Tax

Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh's former attorney cannot write off the value of the papers he donated from the case to the University of Texas at Austin, according to a U.S. Tax Court decision last week.

During the month of November, a number of accountants will be getting a telephone call or an e-mail from clients all asking the same question. “What is the little-known tax break that makes investing In GPS-tracking technology more affordable than ever?” Be careful what you say if asked because that inquiring client already has the answer.

The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a case that could end state income tax breaks for municipal bonds.

H&R Block CFO William L. Trubeck has stepped down, the company announced.

Thomson Tax & Accounting released an online tax research service, QuickFinder Tax Manager, aimed at sole practitioners and small accounting firms.

The continuing business boom, rising client demand and the movement of tax professionals toward other accounting niches has generated varied responses to staffing needs, as firms turn to remote technology, outsourcing, part-time former employees and retirees and college students to fill the personnel void.Meanwhile, the overall demand for accountants has dried up the available supply of tax professionals, according to industry observers.

Jackson Hewitt Tax Service has ousted chair and chief executive Michael Lister after more than 125 of the company's franchises faced charges of fraudulent tax return preparation.Michael Yerington succeeded Lister as CEO, while Margaret Richardson was elected non-executive chair of the board. Yerington joined the company in 2006. Richardson, who joined the company's board in 2004, was a former commissioner at the Internal Revenue Service.

The Internal Revenue Service is sending out free copies of its CD-ROM, the Small Business Resource Guide, to help small business owners comply with federal tax laws, and it's ready to ship them in bulk.

A federal judge sentenced a man to a year and a day in jail for flying an airplane without a license and failing to file federal income tax returns four years in a row.

The House Ways and Means Committee has passed a bill by a margin of 22 to 13 that would keep the Alternative Minimum Tax from spreading to more than 23 million families, which the full House is expected to debate this week.