The Latest

For the procrastinators among us -- well, for those of us who don’t prepare taxes for a living, of course -- the concerns of tax season probably didn’t take hold until recently.

The Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service issued final regulations on the treatment of nonqualified deferred compensation plans and arrangements under Section 409(a) of the tax code.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board has named Lawrence W. Smith, currently chairman of the standard-setter’s Emerging Issues Task Force, as a member of the board.

The Internal Revenue Service has updated the list of areas included as being within the "North American area," referred to in Section 274(h) of the Internal Revenue Code.The section of the tax code limits deductions for expenses incurred in connection with a convention, seminar, or similar meeting held outside the “North American area.” In a recent revenue ruling, the agency updated the list of all geographical areas currently included in the North American area for purposes of the section.

Husband and wife grape-growers in Geyserville, Calif., got some mixed news last week, after the U.S. Tax Court took a closer look at how they could depreciate improvements made to their vineyard.The court found that although Leo and Evelyn Trendadue properly classified wine grape trellises on their land as farm machinery or equipment, because the irrigation systems and well the couple built on their property have a longer class life (20 years, as opposed to 10 years) those enhancements should be classified -- and depreciated for -- as permanent land improvements.

According to published reports, House Democrats are preparing legislation to permanently shield all but the wealthiest of taxpayers from the alternative minimum tax.According to the New York Times, the plan is still in its early stages, but would have the end goal of exempting millions from the tax -- although how exactly the revenue loss would be offset remains to be determined. The newspaper said that by the close of May, House Democrats hope to draft a permanent overhaul of the AMT that would exclude anyone who earns less than about $200,000 a year -- which covers about 97 percent of taxpayers.

Many board members and senior executives are still in the dark about the overall health of their organizations because they lack high-quality non-financial information.

The National Association of Black Accountants Inc. and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants recently announced the launch of Money $ense.The program contains five curriculum modules designed to reverse the poor financial forecasts being made about individuals and families within the African-American community. The five modules focus on key financial areas such as credit and debt management, budgeting, financial planning, investing and saving.

There is a greater push for transparency, both in terms of financial reporting and in regard to regulatory actions, but I wonder how successful this push will ultimately be. It is the regulatory bodies that will have to be the driving force, along with institutional investors. A recent action indicated to me that one particular regulatory body seems to have little concern for transparency. It was reported at www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070405/BUSINESS/704050480 that Conseco Life Insurance Co. has been fined $750,000 by Iowa regulators. The article reports that state kept secret exactly what triggered the penalty. This got me curious, as the fine was described as ”one of the Iowa Insurance Division's largest such penalties,” so I tracked down the order.

Over the six-plus years I’ve spent as editor-in-chief at Accounting Today, I’ve come to anticipate several certainties as tax season winds down.