Practice Management

Clifton Gunderson LLP has acquired the Colorado firm of Levine, Hughes & Mithuen in a merger effective Nov. 1.

A Senate panel’s review of interactions between imprisoned former lobbyist Jack Abramoff and a number of tax-exempt organizations had lead the committee to question the groups’ tax status and a portion of the federal Tax Code dealing with unrelated business income taxes.

Statistics show that more than 50 percent of marriages in the United States end in divorce.The process of a divorce can create tremendous animosity between the parties, and this can lead to difficult financial issues for those affected by the split. There are many complex federal tax issues that need to be planned for, or they will create tremendous pitfalls. The Internal Revenue Code also contains several provisions that provide specific guidance for divorce-related transactions.

Year-end tax planning opportunities abound this year. They do so not only because it has been a particularly active year for tax legislation, but also because of other significant tax developments taking place in 2006, as well as changes from pre-2006 tax legislation that have a particular impact this year and next.Traditional year-end tax strategies should not be abandoned. Income should either be accelerated or postponed between 2006 and 2007, depending upon the anticipated tax brackets for each client. Similarly, deductions and credits should be manipulated to lower income either in the more favorable year or, in some cases, in both years, before midnight, Dec. 31, 2006, has come and gone.

The Tax Foundation has released the 2007 edition of its guide comparing the business tax climate between states.

Koch Industries Inc. has filed a lawsuit, claiming that the Internal Revenue Service used improper accounting to calculate taxes for a 1998 New Mexico highway project.

Congress left town without passing a number of tax breaks that expired at the end of 2005 -- among them the option to deduct state and local sales taxes in place of state income tax, a deduction for college tuition and fees, the deduction for school teachers, and a research and development credit for business.Although the breaks themselves are not controversial, and leaders of the Senate Finance Committee pushed for their enactment before Congress adjourned, the breaks became mired in political infighting when they were attached to “trifecta” legislation that would have included an increase for the minimum wage and a slash in estate tax rates.

Los Angeles-based Information Technology Group Inc. has acquired Xcelerate LLC, a reseller of Sage Accpac ERP and Sage CRM software based in Chicago.

In the wake of yet another governmental gaffe involving the mishandling of private records -- the Commerce Department announced last month that it had lost about 4 percent of its laptops over the course of the last five years -- a federal report says that the Internal Revenue Service could do a better job with its own controls.

Mahoney Sabol & Co. has announced that it will merge with Middletown, Conn.-based firm Gomola & DiBella LLP. Financial terms were not disclosed and the combined firm will operate under the Mahoney Sabol name, and have a staff of more than 30 tax and accounting professionals. Gomola’s founder, Gary Gomola, has practiced in Middletown for more than 30 years and has expertise in business valuation, as well as in the areas of computer technology and the Internet. The merger became effective on Oct. 1 and will result in the Middletown offices of both firms being combined. Mahoney Sabol also has Connecticut offices in the towns of Glastonbury, Essex and Somers.