Tax News

TREASURY REQUIRES MORE ELECTRONIC TRANSACTIONS

Washington, D.C. - The Treasury Department has launched a new initiative to dramatically increase the number of electronic transactions. First, it will require individuals receiving Social Security, Supplemental Security Income, veterans, railroad retirement and Office of Personnel Management benefits to receive payments electronically, either through direct deposit into a bank account or the Treasury's Direct Express debit card. The requirement will apply to new enrollees on March 1, 2011, and to existing recipients on March 1, 2013. Second, businesses currently permitted to use paper Federal Tax Deposit coupons will have to make those deposits electronically beginning in 2011, with a few exceptions. Finally, the Treasury will eliminate the option to purchase paper savings bonds through payroll deductions for federal employees on Sept. 30, 2010, and for the private sector by Jan. 1, 2011.

WITHHOLDING COMES UP SHORT

Washington, D.C. - By identifying higher wage earners who are having too few taxes withheld from their paychecks, the Internal Revenue Service could collect as much as $1.6 billion in additional taxes over a five-year period, according to a report by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, which reviewed the IRS's processes for determining whether employers are withholding the proper amount of taxes from employees' pay.

IBM HELPS COLLECT TAX DEBT

Armonk, N.Y. - IBM has introduced software to help governments around the world collect delinquent tax debt.The IBM Tax Collections Optimizer helps identify the best methods for collecting taxes from delinquent debtors. It uses a combination of data analytics and other models to create action plans for each case. The plan optimizes the order of activities agents will take in order to maximize the total amount of debts collected while taking into consideration the case load, personnel resources, and the anticipated effectiveness of the suggested actions. For more, visit www.ibm.com.

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