Practice Management

IRS COMMITTEE SEEKS ADVISORSWashington, D.C. — The Internal Revenue Service is looking for new members to apply for its Information Reporting Program Advisory Committee, including tax preparers. The committee offers recommendations on information reporting and administration issues to the IRS.

While the Internal Revenue Service has had an informant program for years, only recently have legislation and administrative developments put significant teeth into it. Most notable are the mandatory monetary awards now required for significant information equal to between 10 percent and 30 percent of the tax, interest and penalties collected.“The new rules have the potential to bring billions of dollars into the Treasury,” predicted Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, on the passage of the enabling provision within the Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006. At least several law firms that specialize in Federal Claims Act litigation are now branching out into whistleblower representation, reporting several billion dollars in suits already pending.

The Supreme Court has issued unanimous rulings in two tax cases, MeadWestvaco Corp. v. Illinois Department of Revenue and U.S. v. Clintwood Elkhorn Mining Co.In the MeadWestvaco case, the Supreme Court vacated and remanded the decision of the Illinois Appellate Court, which had allowed Illinois to tax a capital gain realized by Mead, an Ohio-based subsidiary of MeadWestvaco, when Mead sold its LexisNexis business division. Mead paid the tax and later sued in state court.

"I’m a great leader! Things get done because I delegate effectively.” These words are powerful statements from productive executives. Have you said them recently?Are they true?

The Internal Revenue Service has released a revenue procedure dealing with the tax effects on securitized mortgages that have been modified to avoid foreclosures.

HintonBurdick CPAs & Advisors plans to merge with Wilson & Co. CPAs, uniting the two Utah firms.

Section 7216, a part of the Internal Revenue Code since 1971, imposes criminal penalties on tax return preparers who knowingly or recklessly make unauthorized disclosures or uses of information furnished in connection with the preparation of an income tax return.A violation of the section is not to be taken lightly — it comes with a penalty of up to a year’s imprisonment or a fine of not more than $1,000, or both.

Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, has introduced a bill to extend tax credits and deductions that expired last year or would expire at the end of this year, including tax incentives for renewable energy.

The Senate Finance Committee held hearings on tax reform for individuals, the latest in a series of hearings on tax reform.

The alternative motor vehicle credit is difficult for the Internal Revenue Service to administer because of complex tax laws, according to a new report.