While audits of high-income taxpayers have increased, the actual impact on compliance may be limited, according to a new report from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration.

A Republican effort to pass a bill cutting taxes on estate inheritance, by piggybacking the measure on top of a minimum wage increase, failed on the eve of the Senate's four-week summer recess.

Agents won't be allowed to challenge whether casino comps to high-rolling patrons qualify for treatment as promotional expenses, according to a memo released by the Large and Mid-Size Business Division of the Internal Revenue Service.

The move by the Internal Revenue Service to further limit contingent fees for Circular 230 tax practitioners has drawn opposition from virtually every group of tax professionals.Representatives from the American Institute of CPAs, the American Bar Association Tax Section, the American Association of Attorney-CPAs, the National Association of Enrolled Agents and the National Association of Tax Professionals, along with others, opposed the change at recent IRS hearings.

Whether accounting firms and tax practitioners should be allowed to seek patent protection for the tax advice that they offer is a question being raised on Capitol Hill in response to a recent upsurge in patent applications by the developers of new tax reduction strategies.By describing their strategies as "business methods," a number of shelter promoters have convinced the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to protect their estate and gift tax reduction programs from copycats.

IRS SAVES PAULSON FROM TAX HIT: The Internal Revenue Service will issue guidance clarifying the 20 percent penalty for executives who divest a deferred-compensation arrangement. The new regulations will translate into significant savings for incoming Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson. Paulson will sell off the more than $470 million that he owns in Goldman Sachs stock to comply with conflict-of-interest provisions for his new position. The guidance says that any executive divesting a deferred-compensation arrangement specifically to comply with government rules on conflicts of interest doesn't have to pay the penalty. Paulson will still have to pay regular income taxes on the deferred compensation.A spokesperson for the Treasury said that the IRS had been working on the guidance for some time, but accelerated its work in time for Paulson to be covered. The writing of the new rule hadn't been a priority because so few people are affected under the provision.

An estimated 15 million immigrants in the United States are not eligible to obtain a Social Security number. However, many of these same individuals pay taxes on income and are obligated to file tax returns.If this sounds confusing to you, then you're not alone.