Tax

The proposed regulations on preparer penalties, released on June 17, are the latest iteration of rules that tax practitioners should consider carefully when recommending and executing tax strategies. Not heeding them can result in stiff penalties or, worse, the loss of the right to continue to practice tax law and serious damage to a firm’s reputation in the client community.The simple reality is that those responsible for recommending prospective tax strategies are almost always drawn back into the matter by the signing return preparer once the transaction is completed. They are asked about tax benefit matters what was intended and whether things turn out as expected. That after-the-fact advice is enough to subject the practitioner to the label “return preparer” for purposes of the preparer penalties.

The Texas Society of CPAs has elected a new chairman, Steven R. Goodman, along with a new board and officers.

Investment banking firm Duff & Phelps has entered into a global alliance with World Tax Service Alliance and acquired WTS's U.S. member, World Tax Service U.S., for an undisclosed sum.

VSP Vision Care has hired former U.S. Solicitor General Ken Starr to represent the eye care insurance provider in an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court on its tax-exempt status.

The Internal Revenue Service's process for collecting unpaid taxes is overly complicated and delayed, according to a new report by the Government Accountability Office.

Thomson Reuters' Tax & Accounting business has added OneSource Entity Manager to its line of OneSource Tax software.

John K. Harris founded JK Harris & Co. in 1997 and it quickly grew into one of the country's largest tax representation firms, helping people who are in trouble with the Internal Revenue Service.

As a Senate subcommittee and the Internal Revenue Service probe the use of Swiss bank accounts as tax havens by UBS, Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., has called for revoking the U.S. banking license of UBS.

The taxes paid by U.S. consumers are rising higher overall at gas pumps, retail stores and cigarette counters, according to a new survey.

Automobile donations have sharply declined since 2004, when Congress tightened the tax rules for claiming charitable deductions, according to an analysis of IRS data by Grant Thornton.