Tax

The American Institute of CPAs has improved its Interactive Tax Checklists to allow tax professionals to work more efficiently next tax season.

President Barack Obama, fresh from his re-election, turned his attention Friday to the economy, offering to talk with Congress about how to avoid the prospect of automatic tax increases on the middle class.

The Internal Revenue Service identified 39.1 percent more attempts at fraudulent tax refunds last tax season than in the prior year, leading to tax refund delays early in tax season.

With the election out of the way and efforts taking shape in Washington to resolve the threat of automatic tax increases and the fiscal cliff, CPAs and certified financial planners are recommending ways to protect their clients no matter what Congress and the Obama administration ultimately decide to do about the tax laws for next year.

It may be some time before Congress and the Obama administration decide what to do about the tax rates for next year, so it’s a good idea to plan for various alternative scenarios just in case.

CCH Small Firm Services and Burlington, Vt.-based Evolution by iSystems have partnered to offer payroll services to tax and accounting professionals using the Evolution Payroll, HR and tax management system.

Corporate enterprise tax software provider Vertex Inc. has released Vertex Tax Accounting, a product designed to improve global provisioning as well as provide a source for modeling tax planning strategies.

CCH has introduced the new weekly electronic publication, Global Tax Weekly – A Closer Look, which promises to provide up-to-date analysis and insights into international tax developments.

The election results, while no surprise, have pretty much left us where we were in terms of tax policy, according to Roger Harris, president of Padgett Business Services.

In the aftermath of the elections, the payroll tax cut appears to be one of the likely casualties of the scramble to resolve questions over expiring tax cuts and the looming fiscal cliff during the lame-duck session of Congress.