Tax

Florida lawyer Milton Baxley II, was sentenced to 18 months in prison and a $10,000 fine for committing contempt of court by violating an injunction barring him from promoting a tax scheme.

Following a drastic fall last week, Canadian stock exchange shares have risen as buyers came back into the market a day after a government proposal to change the tax treatment of income trusts.About 10 percent of the country’s benchmark stock index are among the securities classification targeted by the proposal. Under the proposal, the Canadian government would impose a distribution tax on payouts by income trusts, taking effect next year for newly formed trusts, while existing trusts receive a four-year transition period.

H&R Block announced a number of refund lending enhancements in a recent news release. A side-by-side comparison chart will outline all filing options, fees, and the time that it takes to receive a refund.H&R Block will also provide a report that states, among other things, that selecting a refund anticipation loan product means that taxpayers get less of their refunds. This announcement follows H&R Block's September announcement that it is reducing the cost of refund.

The Internal Revenue Service announced the selection of five new members for the Electronic Tax Administration Advisory Committee.

New research covering 86 countries has confirmed that while low corporate tax rates can help give a country a significant competitive advantage over economic rivals, the advantage tends to be short term.

TOP HALF OF TAXPAYERS PAY HIGHEST TAX SHARE IN DECADES: The share of income taxes paid by the top half of taxpayers reached its highest level in decades, according to a report from the Joint Economic Committee.According to figures supplied by the Internal Revenue Service, the top half of taxpayers ranked by income paid 96.70 percent of the individual income taxes paid in 2004, compared to 86.05 percent in 1949, 89.35 percent in 1959, and 90.27 percent in 1969. The top 1 percent of tax filers paid 36.89 percent of 2004 income taxes, while the top 10 percent accounted for more than two thirds (68.19 percent) of those taxes. At least part of the increase in taxes paid by the higher percentile may be related to higher capital gains following the reduction of the capital gains tax rate in 2003.

Despite published reports, the Tampa Bay, Fla., prosecutor in charge of the tax evasion case against actor Wesley Snipes says that his office has struck no deal with the star of the “Blade” trilogy.

The Tax Policy Center has released a series of data tables taking a look at the effect of the major tax changes enacted since 2001.

Representatives from industry, government and the accounting profession called on Congress to reform the nation's business tax structure, warning that the current web of corporate tax incentives and penalties is pressuring companies to adopt inefficient practices.Tax Executives Institute International president David Bernard urged the Senate Finance Committee to abandon the current "patchwork of tax incentives and inducements" for businesses, and switch instead to a "simpler, more administrable code" that will promote sound tax policy. Rather than legislating business tax preferences in an effort to "pick winners and losers" in the marketplace, he recommended a broader tax base with lower rates for all businesses.

Harmonization of corporate taxation rates in the European Union took a small step forward with a ruling by the European Court of Justice in favor of Cadbury Schweppes, where the ECJ found against the British government's policy of applying its own higher national tax rates to a company's subsidiaries in another, lower-taxed, EU member nation.However, despite the positive implications of the ruling for the British confectionery and soft drinks company, observers said that any move towards a serious union of corporate tax policy in Europe still faces a long road.