for the fiscal year ending May 31, 2012.