Finance

The American Institute of CPAs is objecting to a bill that was introduced in the House giving the Internal Revenue Service the statutory authority to regulate tax return preparers.

Congress has passed highway-funding legislation that includes two tax provisions that would allow the State Department to revoke the passports of long-term tax delinquents who owe more than $50,000 in tax debts and revive a program requiring the IRS to hire private debt collection agencies.

Two Democrats in Congress have introduced a bill in the House and Senate to protect taxpayer rights and regulate tax preparers.

The House and Senate held hearings Tuesday on the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s Base Erosion and Profit Shifting action plan, also known as OECD BEPS, for combating tax avoidance by multinational corporations.

Congressional staff reportedly worked over the Thanksgiving weekend on negotiations over tax extenders, the dozens of expiring and already expired tax breaks that perennially occupy Washington just before the end of the year.

The National Society of Accountants has released some suggested year-end tax tips for individuals, courtesy of Wolters Kluwer Tax & Accounting US.

A ‘first look’ at the new partnership audit rules

The U.S. Treasury Department plans to release additional guidance this week aimed at deterring corporate inversions, though it can’t stop such tax-avoidance moves without new authority from Congress, Secretary Jacob J. Lew said.

With Paul Ryan newly instated as House Speaker, many are saying 2016 will be the year for major tax reform, according to Matt Becker, BDO USA regional managing partner for tax services.

An advocacy group for U.S. expatriates, American Citizens Abroad, is sounding the alarm about a provision in Congress’s highway funding bill that would revoke the passports of people who owe more than $50,000 in taxes.

The Republican Party's leading presidential candidates clashed over how to reform the nation's financial system and handle immigration in their fourth debate on Tuesday, exposing deep rifts in the Republican Party and starkly different strategies for winning the election.

Seven former Internal Revenue Service commissioners dating back to the Kennedy administration have written a joint letter to the leaders of Congress’s appropriations committees urging them to reconsider proposed cuts in the budget for the agency they once ran.

Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Wis., has introduced two pieces of legislation to combat corporate tax inversions and tax deferral.

The House passed a highway funding bill Thursday that includes a provision reviving the use of private debt collectors by the Internal Revenue Service.

In his first big personnel decision, House Speaker Paul Ryan put the committee that writes U.S. tax law in the hands of Texan Kevin Brady, who agreed to stand aside last year when Ryan wanted that chairmanship.

President Obama signed into law on Monday a two-year budget deal that Congress approved last week to raise the debt limit and avert a default. To help pay for it, the bill includes a provision that will make it easier for the Internal Revenue Service to audit large partnerships, including hedge funds, private equity firms and even accounting firms.

A number of presidential candidates have proposed their tax policies, several of which were fleshed out by Republican candidates during Wednesday night’s debate.

Rep. Sam Johnson, R-Texas, has been named acting chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, the main tax-writing committee in Congress.

Crowe Horwath LLP has issued a year-end tax-planning guide with information on income tax deductions, investments, retirement and estate planning and tax rates, along with what to do about the uncertain state of the tax extenders legislation in Congress.

Grant Thornton LLP offers 10 tax tips for the end of calendar year 2015.