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The Internal Revenue Service has posted the 2006 Data Book on its Web site.

The Internal Revenue Service issued guidance identifying dozens of frivolous positions that taxpayers should avoid when filing their tax returns.The guidance lists 40 positions which have no basis for validity in existing law or which have been deemed frivolous by the U.S. Tax Court, or another federal court. If these or other frivolous positions are contained in a tax return, taxpayers could face a $5,000 penalty -- 10 times the previous maximum.

With many of its players accruing lengthy rap sheets, charged with felonies ranging from illegal firearms possession to sexual assault, it would be safe to say the National Football League has been battling something of an image problem of late.

At least one in five workers eligible for the Earned Income Tax Credit will leave that money on the table this tax season, and Congress is looking to accountants and other tax professionals to help address the problem.During hearings before the House Ways and Means Oversight Subcommittee, congressional leaders said that while 22 million low-income families and individuals claimed EITC wage subsidies last year, millions more who are eligible for the tax credits don't receive them.

The Internal Revenue Service has rolled out its annual list of the 12 most blatant tax return scams. Topping the "Dirty Dozen" are fraudulent claims for the one-time Telephone Excise Tax refund. Also new to the list this year are abuses pertaining to:* Roth IRAs. Taxpayers should be wary of advisors who encourage them to shift under-valued property to these IRAs. In one variation, a promoter has the taxpayer move under-valued common stock into a Roth IRA, circumventing the annual maximum contribution limit and allowing otherwise taxable income to go untaxed.

The measures to close the tax gap offered by President Bush in his 2008 budget are somewhat modest, according to observers.The president's $2.9 trillion budget contains a number of legislative proposals to close the gap in four areas: by expanding information reporting, improving compliance by businesses, strengthening tax administration and expanding penalties.

The International Accounting Standards Board has announced the membership of a new Employee Benefits Working Group.The board established the group to assist in a project on post-employment benefits by providing a variety of exert perspectives, including those of actuaries, auditors, preparers and users of financial statements, and regulators. The group consists of 16 senior professionals with extensive practical experience in the operation, management, valuation, financial reporting, auditing or regulation of a variety of post-employment benefit arrangements.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has settled improper accounting charges it brought against a trio of former financial officers of Raytheon Co.

Tax prep giant H&R Block Inc. announced that it has opened up shop in the online virtual universe known as Second Life.Second Life is entirely built and owned by its residents, who have created a 3-D world that includes homes, vehicles, nightclubs, stores, landscapes, clothing and games. Last month, the site passed the 4-million-account threshold, though many accounts are not active and some residents have multiple accounts.

A federal judge dismissed five counts of filing false tax returns, to go with four counts of money laundering, which had been levied against the self-proclaimed “Guru of Ganja.”Ed Rosenthal, a medical marijuana activist and columnist for High Times, had originally been arrested on three charges of growing pot. However, during his 2003 trial, he wasn’t allowed to cite in his defense the fact that the pot was for medical marijuana dispensaries -- a point which several jurors later said that the government should have allowed them to hear.