On Dec. 16, 2008, the Internal Revenue Service released the long-awaited final tax return preparer regulations. Although they had been expected to be issued in November, they were further delayed by the changes to Code Sec. 6694 included in the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008. In addition to the final regulations, the agency also promulgated Notice 2009-5, providing some interim guidance for the 2008 tax filing season, and Revenue Procedure 2009-11, updating the list of IRS forms that are subject to the preparer penalties.The final regulations do not differ significantly from the proposed regulations, but make several changes in response to comments received. The interim guidance responds to the statutory changes made by the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act and can be relied on by tax return preparers until final guidance is issued. Tax return preparers will want to make sure that they are familiar with these new requirements to avoid penalties as the 2008 tax return season gets underway.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has sent a letter to Congress signed by 27 U.S. companies asking for a two-year easing of taxes on debt purchases to be included in economic stimulus legislation.

The Senate Finance Committee has approved Timothy Geithner as the next Treasury secretary despite concerns over his taxes.

Accounting firm Wipfli has created a task force to help companies cope with the financial crisis.

Treasury Secretary-designate Timothy Geithner apologized for his tax mistakes and promised reforms of both tax policy and the controversial Troubled Assets Relief Program during a confirmation hearing.

Taxpayers in Delaware, Illinois, New York and Rhode Island who file paper returns will be sending them to different Internal Revenue Service centers this year.

TaxTalent has introduced a new contract-staff Web site, TaxForce.com, aiming to match the top 20 percent of tax professionals with companies in need of their high-level services.