The Internal Revenue Service said it would add distressed-asset trust transactions to its list of tax avoidance transactions, signaling that such transactions need to be disclosed and may be subject to penalties.

The House has again passed an energy tax bill that would increase taxes on major oil and gas producers by $18 billion while providing incentives for renewable energy.

The Internal Revenue Service said it is beginning enforcement actions against more than 100 U.S. taxpayers who have been sheltering their funds from taxes by depositing them in secret bank accounts in the tax haven of Liechtenstein.

The Internal Revenue Service has introduced an electronic filing system that allows small tax-exempt organizations to file Form 990-N "e-Postcards" to report their annual income.

House Democrats plan to reintroduce a bill this week that would shift tax breaks from oil and gas to renewable energy sources.

Germany has committed to sharing tax evasion information as a widening tax scandal involving its citizens and the tax haven of Liechtenstein spreads to other parts of Europe.

While Democrats and Republicans slug it out on the campaign trail, there's one issue of deep concern to accountants that all of the 2008 presidential candidates agree on: the need for reform of the federal tax system.That is where the consensus ends, however. None of the contenders agree on what changes are needed in the Tax Code, or even what constitutes reform. Adding to the confusion, at least some of the candidates have tailored their tax reform positions to their audience -- favoring one course of action while on the campaign trail, but voting the opposite way in Congress.