Tax

The U.S. Tax Court ruled this week that the three-year statute of limitations on the Internal Revenue Service attempting to collect on a tax return can be extended indefinitely, even when it was the taxpayer’s preparer who was responsible for committing a fraud.Under Section 6501(c)(1) of the tax code, when a fraudulent return is filed with the intent to evade tax, the tax may be assessed, or a proceeding in court for collection of such tax may be begun without assessment, at any time.

Businesses paid $554 billion in state and local taxes during the 2006 fiscal year, representing 45 percent of total taxes collected by all state and local governments, according to the annual study prepared by Ernst & Young in conjunction with the Council on State Taxation. The study includes estimates of taxes paid by major industry groups, with the share of taxes paid being determined by a state's overall tax system, the structure of its economy, the types of business taxes levied, as well as business tax features that may provide a competitive advantage or disadvantage in attracting and retaining business employment and investment.

Taking a vacation this time of year may as well be considered illegal.

Making its annual announcement, the Internal Revenue Service said that it is holding more than $2.2 billion in unclaimed refunds for about 1.8 million people who failed to file a federal income tax return for 2003.

The Internal Revenue Service completed a round of staff cuts in recent weeks, letting go nearly 100 employees from the division that oversees gift- and estate-tax returns, according to published reports.

The Internal Revenue Service announced that taxpayers are continuing to file their tax returns electronically from home computers at a record pace, up almost 7 percent from the same period last year.

For the past year, the Securities and Exchange Commission has been investigating how Google accounted for its income taxes, according to the online search giant’s 2006 annual report.

The Internal Revenue Service announced that farmers and fishermen affected by the mid-February snowstorms could ask the agency to waive any estimated tax penalties.

The Tax Court has ruled that although a taxpayer spent more than 1,000 hours playing video poker in 2003, he was not a professional gambler.As part of its decision, the court implied that playing video poker might never constitute a trade or business under Section 162 of the tax code. After noting that the petitioner, a Chicago building operating engineer, never adjusted his gaming strategy even when it became apparent that he never had a winning year, the court also said that it remained unconvinced that the petitioner’s gambling activity meets the standard for being a trade or business.

Responding to extension requests, restaurants and bars will have a few extra months -- until June 30 for this year only -- to elect to participate in the Internal Revenue Service’s Attributed Tip Income Program.