Tax practice

Some of the 2,200 databases that the Internal Revenue Service uses to manage and process taxpayer data are not configured securely, are running out-of-date software, and no longer receive security patches, according to a new government report.

An accounting firm owner and former IRS employee was arrested and charged with running a mortgage fraud scheme involving fake buyers of homes.

At a recent hearing before the Senate Appropriations Committee, IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman heard from senators that the agency ought to provide taxpayers with its own free online tax software.

The Internal Revenue Service has extended the filing due date for the 2009 and 2010 Form 8955-SSA, “Annual Registration Statement Identifying Separated Participants with Deferred Vested Benefits.”

The Internal Revenue Service is unable to detect whether its employees are complying with the tax laws, according to a new government report that identified 133 potentially noncompliant IRS employees.

A husband and wife couple who owned a flight school have pleaded guilty to hiding money in a secret Swiss bank account at UBS, and then transferring the money around the world after UBS came under investigation by the U.S. government.

A Santa Monica man was arrested Friday morning on charges that he committed tax fraud and attempted to interfere with the administration of the Internal Revenue laws.

A man who mistakenly had another taxpayer's refund of $110,000 deposited in his bank account by the Internal Revenue Service could be facing jail time for not reporting the error.

Better implementation by the Internal Revenue Service of two 2008 laws involving reporting of cost basis and transaction settlement could increase taxpayers’ voluntary compliance, according to a new government report.

Roni Deutch, the tax attorney who heavily advertised her IRS tax resolution services before she was forced out of business, has pleaded not guilty to contempt of court charges.

Rep. Jim McDermott, D-Wash., has introduced legislation to amend the Tax Code to regulate and tax Internet gambling.

A pair of women in Alabama were sentenced to prison time and ordered to pay more than $1.4 million for conspiring to file false claims for tax refunds.

CBIZ MHM is realigning its tax consulting business under a new initiative that centralizes four of the firm’s specialty tax service lines.

Thomson Reuters has received a U.S. patent for its Universal Tax Determination Engine, which provides centralized control of tax policy and data-driven tax determinations for sales, use and value-added taxes.

The Senate voted Thursday to approve an amendment to repeal a tax credit for ethanol blenders.

CCH has expanded its Tax Prep Partner Series of online tax research products with a new Information Returns title.

The Internal Revenue provided an additional extension Thursday on the requirements for filing a form disclosing a foreign bank account until Nov. 1, 2011, for those who had signature authority over, but no financial interest in, the account in 2009 or earlier calendar years.

The IRS’s Electronic Tax Administration Advisory Committee released its 2011 Annual Report to Congress during a public meeting Wednesday, with recommendations in areas ranging from security to tax simplification and greater collaboration with e-filers.

New statistics released by the Internal Revenue Service showed that the number and percentage of taxpayers earning over $200,000 a year who owed no U.S. income taxes nearly doubled from 2007 to 2008.

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp, R-Mich., has released a public letter he sent to the Internal Revenue Service demanding information about its recent investigation into donations to politically active tax-exempt organizations and the agency’s apparent drive to impose gift taxes on these monies.