In the blogs: Three little letters

More PPP details; virtues of reading instructions; the IRS slowly returns; and other highlights from our favorite tax bloggers.

Bring out your stimulus!

• Tax Policy Center (https://www.taxpolicycenter.org/taxvox): Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer on “Saturday Night Live” once ran for the Senate, admitting that he might have been “frightened and confused” by modern society, “but there is one thing I do know,” he said. “We must do everything in our power to lower the capital gains tax.” Three decades later, Washington seems to be pushing a similar idea.
• TaxMama (http://taxmama.com): Dead men tell no tales. Nor do they get to keep stimulus checks. How to send them (the checks) back.
• Procedurally Taxing (https://procedurallytaxing.com): Guest blogger and former taxpayer advocate Nina Olson explores the above issue. Also turns out this isn’t the first time the IRS has tried to stimulate the dead.
• Don’t Mess with Taxes (http://dontmesswithtaxes.typepad.com/): More than 130 million COVID-19 economic impact payments have been delivered, according to the IRS. And even though the agency has completed almost 87 percent of the expected 150 million COVID relief payments, it’s still encouraging folks who’ve yet to get their money to do so via direct deposit. Except they need to register to do so by May 13.

Three little letters

• Tax Warrior Chronicles (https://www.taxwarriors.com/blog): While many await formal guidance about the PPP loan forgiveness, the Small Business Administration and the Treasury have been busy little bees with various other nuggets. Thoughts about recent guidance, including deductibility of expenses paid with Paycheck Protection Program funds and PPP eligibility standards.
• Boyum & Barenscheer (https://myboyum.com/blog/): What to tell nonprofit clients about the PPP.
• Taxbuzz (https://www.taxbuzz.com/blog): The most recent chat covers educating and communicating with clients on COVID-19, PPP success stories, what to tell clients as states start to reopen, and the likely curve of recovery.
• Intuit Tax Pro Center (https://proconnect.intuit.com/taxprocenter/): What’s left to tell them about the PPP, including recordkeeping.
• Tax Girl (https://www.forbes.com/sites/kellyphillipserb/): All eyes are on PPP, but what about the often-overlooked Employee Retention Credit?
• Taxable Talk (http://www.taxabletalk.com/): The merry mix-ups that occur when the IRS “helpfully” changes an EIN.
• Bloomberg Tax (https://pro.bloombergtax.com/news-insights/): Saudi Arabia announced a slew of austerity measures to cope with the impact of the pandemic and an oil-price rout, tripling its VAT and cutting a cost-of-living allowance for government workers. Value: some 100 billion riyals ($26.6 billion) in total.
• Mauled Again (http://mauledagain.blogspot.com/): Fine print on a prep app loomed large when a taxpayer tried to donate only a portion of a state credit.

Responses

• IRS Mind (http://www.irsmind.com/blog/): In this pandemic, IRS campus operations and phone services have been scarcer than Charmin Ultra Soft. But things do seem to be loosening up, at least as far as the IRS is concerned.
• Avalara (https://www.avalara.com/us/en/index.html): Bundling communications and media services raises some real fears about tax compliance, according to a recent survey.
• Wolters Kluwer (http://news.cchgroup.com/): The AICPA’s Professional Ethics Executive Committee has issued the exposure draft “Proposed Revised Interpretation: Records Requests,” which proposes amendments to the “Records Requests” interpretation under the “Acts Discreditable Rule.” Comment deadline is Sept. 30.
• The Income Tax School (http://www.theincometaxschool.com/blog/): Communication channels are changing and digital interactions on various platforms are becoming more and more popular. For many consumers, their first interactions are no longer face to face. They prefer to research products through social networks. How to create and maintain yours.