Tax planning

Three Democratic Senators have written a letter to House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, urging him to fix the 1099 reporting requirement in the health care reform law, and have pledged speedy action in the Senate if he does.

With nine out of 10 families either hiring tax preparers or purchasing tax software in order to file their taxes, it is clear that the Tax Code is too complex, too time-consuming and too costly for our families and businesses. So says Dave Camp, R-Mich., the new chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., and ranking member Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, released the language of legislation they intend to introduce that would eliminate the patenting of tax strategies, a key priority of the American Institute of CPAs.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner talked about the Obama administration’s support for corporate tax reform during and after a speech on Wednesday.

The AICPA has posted a sample client letter that accountants and tax practitioners can download, personalize and use to inform their clients about how the legislation extending the Bush-era tax cuts could affect them.

The Internal Revenue Service has been hearing a lot of concerns about its new requirements for tax preparers to electronically file tax returns.

National Taxpayer Advocate Nina E. Olson released her annual report to Congress on Wednesday, focusing on the need for tax reform as the No. 1 priority in tax administration.

Every few years, as regularly as clockwork, Washington starts talking about “simplifying” the Tax Code.

The Tax & Accounting business of Thomson Reuters has released an updated version of its tax software to reflect a recent hike in the United Kingdom’s value-added tax.

Democratic and Republican lawmakers are gearing up for a fight over a bill that would repeal health care reform and the tax credits associated with the law.

The House Republican leadership plans to introduce rule changes that would make it harder for Congress to pass tax increases or close tax loopholes.

Call it a tax trifecta: In just eight years, WTAS has roughly tripled its revenues, its number of partners and its client base.

A new website is urging “Americans who have the means” to donate their Bush tax cuts to a group of charities.

BNA Software has released a new version of its income tax-planning application to help the clients of accountants and tax practitioners plan around the changes in the tax cut extension law.

Changes to tax provisions in a bill providing health coverage for 9/11 emergency responders helped enable the legislation to pass Congress despite the opposition of some leading Republican lawmakers.

Vice President Joe Biden indicated the Obama administration intends to limit the newly extended tax cuts when they come up again for renewal in 2012.

The Tax & Accounting business of Thomson Reuters has added global financial data from Reuters and expanded report-writing features to its transfer pricing software for multinational companies.

Intuit has been closely monitoring congressional and IRS activity on the tax extension legislation passed by Congress late Thursday night and said it has completed various scenario plans and programmed its professional tax software applications to be prepared for all the latest tax law changes.

With just weeks to go before the end of the year, Congress has cleared tax relief legislation extending the Bush-era individual and capital gains and dividend tax cuts for all taxpayers for two years, as well as a 13-month extension of unemployment benefits.

The House approved an $858 billion extension of the Bush-era tax rates and unemployment benefits late Thursday night, a day after the Senate approved the bill, sending the bill to President Obama’s desk.