The Tax & Accounting business of Thomson Reuters has introduced two new online services to help businesses stay informed of changes in sales and use tax and value-added tax.

Former New York Mayor Edward Koch used to gauge his job performance with the catch phrase, "How'm I doing?" Throughout his reign in the 1980s, the colorful Koch would repeat the question to the citizenry of the Big Apple, until it almost became synonymous with his tenure.

As part of the IRS's continuing efforts to require greater disclosure of tax positions and strategies on returns, it recently released new, mandatory disclosure rules for grouping passive activities. Rev. Proc. 2010-13 for the first time mandates that passive-activity groupings and regrouping, as required under Code Sec. 469 regulations, be disclosed on the taxpayer's return.

Tax-advantaged strategies to fund children's college education continue to offer CPA clients some relief from that heavy financial burden, but their value will vary widely according to each taxpayer's financial picture.

The fourth year of Ernst & Young's Discover Tax Leadership Conference drew 102 minority college students from all over the country to New York (braving the cold) to learn about tax - and themselves.

Preparing for your first tax season can be a challenging task. While most have the technical knowledge to do the work, they often lack the confidence that experience provides. To help those facing their first tax season, I sat down with Erich Holmes, senior accountant in the Tax Services Department at Rea & Associates in Medina, Ohio. Erich has four years of experience in public accounting and he focuses on providing income tax services for individuals, partnerships and corporations.

The 2010 filing season promises to be unique both in the amount of advice sought by clients, and in the volume of analysis and planning necessary to service them.