Tax

Accountants who meet with business clients to deliver tax returns during busy season are understandably pressed for time and attention. These brief meetings, however, are an important part of developing and cementing your role as a trusted advisor, and they can pave the way for cross-selling additional services to existing clients.

The House Ways and Means Committee held a hearing last week to discuss the perennial issue of the tax extenders, the temporary tax provisions that expire year after year and are usually renewed.

As the political fight over raising taxes for high-income Americans fades away, so are predictions for negative economic fallout.

President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, reported adjusted gross income of $481,098 for 2013, down 21 percent from last year, according to tax returns released yesterday by the White House.

Internal Revenue Service commissioner John Koskinen addressed a special thank you to the tax community in an email to tax professionals Friday, noting that their work is “critical to running the tax system and helping the nation.”

A new Web site provides a state-by-state guide to tax laws and regulations for LGBT couples.

Thomson Reuters has published a special report on the 3.8 percent net investment income tax that was included as part of the Affordable Care Act, which tax preparers will be calculating for the first time on their clients’ 2013 returns.

The Marketplace Fairness Act, which was supposed to finally settle the question of how states can tax online sales, appears to have stalled in Congress after passing the Senate last year.

The Internal Revenue Service said that a qualified tax professional who has a Form 8821, Tax Information Authorization, on file may now request a client’s account transcript using the Transcript Delivery System.

“Old-world” economies charge higher inheritance and estate taxes than “new-world” economies, according to a study by UHY International.