The Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously voted Thursday to approve bipartisan patent reform legislation, including provisions banning tax strategy patents.

A coalition of 15 national organizations urged the Senate Judiciary Committee to keep a provision in S. 23, The Patent Reform Act of 2011, which would stop tax strategy patents. The bill goes to mark-up on Feb. 3.

The Internal Revenue Service warned small businesses and their tax preparers Wednesday that a group of tax return forms should not be filed until it is ready to start processing them.

With many indications showing that the Internal Revenue Service is behind in the number of tax returns filed so far this year compared to last year, Liberty Tax Service reported positive growth Wednesday in revenue, same-store sales and tax returns filed.

President Obama has launched a new initiative to fund small business entrepreneurs known as Startup America, which sounds like something that might better belong on Sand Hill Road in Silicon Valley than on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington.

While the late December tax cut extension slowed down the beginning of tax season for some, it brought a welcome degree of certainty to the tax landscape.

Now that the drama has ended and year-end legislation to extend the Bush-era tax cuts has been enacted, work remains for those "in the trenches" to sort out appropriate reactions. For most businesses, the response will be multifaceted.