Practice Management

INFLATION ADJUSTMENTS WIDEN TAX BRACKETSWashington, D.C. - The Internal Revenue Service said that personal exemptions and standard deductions would rise in 2009 to keep pace with inflation, providing more than three dozen tax benefits.

While the driving force behind the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 may have been the need to find an immediate solution to the current financial crisis, the new law added energy tax provisions at the eleventh hour that might be viewed - in retrospect, if not at the time of passage - as an integral part of a longer-term national solution. The energy title of the new law, the Energy Improvement and Extension Act of 2008, provides a host of tax incentives for alternative energy use and development, as well as for general energy conservation.Some sections of the energy title to the EESA are extensions of existing provisions, while others provide new opportunities. Together, they present a plan to strengthen the economy by minimizing foreign oil dependency. Viewed by its parts, the act adds to the matrix of ways that individuals and businesses alike can lower their net costs of energy consumption.

Change is scary. There's no doubt about it. I often tell my clients that whenever I am facing a major change, I feel like I am at the edge of a diving board and just can't jump into the water.I guess I'm no different than any of you when it comes to change. Sometimes I have been forced into it, and other times I have led it.

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., has selected the accounting firm Watkins, Meegan, Drury & Co. to do forensic accounting on his tax returns and congressional disclosure forms.

The Internal Revenue Service has not developed sufficient processes to ensure that more than 61 million tax refunds were directly deposited last tax season to the correct bank account, according to a new report from the Treasury's inspector general.The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration said that the IRS places responsibility for compliance with federal direct deposit regulations on the taxpayer, and indicated that it is the taxpayer's responsibility to ensure that their tax refunds are directly deposited only into their accounts. TIGTA and representatives from the Treasury's Financial Management Service, however, believe that the IRS is responsible for enforcing the requirement.

The Financial Accounting Foundation advised President Bush and other U.S. and world leaders attending the G-20 summit to safeguard fair value accounting and the independent standard-setting process in a strongly worded letter.

Financial Executives International has written to House and Senate Leaders urging lawmakers to consider relief for small and closely held business in the event of any future stimulus packages.

The Rehmann Group accounting firm said it plans to merge with another Michigan firm, Pridnia LaPres, effective Jan. 1, 2009.

The Internal Revenue Service continues to have problems with its internal controls and financial management systems, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office.

Electronic tax filing for individuals and businesses set a record in 2008, according to the Internal Revenue Service.