Tax Strategies

When Oklahoma energy billionaire George Kaiser opened the Northeast Gateway liquid natural gas terminal in 2008, the floating depot’s first delivery was shipped on the Excellence, a 909-foot supertanker that holds 138,000 cubic meters of LNG—enough gas to meet more than 4 percent of daily U.S. demand.

It’s become an annual rite of spring, at least for me—the release of Bloomberg BNA’s Survey of state tax departments. The survey, Bloomberg BNA’s 13th annual survey, asks questions aimed at clarifying each state’s position on the gray areas of corporate income and sales and use tax administration. Although nexus isn’t the only topic, it has been one of the main emphases of the survey.

The research and advocacy organization Global Financial Integrity is urging Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., to allow the Senate to vote on agreements negotiated by the Treasury Department with Switzerland, Luxembourg, Hungary and other countries to implement the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, or FATCA, in an effort to ferret out tax evaders.

You receive a call from a very excited client: your lawyer client settled a large case. Or your client won a large judgment. Or your client won the lottery. Now your client is about to receive a very large check: $1,000,000. $5,000,000. More? That’s the good news.

The American Institute of CPAs has sent tax reform recommendations to five of the 11 working groups on the House Ways and Means Committee tasked with studying various aspects of tax reform.

The House Ways and Means Committee held a hearing on tax reform and residential real estate, considering the effect of changing popular tax breaks like the mortgage interest deduction.

The Internal Revenue Service has issued draft versions of two forms needed for overseas taxpayers to file in connection with the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act.

It’s been kicking around in one form or another for the better part of a decade, but it looks as though it finally has some momentum.

The Internal Revenue Service is continuing to make progress in its implementation of key elements of the Affordable Care Act, according to a new government report, but it could expand the use of employer-provided health care information to ensure employer, health insurer and taxpayer compliance with the ACA.

A loose coalition of anti-tax activists, direct marketers and financial industry trade groups has a tough task this week in overcoming bipartisan support for letting states impose sales taxes on out-of-state sellers.