Tax

National tax prep chain Jackson Hewitt Tax Service has launched a tax school in light of the new IRS requirements that preparers secure the RTRP designation.

Legislation to provide tax credits for small businesses that hire new workers has made progress in the Senate, with lawmakers voting 80 to 14 to advance the bill past a procedural hurdle Tuesday, but Senate Democrats blocked an attempt Wednesday by Republicans to add an amendment that would extend the Bush tax cuts for another year.

The top Senate tax writer predicted Democrats in the chamber will back President Barack Obama’s latest push to extend part of the Bush-era tax cuts, calling talk of Democratic dissension “background noise.”

Thomson Reuters said Tuesday that it plans to offer a number of tax and accounting reference handbooks for its Thomson Reuters ProView e-reader software.

Tascet has released technology that it said tax preparers can use to prevent multiple filings of tax returns by fraudsters.

President Barack Obama pushed for a one-year extension of the current tax rates, but only for taxpayers making under $250,000 a year.

With the end of busy season for most tax preparers, the summer months are open to try something new. Accordingly, most tax preparation software manufacturers offer tryouts, early renewals and promotional pricing.

Congressional Democrats on the House Ways and Means Committee have introduced a pair of bills to extend the production tax credit for wind energy manufacturers through the end of 2013 and provide a 10 percent income tax credit for employer payroll increases this year.

On the eve of the Supreme Court’s decision on the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act, a new report on the Internal Revenue Service’s readiness to handle some specific aspects of the law has been released.

National Taxpayer Advocate Nina E. Olson has identified the priority issues the Taxpayer Advocate Service will focus on during the upcoming fiscal year.