Tax practice

The Internal Revenue Service has issued a notice seeking out businesses that have the necessary expertise to provide a registration and tracking system for providers of continuing education courses for tax return preparers, but the deadline for applying is Monday.

Rep. Jim McDermott, D-Wash., has introduced bipartisan legislation that aims to bring parity and equal treatment under the Tax Code for health plan beneficiaries who are domestic partners and non-spouse dependents.

Maybe it was the time of day. Or maybe I was just lucky. That’s what the CPA who prepares my tax return told me when we were able to reach the Philadelphia office of the IRS twice in a row, to speak with someone about some pesky notices I had been receiving.

The Internal Revenue Service is asking for public comments on its redesigned Form 990, which requires tax-exempt organizations to answer questions about executive compensation and other matters.

CCH has enhanced its IntelliConnect tax and accounting research service with a Categorized View that allows results to be viewed according to document type.

The House Ways and Means Committee heard from a panel of corporate finance executives during a hearing on how business tax reform can encourage job creation.

With the start of hurricane season, the Internal Revenue Service is encouraging individuals and businesses to safeguard themselves and their tax records against natural disasters by following a few simple steps.

A dozen multinational corporations paid an effective tax rate of negative 1.5 percent on billions of dollars in profits while reaping billions in taxpayer subsidies.

As the economy picks up to yield-reduced investment risk, and as an increase in tax rates continues to threaten, the benefits of Section 1202 qualified small-business stock deserve some attention. From both the perspective of the investor seeking to maximize after-tax yields and the entrepreneur seeking additional capital, the 2010 Tax Relief Act's extension of the 100 percent exclusion of gain from Section 1202 stock for an additional year, through Dec. 31, 2011, is an opportunity worth revisiting. What remains constant under any second look, however, is that Section 1202 requires patience: It will take a taxpayer at least five years to see how the story ends after any particular acquisition of qualified stock.

IRS BEGINS ENFORCING RETURN PREPARER RULES

There have been a number of surveys conducted that attempt to measure the desirability of doing or investing in business in one state versus another.

An agreement to raise the debt ceiling in Congress appears to be linked increasingly to a deal to cut both taxes and Medicare spending.

The Internal Revenue Service and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network have granted a one-year extension on the deadline for filing a Report of Bank and Financial Accounts form, or FBAR, but only for a small subset of individuals who have only signature authority.

The Internal Revenue Service has issued a notice restricting the use of the term “registered tax return preparer” until tax preparers can be officially tested and checked.

Princeton University’s Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript Library has recently acquired the papers of a former IRS investigator who uncovered evidence of secret campaign donations to then-Congressman Lyndon Baines Johnson.

The American Institute of CPAs is urging Congress to repeal a 3 percent tax withholding rule facing government contractors and individuals such as farmers and medical professionals.

A revenue agent with the Internal Revenue Service has been sentenced to 36 months in federal prison for filing fraudulent tax returns for himself and innocent relatives that claimed, among other things, bogus deductions for alimony and mortgage payments.

Early tax collection data for the first quarter of the year indicates that tax collections have grown for the fifth straight quarter, according to a new study.

In the aftermath of the devastating tornado Sunday in the Joplin, Mo., area, the Internal Revenue Service is giving victims additional time to meet their tax obligations.

Jackson Hewitt Tax Service filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, but said it has reached a definitive agreement with its secured lenders on a restructuring plan.