Tax

If Democrats are serious about rolling back the alternative minimum tax, then they should be happy to have gotten a little more fodder last week to use in whatever PR campaign accompanies the unveiling of their plan.The White House released copies of the tax returns for both the Bushes and the Cheneys last Friday, and both families somehow found their way to avoiding the AMT.

Internal Revenue Service Commissioner Mark Everson will leave the agency to become president and chief executive of the American Red Cross next month.Everson, 52, has served as IRS commissioner since May 2003. During his time with the agency, he has publicly focused his attention on efforts to better serve taxpayers, continue the agency’s modernization of its systems and enhance its enforcement activities. In recent months, Everson has heard increased clamoring from Congress over how the agency and the Treasury Department should best work to address the nation’s growing tax gap -- estimated at $345 billion for the 2001 tax year.

Like crocuses, Justice Department press releases detailing prosecutions for tax evasion seem to proliferate in early spring, usually just before the the bulk of tax returns are to be filed. This year was no different.

A real estate investor from Brooklyn, N.Y., had the requisite skillz to win the $25,000 TaxRap contest sponsored by TurboTax.In a statement, the company said that the submission from Christian Pulfer, 28, stood out as one of the most individual and creative entries. Pulfer’s entry, “It’s Just a Breeze…G,” was selected by guest judge Vanilla Ice from more than 370 homemade rap videos.

The White House released copies of the tax returns for both the Bushes and the Cheneys late last week.

Late last week, the Internal Revenue Service learned of a new tax scam on the Internet that lures taxpayers into filing tax information on a site masquerading as a member of the Free File Alliance.The IRS reminded taxpayers the only place to access the Free File program is through the official IRS Web site, at www.IRS.gov.

Strategies for the use of tax-deferred like-kind exchanges have grown over the years from almost exclusively a real estate concern to one in which billions of dollars of business tangible personal property are traded each year. While the main battle continues to be waged over what dissimilarities in property are allowed and still qualify as "like kind," another fight has developed over how the property received in a like-kind exchange is to be depreciated.After tinkering with the depreciation rules in 2001 and 2004, the Treasury issued final regulations early in 2007. In its preamble to the final regs, the Treasury admitted that confusion and resulting inconsistency among taxpayers had developed. The final regs appear to do little to end those problems.

The Government Accountability Office said that the Internal Revenue Service doesn’t appear to be in a position to develop its own software for tax preparation anytime soon.As part of its partnership with the Free File Alliance, in exchange for a number of tax prep providers agreeing to provider their software free of charge to certain taxpayers, the IRS has agreed not to develop its own software. But because increased electronic filing would reduce the agency’s processing costs, reduce transcription errors and speed up refund turnaround, the GAO was looked to examine the benefits and costs of the agency creating its own online tax prep offering.

Internal Revenue Service agents are spending more time conducting face-to-face corporate audits that produce no revenue, according to a report released by the tax division of Syracuse University’s Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse.

In an annual ritual, many small businesses rush out after tax season to take their accountant's advice on the tax benefits of incorporation, and business software and services company Intuit has relaunched its online incorporation and document-filing services site to coincide with the rush.