Finance

The Internal Revenue Service plans to make it easier for financially troubled homeowners to avoid federal tax liens that block them from selling their homes or refinancing their mortgages.

The Internal Revenue Service has issued new guidance on implementing the recently amended tax return preparer penalty, which punishes tax preparers for taking "unreasonable positions" on tax liabilities.

Leaders of the House Ways and Means Committee wrote to President-elect Barack Obama asking him to end the Internal Revenue Service's private debt collection service.

With the election now academic, a concerted drive to ratchet up regulation of the financial markets by the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, and other bodies will be near the top of the legislative priority list when the new Congress opens shop in January.Even before the 110th Congress closed, House and Senate Democrats had already scheduled hearings into the need for tighter oversight of financial institutions and tougher accounting standards for the industry, which is projected to be more constricted under the incoming Obama administration.

Given the economic implosion where trillions have been lost in personal investments and wire houses are boarding up like ice cream shops in January, high-net-worth clients are looking to their accountants and wealth management advisors to help preserve their investments amidst roller-coaster swings in the markets.Compounding their concern over the economic malaise, high-net-worth individuals now also have to worry about the potential affects of President-elect Barack Obama's tax and economic policies.

COHN CREATES RECOVERY TEAMRoseland, N.J. - Accounting firm J.H. Cohn has formed a Client Economic Recovery Team to advise financial institutions and public companies affected by the financial crisis.

CCH SFS BUYS INTELLITAX

On Thursday, Congress passed a waiver of the minimum distribution rule for 2009, but not for 2008, for employer-provided qualified retirement plans and individual retirement accounts and annuities in H.R. 7327, the Worker, Retiree, and Employer Recovery Act of 2008. President Bush is expected to quickly sign it.The Treasury Department is studying whether to provide relief with regard to 2008 minimum distributions.

Once again this year, the headline for the Alternative Minimum Tax is another one-year fix with no permanent solution. The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 raised the AMT exemption amount for 2008 to $69,950 for joint filers and $46,200 for single filers. This represents another inflation-adjusted extension of the exemption amount designed to preserve the status quo and keep an additional 21 million taxpayers from being subject to the AMT in 2008. And, once again, without further action, the AMT exemption amount reverts to its pre-2001 level in 2009 unless further congressional action is taken.

Accounting firm Weiser LLP has hired an unemployed investment banker and Massachusetts Institute of Technology graduate who gained fame last summer for wearing a sandwich board on New York's Park Avenue that advertised, "Experienced MIT Grad for Hire."

To mark World Accountancy Week, the International Federation of Accountants has released the results of a survey that sought the views of leaders of accounting institutes worldwide on the current credit crisis and other top issues for the profession.

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board has issued an alert highlighting how the current economic crisis could increase various audit risks such as fraud.

Worries about the financial crisis are spreading rapidly, with job losses hitting levels not seen in over three decades, and people are wondering if CPAs have the answers to help them get through the turmoil.

Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, has written to congressional leaders criticizing a provision in the automobile industry bailout bill that provides government guarantees to mass transit agencies that have taken advantage of an outlawed tax shelter.

The sour headlines lead. Ford wants billions in loans. Car makers’ sales are tumbling, like a too-tall SUV on a tight curve. Delta’s slashing service. Staples and Sears are staggering. GE and Goldman Sachs say their decks are awash.

The Teamsters Union has written to the Internal Revenue Service taking issue with proposed regulations that would change the public approval requirements for tax-exempt private activity bonds and potentially undermine the public approval process.

Accountants and banking industry officials hoping for looser financial reporting standards in response to the economic downturn received a reality check from the keynote speakers at the American Institute of CPAs’ National Conference on Current SEC/PCAOB Developments.

A group of Democratic representatives from the House Ways and Means Committee wrote a sternly worded letter to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson warning him against expanding a controversial IRS Notice that allows banks to write off the tax losses of other banks they acquire.

Business optimism among U.S. business leaders has plummeted to its lowest level yet, according to a survey by Grant Thornton.

The Virginia Society of CPAs is offering a free financial wall calendar for consumers, developed in partnership with the American Institute of CPAs.