Big W-4 questions; new GOP plan; tax-related stocking stuffers; and other highlights from our favorite tax bloggers.
Lease is more
- Bloomberg BNA (
https://www.bna.com/news/#!topic=tax&type=blogpost&page=1 ): As time dwindles before the lease accounting rules take effect, companies are working through the last stage of implementation. They sure are: A recent PwC poll showed that only 4 percent of public companies had completed the implementation process and around 80 percent of public companies are still working on it. - National Taxpayer Advocate (
https://taxpayeradvocate.irs.gov/about/nta-blog ): The IRS is redesigning Form W-4, Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certificate, with changes that will affect nearly every employee and employer, potentially more than once a year. And stakeholders are raising some important questions. - Houston Tax Attorney (
http://www.irstaxtrouble.com/category/tax-blog/ ): A few items make for adjustments for IRS auditors, such as the adjustment for indirect costs that can be made for any taxpayer that has inventory. Patients Mutual Assistance Collective Corporation v. Commissioner provides clarity that can help taxpayers who are facing this type of IRS audit adjustment. - Procedurally Taxing (
http://procedurallytaxing.com ): Guest blogger Lavar Taylor continues his series on Collection Due Process and third parties with how a putative alter ego, successor in interest or transferee of a taxpayer might pursue litigation in the Tax Court to raise the question of whether they are entitled to CDP rights under Sections 6330 and 6320 of the Tax Code, independent of the rights of the original taxpayer who incurred the liability.
Whole new act
- Taxbuzz (
https://www.taxbuzz.com/blog ): House Republicans have ta-dahed the 297-page “Retirement, Savings, and Other Tax Relief Act of 2018,” which includes some technical corrections, extenders, disaster tax relief rules, new retirement and savings options, and business startup provisions. Ways and Means Chair Kevin Brady, R-Texas, called it a “broad, bipartisan package [that] builds on the economic successes we continue to see throughout our country.” (Democrats don’t seem to agree). A look at the various provisions. - TaxProf Blog (
http://taxprof.typepad.com/taxprof_blog/ ): Research (plus common sense and scuttlebutt) suggests that rates of extreme poverty are rising in America. Yet a recent research paper using the Survey of Income and Program Participation, IRS tax records and administrative program data on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, public and subsidized housing benefits and other databanks indicates this rise may be mostly myth. - Tax Vox (
http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/taxvox ). A look at TPC’s new interactive data tool showing Earned Income Tax Credit benefits across U.S. communities. The tool provides aggregated tax return data for EITC recipients and other low-income households, including the number and characteristics of filers and the aggregate size of their benefits.
Nexus in line
- Avalara (
https://www.avalara.com/us/en/blog.html ): New sales tax collection, filing, and reporting requirements for out-of-state sellers took effect in Colorado and Connecticut on Dec 1. Changes to sales tax sourcing rules in Colorado will also affect sales tax compliance for in-state sellers. Pass it on to applicable clients. - Taxjar (
http://blog.taxjar.com/ ): December sales tax due dates. - Taxable Talk (
http://www.taxabletalk.com/ ): California’s Franchise Tax Board believes that any business with even a remote tie to California should pay California tax. Let’s say you own a 0.21 percent interest in Acme LLC, which invests in something in California; you have no authority to manage or administer Acme. In the decision in Swart Enterprises, a 0.2 percent holding for such an LLC was ruled not to be conducting business in California.
Stress relievers
- Summing It Up (
http://blog.freedmaxick.com/summing-it-up ): During the life of a business, several events will make a business valuation necessary — buying or selling a business, admitting or buying out a shareholder, or valuing a company for estate taxes. If tracking the value of you or your client’s business to help with estate, exit or succession planning, you may also need to consider how often a business valuation needs be performed. - Intuit ProConnect (
http://taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com/ ): When do small-business owners start thinking taxes? While 41 percent of small businesses prepare for tax season six to 12 months before it starts, most small businesses leave this planning to later in the year, a quarter of them don’t think about tax season until it’s one to two months away and most who use an accountant do so to save time and relieve stress, according to a survey commissioned by QuickBooks Payroll. - SageNext (
https://www.thesagenext.com/blog ): How cryptocurrency investors can strategize their returns (“The best strategy for cryptocurrency investors is to minimize their capital gains. This can be tricky…”). - Solutions For CPA Firm Leaders (
http://ritakeller.com/blog/ ): A recent Inc. article gives 10 workplace secrets for new grads; this entry modifies a few of them for your situation in a public accounting firm. We should start, maybe, at any in our career, with “Grunt work leads to success.” - Don’t Mess With Taxes (
http://dontmesswithtaxes.typepad.com/ ): Ho, Ho, Ho, Happy Holidays! Bet here’s a section of your Nice list you didn’t think of: tax-related gifts, from a Roth IRA to a young worker to donating your RMD.
