In the blogs: Fooling ourselves

Buyers’ criteria; EARN; marriage and accounting; and other highlights from our favorite tax bloggers.

Fooling ourselves

• Taxbuzz (https://www.taxbuzz.com/blog): What they should be asking you about finding a tax prep professional.
• CPA Growth Trends (https://www.cpagrowthtrends.com/): What’s in your wings? A recent Harvard Business Review showed that companies with effective pipeline management saw a 15% increase in revenue growth — and that increased to 28% when businesses could master three specific pipeline practices.
• HBK (https://hbkcpa.com/insights/): This week’s webinar (7/27) reviews the Employee Benefits Security Administration’s cybersecurity guidelines. 
• Solutions for CPA Firm Leaders (http://ritakeller.com/blog/): If you think your team members don’t generally know what each of them makes, you’re fooling yourself.
• Rosenberg Associates (https://rosenbergassoc.com/blog/): If you look to put your firm on the market (and who doesn’t toy with the idea these days), know that buyers of CPA firms merge with only one in 10 sellers they meet. These buyers have — and rarely deviate from — criteria they want a merger partner to fit….
• Taxjar (https://www.taxjar.com/resources/blog): Sales tax is an especially tricky seam to hem for clothing retailers.
• Boyum & Barenscheer (https://www.myboyum.com/blog/): What to remind them about a like-kind exchange.

Future perfect

• Rubin on Tax (http://rubinontax.floridatax.com/): Everybody knows SECURE, but another act is wending through Congress: the Enhancing American Retirement Now, or EARN, Act. Given the almost unanimous passage by the House, this act stands a good chance of making it into law, and here’s a list of items that are in one or both of the House and Senate bills that could well be in the final version.
• Tax Pro Center (https://proconnect.intuit.com/taxprocenter/): You’re sold on the future of advisory services for your firm. How do you identify the best prospects among your current clients?
• Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (https://itep.org/category/blog/): Some states pushed tax cuts for their wealthiest, disproportionately white residents this year. The states highlighted in this rundown showed “a far more equitable path forward” that targets assistance to families of all races.
• Taxing Subjects (https://www.drakesoftware.com/blog): Downloadable results of a recent tax pro survey on the future of contactless tax prep.
• Global Taxes (https://www.globaltaxes.com/blog.php): No less than the U.S. Supreme Court will soon take time out of its other doings to look at Bittner v. United States a case that could have huge ramifications for FBAR reporting penalties.
• AICPA Insights (https://www.aicpa.org/blog): Outgoing institute chair Bill Pirolli reflects on his achievements of the past year.

Timely manners

• Federal Tax Crimes (http://federaltaxcrimes.blogspot.com/): In Bedrosian v. United States, the court sustained the district court’s application of the FBAR willful penalty, an unsurprising holding. The one interesting aspect of the appeal is that the court, although finding the government’s proof was deficient as to the amount in the accounts subject to the penalty, thought that Bedrosian made “judicial admissions” as to the amount that the court of appeals could invoke to supply the missing proof. 
• Current Federal Tax Developments (https://www.currentfederaltaxdevelopments.com/): Favorite opening of the week: “The Tax Court denied an attempt by the breadwinner to obtain innocent spouse relief for tax liabilities in the case of Soler v. Commissioner. And the case also contains a warning for spouses who may prefer to not get involved in tax matters in the marriage when their spouse happens to be an accountant.”
• Procedurally Taxing (https://procedurallytaxing.com): The blogger apparently cannot stop writing about offers and “deemed acceptance” under IRC Sec. 7122, fertile ground for practitioners to help their clients, a way to hold the IRS accountable for getting things done in some semblance of a timely manner and fix (or invalidate) an indefensible IRS Notice. 
• Gordon Law (https://gordonlawltd.com/blog/): When thick and thin comes to refer to a lot more than vows at the altar, what to remind them about innocent spouse relief.

Know the rules

• Avalara (https://www.avalara.com/blog/en/north-america.html): When it comes to sales tax, there’s no rule like a home rule.
• Taxable Talk (http://www.taxabletalk.com/): Do IRS employees know the postmark rule? The blogger explains why he’s asking — and makes clear that he’s probably not the only one in the tax prep world wondering about this.
• Wolters Kluwer (https://www.wolterskluwer.com/en/solutions/tax-accounting-us/industry-news): A look at the GAO’s recent suggestion that the IRS switch to virtual “knock and talks” with paid preparers who may not accurately comply with tax credit rules. 
• EideBailly (https://www.eidebailly.com/taxblog): All the news that fits about raising taxes to battle inflation. Among the comments in response to former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers suggesting hiking taxes “right now to take some of the demand out of the economy,” raising taxes does lessen demand. All demand. Like for hiring.
• Surgent Income Tax School (http://www.theincometaxschool.com/blog/): The ABCs of California’s CTEC.
• Mauled Again (http://mauledagain.blogspot.com/): When at least one of two tax-related headlines speaks an obvious but necessary truth.
• TaxProf Blog (http://taxprof.typepad.com/taxprof_blog/): Charitable donors beware: A widow lost a $464,000 deduction for a gift to a museum because her tax paperwork lacked a few key words.