Tax planning

The Thomson Corp. announced that it has acquired CrossBorder Solutions, a tax software company whose products are used for the planning and compliance needs of corporations.

The American Institute of CPAs has asked Congress to restrict the issuance of patents for tax strategies.

An Internal Revenue Service pilot project is asking the very tax lawyers and accountants who create shelters and take advantage of tax code loopholes to assist in drafting new tax rules, according to published reports.According to a recent New York Times article, its becoming increasingly common for the federal government to ask outsiders to do more of the work in drafting such rules -- a practice that critics say could create a conflict of interest if those outsiders have their own clients’ interests to consider.

U.S. marshals arrested a Battle Creek, Mich., man for refusing to release the names of the clients that he provided with income tax advice.Charles Conces, who was a candidate for Michigan Attorney General last year, was arrested earlier this month for civil contempt after he failed to comply with a Feb. 8 court order. The order had also compelled Conces to disclose the identities of the people who are responsible for his Web site, as well as any documents that he drafted, or assisted in drafting -- all of which Conces refused to do.

The U.S. Tax Court handed down bad news to a California group this week, agreeing with the Internal Revenue Service that Families Against Government Slavery shouldn’t be granted tax-exempt status as an educational organization.According to court documents, the group began organizing in 2003, and had as its mission the goal of educating the public about the alleged slavery and entrapment of Hollywood celebrities by government officials. The group’s activities consisted largely of public demonstrations made solely by its founder.

Halfway through the filing season, the Internal Revenue Service said that 35.6 million taxpayers had chosen to have their refunds -- totaling more than $100 billion -- deposited directly into a savings or checking account this year.

There is no question that most people appear quite serious about preparing an estate plan that can get passed along to future generations. The intention is all there but too many people still seem to find ways to mess it up entirely.

The U.S. Tax Court ruled this week that the three-year statute of limitations on the Internal Revenue Service attempting to collect on a tax return can be extended indefinitely, even when it was the taxpayer’s preparer who was responsible for committing a fraud.Under Section 6501(c)(1) of the tax code, when a fraudulent return is filed with the intent to evade tax, the tax may be assessed, or a proceeding in court for collection of such tax may be begun without assessment, at any time.

Businesses paid $554 billion in state and local taxes during the 2006 fiscal year, representing 45 percent of total taxes collected by all state and local governments, according to the annual study prepared by Ernst & Young in conjunction with the Council on State Taxation. The study includes estimates of taxes paid by major industry groups, with the share of taxes paid being determined by a state's overall tax system, the structure of its economy, the types of business taxes levied, as well as business tax features that may provide a competitive advantage or disadvantage in attracting and retaining business employment and investment.

Taking a vacation this time of year may as well be considered illegal.

Making its annual announcement, the Internal Revenue Service said that it is holding more than $2.2 billion in unclaimed refunds for about 1.8 million people who failed to file a federal income tax return for 2003.

The Internal Revenue Service completed a round of staff cuts in recent weeks, letting go nearly 100 employees from the division that oversees gift- and estate-tax returns, according to published reports.

The Internal Revenue Service announced that taxpayers are continuing to file their tax returns electronically from home computers at a record pace, up almost 7 percent from the same period last year.

For the past year, the Securities and Exchange Commission has been investigating how Google accounted for its income taxes, according to the online search giant’s 2006 annual report.

The Internal Revenue Service announced that farmers and fishermen affected by the mid-February snowstorms could ask the agency to waive any estimated tax penalties.

The Tax Court has ruled that although a taxpayer spent more than 1,000 hours playing video poker in 2003, he was not a professional gambler.As part of its decision, the court implied that playing video poker might never constitute a trade or business under Section 162 of the tax code. After noting that the petitioner, a Chicago building operating engineer, never adjusted his gaming strategy even when it became apparent that he never had a winning year, the court also said that it remained unconvinced that the petitioner’s gambling activity meets the standard for being a trade or business.

Responding to extension requests, restaurants and bars will have a few extra months -- until June 30 for this year only -- to elect to participate in the Internal Revenue Service’s Attributed Tip Income Program.

Any given week, it seems that there are plenty of PR people out there circulating trend surveys that -- to put it kindly -- are built on somewhat a dubious foundation.

Of the nearly 2,500 missing children whose pictures have appeared in the paper versions of tax forms over the past five years, 87 have been located thanks to leads generated by taxpayers, according to a recent report from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration.Since 2000, the Internal Revenue Service has partnered with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to help locate missing children by publishing their pictures in printed instructions and publications as part of the IRS Picture Them Home Program.

Tax prep giant H&R Block Inc. reported a third-quarter loss last week, pointing to its struggling mortgage lending arm even at the start of a strong beginning to the fourth quarter’s tax season -- where the company makes the bulk of its profits.Block said that it lost $44.7 million in the three months ending Jan. 31, compared to gains of $12.1 million in the same period a year ago. Revenue for the same quarter increased to $955.1 million, from $860.3 million.