Tax practice

Once again this year, the headline for the Alternative Minimum Tax is another one-year fix with no permanent solution. The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 raised the AMT exemption amount for 2008 to $69,950 for joint filers and $46,200 for single filers. This represents another inflation-adjusted extension of the exemption amount designed to preserve the status quo and keep an additional 21 million taxpayers from being subject to the AMT in 2008. And, once again, without further action, the AMT exemption amount reverts to its pre-2001 level in 2009 unless further congressional action is taken.

The Internal Revenue Service should strengthen its approach to evaluating a pilot project for matching federal and state taxpayer information before it extends the tax compliance project to 45 states next year, recommended a new report from the Government Accountability Office.

IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman said the agency would begin ramping up enforcement against tax abuses such as the avoidance of withholding taxes, especially on dividends.

Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, has written to congressional leaders criticizing a provision in the automobile industry bailout bill that provides government guarantees to mass transit agencies that have taken advantage of an outlawed tax shelter.

The United States and Liechtenstein have signed an agreement to exchange tax information, including details on the holdings of citizens who are sheltering money in the foreign bank accounts, but only when the U.S. already knows the names of the tax evaders.

Two California residents have been indicted for filing over $2 million in false tax refund claims using the names and Social Security numbers of dead people, with help from a CPA.

A group of Democratic representatives from the House Ways and Means Committee wrote a sternly worded letter to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson warning him against expanding a controversial IRS Notice that allows banks to write off the tax losses of other banks they acquire.

The fourth of six defendants in a $60 million tax fraud conspiracy case has been sentenced to more than 17 years in prison for his role.

Tax advocacy group Citizens for Tax Justice has released a report urging President-elect Barack Obama to avoid cutting the federal estate tax.

Disaster Relief Resource Center for Tax Professionals

President-elect Barack Obama has quietly dropped his original proposal for a windfall profits tax on oil companies, according to a spokesperson.

The U.S. reportedly plans to sign an agreement with the government of Liechtenstein that will help put a stop to the use of the small European principality as a tax haven.

A federal grand jury in New York has indicted four people in a scheme to claim false income tax refunds using the identities of clients of two New York City agencies.

December's a perfect time for accountants to check their lists twice to make sure they have all their bases covered before busy season starts cranking.

As President-elect Barack Obama continues to name members of his cabinet who will have to quickly deal with pressing national and economic security issues, people are beginning to wonder if he will be able to fulfill the promises he made in his campaign.

The Treasury Department's Troubled Asset Relief Program needs to do a better job of ensuring integrity, accountability and transparency, according to a report from the Government Accountability Office.

A federal grand jury has indicted a man after he crashed a motor vehicle twice into the side of a building that contains the offices of both the Internal Revenue Service and the Small Business Administration.

The IRS is not well prepared in the event of serious disasters, according to two new reports by the Treasury Department's inspector general.

The Internal Revenue Service has added two new appeals programs for taxpayers who are disputing IRS actions.

December's a perfect time for accountants to check their lists twice to make sure they have all their bases covered before busy season starts cranking.