Practice Management

Chief Counsel Advice 2000524001 recently reminded self-employed individuals of a fine point that some apparently have been missing lately. The earned income (net earnings) limitation for above-the-line medical premium deductions must be applied on a business-by-business basis for sole proprietors.This is not welcome news for the many individuals who cobble together a variety of jobs, none of which is a principal source of income but which, together, had been assumed to form a tax-advantaged way to cover a family's health insurance costs.

In a victory for accounting firm BDO Seidman, a federal appeals court judge reversed a district court decision and ruled in late June that a group of investors can't sue BDO Seidman over the sale of an illegal tax shelter, and instead must arbitrate their claim.

Immediatech Corp., the developer of GoFileRoom, a Web-based document management service for CPA firms, has had its GoFileRoom business acquired by the Thomson Corp.

Taxpayers and tax professionals who filed for an extension can use e-file to file their 2004 tax returns, according to the Internal Revenue Service.

The government's Base Realignment and Closure Commission voted unanimously on Tuesday to review a Pentagon plan to move thousands of Defense Department finance and accounting jobs.

New York-area firm Weiser LLP has merged in area CPA and business advisory firm Weiner, Dailey, Katz & Co., a Tarrytown, N.Y.-based practice that has forged a strong client niche in the auto industry. Terms were not disclosed.

The Internal Revenue Service has experienced declines in enforcement productivity in the past, according to the Government Accountability Office.

The White House midyear budget says that an increase in tax revenues, mostly coming from relatively wealthy taxpayers, along with a good stock market performance, will drop the deficit to $333 billion this year.

Corporate officers or authorized agents can now sign employment tax forms by facsimile, including alternative signature methods such as computer software programs or mechanical devices.

Fixing the controversial alternative minimum tax has been termed a priority for the President Bush's Tax Reform Panel, according to a key White House advisor.