Finance

The IRS has issued a pair of one-page electronic publications containing information for individuals and families about the Affordable Care Act.

(Bloomberg) The U.S. House Ways and Means Committee voted to let companies write off more than half the cost of some investments immediately, providing a $287 billion tax cut to capital-intensive industries.

A group of technology companies sent a letter Wednesday to leaders of the House Financial Services Committee objecting to legislation that would exempt companies with under $250 million in annual revenue from existing requirements to file financial statements as machine-readable open data.

The Governmental Accounting Standards Board voted unanimously Wednesday to approve two exposure drafts proposing significant improvements to financial reporting by state and local governments of other post-employment benefits, such as retiree health insurance.

Nearly 6 million Americans living abroad are facing a June 16 deadline to file their taxes this year.

The National Conference of CPA Practitioners is questioning a proposal to reinstate a discontinued program that would allow private contractors to collect unpaid tax debts on behalf of the Internal Revenue Service.

The Internal Revenue Service has ruled that employers are not in compliance with the Affordable Care Act if they simply reimburse employees for buying insurance through one of the exchanges instead of establishing a health insurance plan for employees.

The IRS Oversight Board has sent a letter to the leaders of Congress’s main tax committees urging them not to re-instate a privatized tax debt collection program.

The Internal Revenue Service plans to substantially change the regulations it proposed last fall for tax-exempt “social welfare” organizations and their political activities before moving ahead with a public hearing.

Enhanced Section 179 expensing allowances, along with dozens of other “temporary” tax provisions, expired at the end of last year.

Credit Suisse AG, which pleaded guilty Monday to helping Americans evade taxes, has so far avoided identifying thousands of customers who cheated the Internal Revenue Service. Instead, it promised to point investigators in the right direction.

The recently released discussion draft of the Tax Reform Act of 2014 by the House Ways and Means Committee is intended to simplify the existing tax code, make it fairer to taxpayers and strengthen the U.S. economy by lowering tax rates.

Rep. Jim Renacci, R-Ohio, a CPA, has introduced a bipartisan bill to bring more accountability and transparency to the federal government’s financial statements by making the Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board more independent.

Democrats in the House and Senate introduced legislation Tuesday to tighten the restrictions on corporate tax inversions, limiting the ability of U.S.-based companies to avoid U.S. taxes by combining with a smaller foreign business and moving their tax domicile overseas.

Senate Republicans blocked a package of more than $80 billion in tax cuts, killing for now a measure that would provide incentives for corporate research and wind energy.

The summer months are typically the time that CPAs fall out of touch with their clients. Some may send out or email one or two newsletters, but most taxpayers and preparers have thoughts that are far from next year’s taxes.

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board has released staff guidance on how the PCAOB should perform an economic analysis as part of its standard-setting process.

Republicans trying to end a U.S. excise tax on medical devices see a chance to capitalize on fractures among Democrats and score a long-sought victory.

The Indiana congressional delegation has sent a letter to Internal Revenue Service Commissioner John Koskinen asking for an investigation into reports that hundreds of Indiana doctors and health care professionals have been victimized by identity theft.

Almost 50 years after Oscar-winning actor Yul Brynner gave up his passport at the U.S. embassy in the Swiss capital, the number of Americans relinquishing their citizenship jumped 47 percent in the first quarter.