Tax Strategies

The Internal Revenue Service is urging individuals and businesses that are making contributions to charity to keep in mind several important tax law provisions that have taken effect in recent years. Accountants can pass along the advice to their clients who are making charitable contributions that they can claim on their taxes next year.

With the New Year right around the corner, business owners are likely scrambling to identify tax credits they can take advantage of or a tax professional to help them ensure they’re properly reporting their tax information for 2013.

Switzerland’s 300 banks have enlisted an army of auditors, lawyers and in-house workers as they race to meet a Dec. 31 deadline on whether to seek U.S. amnesty for helping American clients evade taxes.

President Obama has nominated Senate Finance Committee chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., as the next ambassador to China, potentially setting back efforts at comprehensive tax reform.

“It’s never too late for tax planning,” a wise CPA once told me. “You’ve got till the ball drops to take action, and if you do it later than that, then you’ve got an early start for next year.”

The U.S. has signed six more intergovernmental agreements with a half dozen jurisdictions, including several traditional offshore tax havens, to implement the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, or FATCA.

The Internal Revenue Service has issued guidance on the application of rules in the Tax Code relating to health savings accounts and flexible spending accounts to same-sex couples in the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s landmark decision earlier this year striking down the Defense of Marriage Act.

The popularity of the shelter, known as the Walton grantor retained annuity trust, or GRAT, shows how easy it is for the wealthy to bypass estate and gift taxes.

KPMG is predicting a dozen key tax issues that will be confronting businesses next year, including the taxation of cloud-related activities, base erosion and profit shifting in multinational corporations, and the far-reaching consequences of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act.

As 2013 recedes in the rearview mirror, it is understandable that tax professionals look to the road ahead regarding taxes and Washington.