Voices

In the blogs: Office spaces

Biden and the past; energy credits; ACA extension; and other highlights from our favorite tax bloggers.

Office spaces

  • Tax Vox (https://www.taxpolicycenter.org/taxvox): Ghosts of Elections Past Dept.: Democratic presidential hopeful Joe Biden proposes to raise taxes by $3.2 trillion over 10 years. Remember Walter Mondale?
  • Bloomberg Tax (https://pro.bloombergtax.com/news-insights/): Nearly half the Senate Democratic Caucus has signed on to supporting the expansion of green energy tax incentives, including creation of an investment tax credit for energy storage, retroactive investment and production tax credits for geothermal energy and tax benefits for energy efficient buildings. The senators also argue that tax benefits for solar and on-shore wind should be extended because the Trump administration’s tariffs have impacted supply chain costs.

Micro scopes

  • Sikich (https://www.sikich.com/insights/): A welcome update for employers, the Affordable Care Act reporting deadline has been extended from Jan. 31 to March 2, 2020.
  • Wolters Kluwer (http://news.cchgroup.com/): IRS efforts to crack down on micro-captive insurance schemes continue after some wins in the U.S. Tax Court.
  • Taxbuzz (https://www.taxbuzz.com/blog): Tax pros discuss how the biggest recent developments will play out over the season, including cryptocurrency, the new W-4 and the employee-vs.-independent contractor wrangle.
  • Procedurally Taxing (https://procedurallytaxing.com): Guest blogger and attorney Nick Xanthopoulos examines how tax professionals with an IRS power of attorney have had to hand over a lot of key ID information — Social Security numbers, for one — with little guarantee of the information’s security.
  • IRS Mind (https://www.irsmind.com/): A dozen bits of wisdom about IRS wage garnishments — including how to get them released.

Different answers

  • Rubin on Tax (http://rubinontax.floridatax.com/): For liability protection, the question regularly comes up who in the family should own the cars. Ask a number of lawyers and you are likely to get a number of different answers.
  • Solutions For CPA Firm Leaders (http://ritakeller.com/blog/): Many people working in an accounting firm never have an opportunity to visit a client site. Why not choose one of your best clients and ask if you can bring your team for a tour of their business?
  • Summing It Up (http://blog.freedmaxick.com/summing-it-up): Companies doing business in such industries as construction, manufacturing and real estate are heavily impacted by the new revenue recognition rules imposed by the Financial Accounting Standards Board. Since these rules removed the ability to apply separate accounting rules to contractors, many companies may be unsure how best to proceed.

Globetrotting

  • Mahaney Law (https://www.mahanyertl.com/blog/): A former stockbroker with Beaufort Securities has pleaded guilty to federal securities fraud; prosecutors say the broker helped a U.S. citizen evade taxes. Based in the U.K., Beaufort was registered as a foreign financial institution by the IRS, allowing it to execute trades in the U.S. and accept payment in the U.K. Enter FATCA.
  • Federal Tax Crimes (http://federaltaxcrimes.blogspot.com/): A look at a recent news story on EU countries’ calling for a wider net when listing tax havens and stricter sanctions for countries facilitating tax avoidance.
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