Tax Strategies

The number one concern of leading business tax executives for the year ahead is that in light of the current political and fiscal environment, Congress will enact revenue offsets to fund other legislative initiatives rather than make the U.S. tax system more competitive.

Will Rogers has been quoted as saying, “The only difference between death and taxes is that death doesn’t get worse every time Congress meets.” Earlier this year, Congress passed the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, which may have prevented us from falling off the fiscal cliff, but further complicated the already complex world of income taxation of estates and trusts.

Private equity fund managers are beginning to be concerned that they may lose their tax break on carried interest as lawmakers in Washington again debate tax reform.

Less than two months ago Washington escaped from the doomsday scenario of the looming “fiscal cliff.” Now it faces the threat of the less colorfully named “sequester” or “sequestration,” depending on who’s talking about it, but somehow the dire warnings of impending disaster are beginning to sound unconvincing.

The Internal Revenue Service has filed notices with a federal district court and appeals court of its intention to appeal a judge’s ruling that struck down the mandatory testing and continuing education requirements of its Registered Tax Return Preparer regime and asked the court to suspend the January ruling that invalidated the RTRP regime.

The Internal Revenue Service has released a favorable private letter ruling allowing WTP Exchange, an affiliate of WTP Advisors, to provide both like-kind exchange software and qualified intermediary services.

For years, you’ve been hearing that you should include financial services among your tax or accounting practice’s service offerings.

Social media sites Facebook and LinkedIn are enjoying massive tax breaks on stock options, according to recent reports.

Accounting firm ParenteBeard has launched a Small Business Tax Toolkit offering online advice to small business owners who are looking for guidance on their taxes.

Last year, about $450 million belonging to top executives at billionaire hedge fund manager John Paulson’s New York firm took a quick round trip to Bermuda.