Practice Management

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.

Independent accounting firm Briggs & Veselka Co. has acquired a Houston neighbor, local CPA firm Pirsch & Mills LLP.

Business technology solutions provider Net@Work has acquired Apptech Inc., a Cheshire, Conn.-based consulting firm specializing in Sage Pro ERP sales and support.

As part of a new branding strategy, Thomson Tax & Accounting, said that it will formally adopt Thomson Tax & Accounting as its public name and use the Thomson Corp. starburst imprint as its primary logo.

Between January 2003 and June 2006, at least 490 Internal Revenue Service computers -- some containing sensitive data -- were lost or stolen, according to a new report from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration.TIGTA said that the missing computers, and other data-sensitive equipment, were lost or stolen in 387 separate incidents. Worse, in more than 75 percent of the cases, IRS employees failed to notify the agency’s computer security office, which could have helped negate the risk to taxpayers.

A survey of chief executive compensation figures found that the median year-over-year percentage increase in pay was just short of 10 percent for 2006.

The Internal Revenue Service is requesting applicants for both its Information Reporting Program Advisory Committee and its Electronic Tax Administration Advisory Committee.

The May cover story for Practical Accountant focuses on how a number of firms are using formalized testing to determinate if a potential hire is right for a job. It also explores how testing is extending to other aspects of firms’ operations.