Tax

HOUSE APPROVES 45% ESTATE TAX EXTENSION

The ongoing economic downturn offers accountants the opportunity to extend their reach and help their clients at a time when they are most needed.

The Obama administration is handing out $2.3 billion in Recovery Act Advanced Energy Manufacturing Tax Credits for clean energy projects to provide jobs across the U.S. after announcing a disappointing employment report for December.

Call it what you like, but the first decade of the millennium has passed with many a whimper.

The Kansas Department of Revenue warned that it may take up to 16 weeks to process state tax returns filed on paper as the state copes with budget cuts.

Jackson Hewitt has signed an amended agreement with Republic Bank & Trust to act as a partner for refund anticipation loans after the tax prep chain’s previous partner, Santa Barbara Bank & Trust, was forced to stop providing RALs.

Tax revenue for state and local governments fell 6.7 percent in the third quarter, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, marking the fourth consecutive quarter of negative growth.

The Treasury Department said a new protocol amending the income tax treaty with France has entered into force.

The bank that Jackson Hewitt Tax Service uses to process and administer its refund anticipation loans will not be in a position to originate RALs for the 2010 tax season, according to the company.

H&R Block will be among the tax preparation businesses that will be taking advantage of a new IRS initiative aimed at helping taxpayers build their nest eggs by allocating a portion of their tax refund toward the purchase of U.S. savings bonds.