Tax

New regulations to Circular 230 calling for "highest quality representation" may encourage malpractice litigation involving tax advisors, according to some observers.

The American Jobs Creation Act of 2004 permits taxpayers to deduct either their state and local income taxes or their state and local sales taxes as an itemized deduction for 2004 and 2005.

BLOCK FINANCIAL ADVISORS SETTLES WITH NASD: H&R Block Financial Advisors, the investment arm of the tax prep giant, agreed to pay a $500,000 fine and to return $325,000 in clients' mutual fund trading profits to settle charges brought against it by the National Association of Securities Dealers related to the market-timing of mutual fund shares by two of its former financial advisors. The company, which did not admit or deny the NASD's allegations, said that the settlement won't have a material effect on its operations.

The Internal Revenue Service has appointed 12 new members for the Internal Revenue Service Advisory Council, the group that serves as a forum for IRS officials and public representatives to discuss relevant and emerging tax issues.

A significant increase in sales prices for CPA firms in 2005 was one of several predictions made by a panel of experts at a recent accounting conference here.

Acorn, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, will provide free tax preparation services for low- and moderate-income families in 45 cities nationwide from now through the end of tax season.

Taxpayers who misreported their income to snare unjustified Earned Income Tax Credits are draining $2 billion a year from the U.S. Treasury, auditors at the Government Accountability Office recently told Congress.

Thanks to the help of the Financial Accounting Standards Board, more American jobs may stay in America in the near future.

President George W. Bush said this week that he will appoint Jeffrey F. Kupfer, Treasury deputy chief of staff, to serve as executive director of his bipartisan Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform.

The Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service issued interim guidance on two new penalty provisions enacted as part of the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004.