Tax Strategies

Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, has written to congressional leaders criticizing a provision in the automobile industry bailout bill that provides government guarantees to mass transit agencies that have taken advantage of an outlawed tax shelter.

The United States and Liechtenstein have signed an agreement to exchange tax information, including details on the holdings of citizens who are sheltering money in the foreign bank accounts, but only when the U.S. already knows the names of the tax evaders.

Two California residents have been indicted for filing over $2 million in false tax refund claims using the names and Social Security numbers of dead people, with help from a CPA.

The Teamsters Union has written to the Internal Revenue Service taking issue with proposed regulations that would change the public approval requirements for tax-exempt private activity bonds and potentially undermine the public approval process.

Online payroll service PayCycle unveiled the latest version of its software, with improved set-up and export features.

A group of Democratic representatives from the House Ways and Means Committee wrote a sternly worded letter to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson warning him against expanding a controversial IRS Notice that allows banks to write off the tax losses of other banks they acquire.

The Virginia Society of CPAs is offering a free financial wall calendar for consumers, developed in partnership with the American Institute of CPAs.

The fourth of six defendants in a $60 million tax fraud conspiracy case has been sentenced to more than 17 years in prison for his role.

Former Internal Revenue Service Acting Commissioner Kevin Brown has joined PricewaterhouseCoopers as a partner in the firm's IRS Service Team.

Tax advocacy group Citizens for Tax Justice has released a report urging President-elect Barack Obama to avoid cutting the federal estate tax.