Tax

The IRS often takes a beating in the reports from the Treasury Department’s inspector general, and two of the latest pointed to problems with security at the IRS and how the agency is spending money on security projects.

The Internal Revenue Service and the Treasury Department have implemented enhanced standards of conduct for tax preparers.

Accounting firm Weaver and Tidwell said it planned to merge with Patterson, Newman & Associates on Jan. 1, allowing Weaver and Tidwell to expand its energy practice.

Snodgrass, Dunlap and Co. plans to merge its office in Iola, Kan., with Jarred, Gilmore & Philips, an accounting firm based in Chanute, Kan., on the first of the year.

Kahn, Litwin, Renza & Co. said it is merging in Daniel Ryan & Co. on Jan. 1, adding between 10 and 16 professionals to its staff and giving KLR more expertise in tax planning.

The Internal Revenue Service said the upcoming tax-filing season would start on time in mid-January, except for up to 13.5 million taxpayers who will have to wait until Feb. 11 if they need to file any of five forms affected by the late enactment of a patch for the alternative minimum tax.

Wesley Snipes' tax evasion trial will occur next month in Ocala, Fla., even though the actor's lawyers claim he won't be able to receive a fair trial in the city because of pervasive racism.

The Internal Revenue Service has told FedEx that it has been misclassifying its delivery drivers as independent contractors and is ordering the shipping company to pay back taxes and penalties.

The U.S. Court of Federal Claims has issued a ruling in a tax shelter case that could have far-reaching implications in similar cases.

An appeals court judge has ordered that a tax protestor is entitled to a new trial because he was denied the opportunity for expert testimony from his psychiatrist.