Tax

PTINdirectory.com has launched a searchable database of more than 700,000 federally-registered tax preparers. Preparers can be found by IRS-sanctioned credentials and industries, as well as by services offered and geographic criteria.

The Tax Court has applied the “self-rental rule” to recharacterize the income that the taxpayer-owner of a trucking company received from a separate leasing company that he owned as nonpassive income.

Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., Mitt Romney’s choice as vice presidential running mate, said he planned to release two years of tax returns to the public, even though he submitted several more years of tax returns to the Romney campaign during the vetting process.

President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign stepped up its attacks on Republican rival Mitt Romney’s tax history with a new negative ad highlighting Romney’s tenure as head of the audit committee of Marriott International during a period when the committee used a tax shelter that has since been ruled illegal.

The tax preparation software industry experienced minimal overall growth over the past five years, averaging only 0.1 percent annually to reach an estimated $2.4 billion in 2012, according to new research.

Tax credits and deductions for education are too complicated and so confusing that most taxpayers cannot determine which provisions are best for them, the American Institute of CPAs said in written testimony to the Senate Finance Committee.

Every year, it seems that the tax profession is faced with year-end legislation, late forms and radical changes that add to the complexity and headache of preparing a return. Despite all of the above, most practitioners realize that it’s the complexity and confusion that drives new clients their way.

CCH has upgraded its CCH Mobile app to enable CCH IntelliConnect users to access, save and send tax research using Apple iPhone, iPad and Android devices.

A new Web site offers taxpayers free access to answers from local tax professionals who pay to be listed in its search engine.

With record-setting temperatures across the country this summer reminding people that the weather has been getting pretty hot lately, it was only a matter of time before the notion of imposing carbon taxes would return to the heads of policy makers.