In the blogs: Drilling down

Draft of the new 1040; the rich get caught, too; how to speak accounting; and other highlights from our favorite tax bloggers.

Drilling down

• Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (https://itep.org/category/blog/): Grab your skates and head to Hell: The Senate is about to reform our Tax Code.
• The Tax Times (https://www.thetaxtimes.com): A close look at the tax-related back-and-forthing that went into the reconciliation bill.
• Tax Foundation (https://taxfoundation.org/blog): A centerpiece of the Inflation Reduction Act's proposed tax increases is the 15% minimum book tax on corporate income for firms earning north of $1 billion. The tax puts one of the most pro-growth elements of the tax system at risk, though, penalizing investment. Here's why.
• Tax Vox (https://www.taxpolicycenter.org/): Last week's surprise budget deal, which includes about $370 billion in measures to combat global climate change, was sealed with improved terms for U.S. oil and gas exploitation. How contradictory is this, if at all?
• National Taxpayer Advocate (https://www.taxpayeradvocate.irs.gov/taxnews-information/blogs-nta/): After the advocate issued a directive last spring to the IRS directing it to implement scanning technology to machine-read paper-filed tax returns in time for the 2023 season, the agency has said it's testing several pilot programs. The response did not "make a commitment to implement scanning technology to machine read v-coded returns, and it expressly rejected implementing scanning technology to machine-read handwritten returns." Also missing, the advocate says, are other key specifics regarding IRS efforts.
• National Association of Tax Professionals (https://blog.natptax.com/): In this week's "You Make the Call,"  is there any relief for the failure-to-timely-pay penalty when an employer files for a refund for the Employee Retention Credit? And, as a result, must amend either the 2020 or 2021 return to reduce the wage deduction by the amount of the ERC for the year?
• The Wandering Tax Pro (http://wanderingtaxpro.blogspot.com/): Bitcoin, Social Security reporting, the size of the page and "God only knows": the next draft of the 1040.

Set in stone

• Federal Tax Crimes (http://federaltaxcrimes.blogspot.com/): Some legal doings left over after the death of Robert Brockman.
• Canopy (https://www.getcanopy.com/blog): Accounting workflow software is an investment, and before going all in you'd probably like to know your ROI. The CliffsNotes answer might be "a lot," but since something more concrete might impress your team, here's a closer look.
• Henry+Horne (https://www.hhcpa.com/blogs/): What to remind them about the still-beefed up business meal deduction.
• Sikich (https://www.sikich.com/insights/) Offsite construction goes by many names that boil down to a common meaning: the offsite manufacturing, fabrication or assembly of standardized building components for assembly or installation at a construction site. A look at a recent survey's major findings that underscore an industry in transition.
• Summing It Up (http://blog.freedmaxick.com/summing-it-up): In the recent case of M&Y Developers Inc. v N.Y. Tax Appeals Trib., the New York State Supreme Court confirmed that a contractor's purchase of concrete was not exempt from the state's sales and use tax.

Remote possibilities

• Don't Mess with Taxes (http://dontmesswithtaxes.typepad.com/): The rich and famous may seem different from the rest of us, but taxes can level the field when authorities see celebs as "easy examples" of the consequences of tax evasion. Consider Latin pop queen Shakira and Madrid's residency question in her more than 14 million euro charge.
• AICPA Insights (https://www.aicpa.org/blog): Removing the risks of remote audits.
• Global Taxes (https://www.globaltaxes.com/blog.php): What to remind them about the potential to lose their U.S. passport because of a tax debt.
• Sovos (https://sovos.com/blog/?region=united-states): What can we learn from Taiwan, where for more than two years foreign electronic service providers must issue cloud invoices for sales to individual buyers? Taiwan's tax authorities have been introducing incentives for domestic taxpayers to implement e-invoicing despite this not being a mandatory requirement.
• TaxConnex (https://www.taxconnex.com/blog-): For your online retail clients, the latest Q&A. about marketplace facilitators.
• Peisner Johnson (https://peisnerjohnson.com/blog/): And if any of your clients work with remote independent contractors, beware the latest possible tripwires for tax nexus.
• Surgent Income Tax School (http://www.theincometaxschool.com/blog/): Five ways new preparers can find clients (Friends and Family Plan is first.)

Watch your language

• Rosenberg Associates (https://rosenbergassoc.com/blog/): A generation or two ago, written communication was the purview of an enthusiastic few in business. Now writing spans dozens of business media and tools and is almost as important as knowing how to dress for a conference. Two reasons writing can be an ailing skill at a firm and several reasons why it should shine.
• Tax Pro Center (https://proconnect.intuit.com/taxprocenter//): Listen Up Dept.: Half a dozen outstanding podcasts for accounting pros (plus a few additional suggestions from readers).
• Boyum & Barenscheer (https://www.myboyum.com/blog/): How to use auditors' methods to continuously monitor all-important revenue for your nonprofit clients.
• Solutions for CPA Firm Leaders (http://ritakeller.com/blog/): 1040, 1040ES, 1065, 1120, 1120s, W-4m FASB, EBP, GAAP and so on (and on and on). Always remember: Your clients might not understand this lingo.