Tax

President Barack Obama is expected to release his budget proposal this week, and he reportedly plans to include tax increases to close the deficit.

Many of the Internal Revenue Service’s plans to protect its employees and provide service to taxpayers during and after a major disruption are not up to date, have not been adequately tested and do not contain sufficient detail to be effective, warned a government watchdog.

If you took an early distribution from your retirement plan, here are the top 10 things you need to know, according to the Internal Revenue Service:

National Taxpayer Advocate Nina E. Olson urged Congress to simplify the U.S. Tax Code and recommended measures to reduce the burden on taxpayers who are struggling to pay their bills.In the first of this year's two required reports to Congress, she designated the complexity of the Tax Code as the most serious problem facing taxpayers. According to data compiled by her office, U.S. taxpayers and businesses spend about 7.6 billion hours a year complying with tax-filing requirements. "If tax compliance were an industry, it would be one of the largest in the United States," she said in her report. "To consume 7.6 billion hours, the tax industry requires the equivalent of 3.8 million full-time workers."

GUIDANCE ISSUED ON TAX STATSWashington, D.C. - The Internal Revenue Service has issued interim guidance on the ability of a tax return preparer to use statistical compilations of anonymous tax return information to support their business.

Alaska Governor Sarah Palin will have to pay taxes on $16,951 in travel allowances that she billed the state for days she worked from home in Wasilla.

The stimulus bill signed into law this week includes significant tax savings of up to $1,000 per year for workers who commute by mass transit.

Tax return examiners at the Internal Revenue Service often select the wrong prior or subsequent year’s tax return when looking for inconsistencies with the current tax return.

Here is some advice from the Internal Revenue Service about reporting gains and losses on tax returns:

Swiss bank UBS has worked out a deal with the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission to reveal the identities and account numbers of U.S. citizens who have been stashing their money in previously secret bank accounts.