Practice Management

After previous testimony from the Government Accountability Office that federal contractors have abused the tax system with little consequence, the office was asked to review the Internal Revenue Services coding of tax debt excluded from the Federal Payment Levy Program.The levy program is an automated system used to collect unpaid taxes from certain federal payments, and the GAO estimated that as of Sept. 30, 2005, over 500,000 tax records -- equated to about $2.4 billion in tax debt -- contained inaccurate codes that IRS systems used to exclude tax debts from the program. Among the inaccuracies were tax debts coded as having active installment agreements, even though the tax debtor had stopped making payments.

The Internal Revenue Service announced a formula allowing businesses and tax-exempt organizations to estimate their federal telephone excise tax refunds.In May, the government announced that it would stop collecting the federal excise tax on long-distance telephone service beginning Aug. 1, 2006, and provide refunds for taxes billed after Feb. 28, 2003.

Thomson Tax & Accounting, a unit of Thomson Corp., announced that it has acquired Scottsdale, Ariz.-based ePropertyTax Inc. -- a business that offers a range of property tax solutions by licensing its proprietary software to outsourcing compliance services.

McGladrey & Pullen LLP announced that it has acquired Chicago-based CPA firm Altschuler, Melvoin and Glasser LLP.AM&G previously had an alternative practice structure with American Express Tax and Business Services, which was acquired by RSM McGladrey in October 2005.

In a new report to Congress, the Government Accountability Office takes a hard look at how the Internal Revenue Services manages its paperwork and customer service.

In a 25-page response NCAA president Myles Brand made an adamant case for his association’s tax-exempt status, following questions raised by the outgoing chairman of the House’s Committee on Ways and Means.Brand cited new NCAA penalties for poor team-wide academic performance and rising player graduation rates as evidence of the association's attention to education, adding that school spending on athletics -- including hikes in coaches' salaries -- are driven by a media and consumer market beyond the association’s control.

An average refund of $963 is waiting for 95,746 taxpayers whose refund checks have been returned to the Internal Revenue Service as undeliverable.

Beard Miller Co. LLP will sell its Financial Outsourcing Solutions practice to McKonly & Asbury LLP in a deal effective Jan. 1.

Thomson Tax & Accounting has joined the Strategic Partners Program of Financial Executives International.

New guidance from the Internal Revenue Service stresses the need for employers to track the amount of expense reimbursement allowances paid to employees on a per diem basis.