Tax breaks

Home values in areas designated as “opportunity zones” appear to have been affected so little it’s “statistically indistinct from zero,” according to new research.

U.S. lawmakers led by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Charles Grassley are negotiating a potential revival of expired tax breaks in last-minute negotiations over a government spending bill.

Once heralded as a novel way to help distressed parts of the U.S., opportunity zones are now being slammed as a government boondoggle.

The tax break included in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that encourages real estate investors to develop projects in economically distressed communities in exchange for deferring capital gains taxes for years has come under fire for not living up to its promise.

Certain land donation deals that get hefty tax deductions will be under tighter scrutiny from Internal Revenue Service auditors.

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, teamed up with several of his fellow Democrats on new legislation and investigations of reported abuses of the opportunity zone tax break for real estate investors.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said he had no knowledge that his long-time friend and billionaire Michael Milken would benefit from a tax break his agency approved last year for a property in Nevada.

The 2017 Republican tax overhaul in the U.S. could provide relief for billionaire art collectors stung by the expiration of another major tax break.

Now a few of them have latched on to a generous new federal benefit for investing in lower-income U.S. communities.

Tax preparers and their clients should be paying attention to these changes for next tax season.

Most CPAs are familiar with the tax benefit of using an IC-DISC, but many do not realize the additional benefit that can be generated by a different method of calculation.

The co-working giant is claiming tax breaks in Britain intended for small companies.

The state approved incentives for major films by two of Hollywood’s biggest studios.

The leaders of the Senate Finance Committee issued three summary reports from their internal task forces examining what to do about the perennial problem of temporary tax breaks that need to be extended every few years.

Real estate investors who want to maximize the return on investment will reap extra tax breaks this year, but still need to be cautious.

There are some powerful ways to help your clients defer gains and help communities.

Taxpayers can make a late election, or revoke an earlier election, for the tax break for property they have acquired for a business.

The rules set by the Economic Development Commission in St. Thomas allow some businesses to lower their exposure to taxes by up to 90 percent.

The Internal Revenue Service issued a ruling allowing a taxpayer to use a tax-advantaged flexible spending account to pay for the medical portion of an ancestry test.

Liquor stores can’t claim a hot new U.S. tax break designed to create jobs in poor communities. One of the biggest property developers for marijuana ventures says it can.