Tax

State revenues remain stable for the most part, but in a few places, collections in individual tax categories are not living up to expectations, according to the latest survey of state fiscal offices by the National Conference of State Legislatures.

A partner in the Washington office of law firm Venable LLP since 2003, Sam Olchyk provides general tax advice for businesses and individuals, as well as tackling federal tax issues that require representation before Congress, the Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service.Prior to joining the firm, Olchyk spent eight years as a tax attorney for Congress -- first as tax counsel with the Senate Finance Committee, and then as legislation counsel with the Joint Committee on Taxation, where his main responsibility was helping with the development of tax legislation affecting domestic business activity. During his time on Capitol Hill, Olchyk, who is also a CPA, worked on numerous proposals that were enacted into law, including pieces of the Job Creation and Worker Assistance Act of 2002, the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 and the Community Renewal Tax Relief Act of 2000. In 2001, he worked on a joint committee study regarding the simplification of the federal tax laws.

Responding to criticism from Congress and taxpayer advocates, the Internal Revenue Service announced that for the upcoming tax-filing season, private sector partners in its Free File program will remove ancillary offerings -- such as refund anticipation loans -- made to taxpayers in the course of participating in the program.“We heard many legitimate concerns about the marketing of ancillary products during the last filing season,” said IRS Commissioner Mark Everson, in a statement. “This is a constructive step.”

The California Franchise Tax Board has voted unanimously to permanently offer a program allowing some low-income residents to file government-prepared tax returns, despite opposition from tax preparation software companies.

San Diego’s City Council has approved paying another $2.2 million to KPMG for the Big Four firm’s long overdue 2003 audit. The additional spending approval brings the city’s total KPMG tab to $6.6. million.

The Internal Revenue Service has allocated nearly $1 billion of tax credits to nine planned clean coal projects.The Energy Policy Act of 2005 authorized the tax credits, and, working within a number of set parameters, the IRS consulted with the Department of Energy to allocate the credit to specific projects.

The Internal Revenue Service announced new guidelines for taxpayers to follow in order to substantiate donations to charities that were made via payroll deduction.

The Internal Revenue Service modified a $103 million contract for the management of paper tax returns in November, according to a published report.According to the Washington Post, the original plan to turn over the filing, storage and retrieval activities at seven IRS centers to a contractor Dec. 1 was altered so that, for now, the outsourcing will occur at just two centers. In a statement, the IRS said the conversion was scaled back "to ensure that a sufficient number of employees with the required training and security clearances are in place to manage the files during the upcoming filing season."

Accountants and journalists have a lot in common—a lot of people don't like us. There was a period during the accounting scandals when accountants and reporters were right next to each other down, far down the list of most admired professions, and we hadn't moved up. Another thing we have in common is that our businesses have been built looking backwards. Accountants record historical transactions. Journalists record things that have happened. Accountants have been told they must become more forwarded looking. Journalists must do the same. In fact, accountants have an easier time. They have audits and taxation, a regulatory environment that provides the potential for a steady stream of business. No one is required to read a print publication or visit a publishing house's Internet site. I am not predicting the end of print. Every time I visit Borders or Barnes & Noble, I witness crowds devouring books and magazines. Print isn't going away. But journalists must change because the Internet removes the need to have so many of us providing historical information. That is particularly true in technology journalism. Most people aren't concerned about what happened in the past. Who wants to read year-old software reviews? We all want to know what we are going to be able to buy within the next year. What's the latest gadget? And that's the long-term view. The real solution for journalism is difficult because it requires an investment in people, not easy to do when margins are under pressure. But unless we are all going into business selling rejiggered data that is gathered by a bunch of electronic grunts, the main thing we have to sell is the knowledge we have that can be used to help our readers make decisions to keep their businesses alive and breathing. There is no gain in body counting. I've never believed too much in the concept of disintermediation. That's the process by which the Internet supposedly removes the need to have intermediaries who interpret things. On the contrary, we need more intermediaries. If you have ever walked into a store with a large audio-video section, you have probably found yourself bewildered by choices. It's the sales person's job to limit choices—what's your price range, how serious are you about music and what types? Without a salesperson's help, there is a good chance you won't make a buying decision. The vast amount of data available is like that confusing sales room. Without someone to limit the choices, it's hard to make a decision. This is the market in which journalists should have an opportunity to prosper. Like accountants, we must know what our market is. There's not much to be gained from covering accounting scandals and Sarbanes-Oxley, except stroking your own ego, if your best chance of serving readers is talking about write-up software and how they can do a better job hiring. We must interpret, not record. As I like to say, "Disintermediate, never. Intermediate now!" Or risk disintegrating as a profession.

The U.S. Tax Court will continue its consideration of a requirement that would push the Internal Revenue Service commissioner to publicly file answers to all small tax cases.Chief Judge John Colvin first announced the proposed change in September, noting that small tax cases comprise about half of the court’s docket. He said that petitioners in those cases are increasingly being represented by low-income taxpayer clinics, and suggested that those parties, as well as the court itself, might benefit from improved pretrial communication between all the parties involved in settling some of those cases.