Tax practice

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.

A bipartisan group of lawmakers in Washington is co-sponsoring legislation and demanding an independent probe to stop the government and a trustee from suing innocent victims who invested in Bernard Madoff’s Ponzi scheme.

The Senate vote Tuesday on repealing the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit failed, but it could be a sign of things to come as the tax reform debate heats up in the midst of talks to raise the debt limit.

The problem of abusive tax avoidance transactions is constantly changing, and the Internal Revenue Service needs better information to stay on top of it, according to a new government report.

CCH and Baker Tilly International have begun a strategic partnership that will enable accounting firms in the Baker Tilly International network to receive CCH news, insights and other information services.

A Los Angeles attorney has been sentenced to 32 months in prison and two years of supervised release for his role in a tax shelter scheme.

Thomson Reuters has upgraded its Checkpoint online tax and accounting research service with new features designed to improve the system’s efficiency, customizability and analysis.

The Internal Revenue Service cautioned taxpayers living abroad that the automatic two-month extension on their filing deadline is about to expire.

The Internal Revenue Service’s Return Preparer Office has entered the world of social networking with a new presence on Facebook.

A California man has pleaded guilty to filing false liens against several federal government offices and employees, including Internal Revenue Service agents.

The Internal Revenue Service said its electronic filing program has reached a major milestone, passing the 1 billion mark for individual tax returns processed safely and securely since 1986.

The Internal Revenue Service said Thursday that some parts of Schedule H on the Form 990 are optional for the 2010 tax year for tax-exempt organizations that operate one or more hospital facilities.

The Internal Revenue Service said Wednesday that approximately 275,000 organizations have automatically lost their tax-exempt status under the law because they did not file legally required annual reports for three consecutive years.

Former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty outlined his tax cut proposals during a speech in which he called for lower tax rates than other Republican presidential candidates have suggested so far.

The Internal Revenue Service cannot verify whether individuals claiming a Qualified Motor Vehicle tax deduction are entitled to a deduction at the time their tax returns are processed.

A funny thing has been happening with the $7,500 plug-in electric vehicle tax credits that GM has been dangling before prospective buyers of its Chevrolet Volt: In many cases dealers rather than customers have been getting the tax breaks.

The Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service have proposed a set of changes to the New Markets Tax Credit program to encourage more money to go toward non-real estate businesses located in low-income communities.

The Internal Revenue Service has given taxpayers an extra 90 days to provide a voluntary disclosure of their offshore bank accounts if they have made a “good faith” attempt to gather the necessary materials.

The Internal Revenue Service has invited the public to comment on its plans to begin administering competency examinations for registered tax return preparers.