Tax Strategies

The U.S. Tax Court handed down bad news to a California group this week, agreeing with the Internal Revenue Service that Families Against Government Slavery shouldn’t be granted tax-exempt status as an educational organization.According to court documents, the group began organizing in 2003, and had as its mission the goal of educating the public about the alleged slavery and entrapment of Hollywood celebrities by government officials. The group’s activities consisted largely of public demonstrations made solely by its founder.

Halfway through the filing season, the Internal Revenue Service said that 35.6 million taxpayers had chosen to have their refunds -- totaling more than $100 billion -- deposited directly into a savings or checking account this year.

There is no question that most people appear quite serious about preparing an estate plan that can get passed along to future generations. The intention is all there but too many people still seem to find ways to mess it up entirely.

The U.S. Tax Court ruled this week that the three-year statute of limitations on the Internal Revenue Service attempting to collect on a tax return can be extended indefinitely, even when it was the taxpayer’s preparer who was responsible for committing a fraud.Under Section 6501(c)(1) of the tax code, when a fraudulent return is filed with the intent to evade tax, the tax may be assessed, or a proceeding in court for collection of such tax may be begun without assessment, at any time.

Businesses paid $554 billion in state and local taxes during the 2006 fiscal year, representing 45 percent of total taxes collected by all state and local governments, according to the annual study prepared by Ernst & Young in conjunction with the Council on State Taxation. The study includes estimates of taxes paid by major industry groups, with the share of taxes paid being determined by a state's overall tax system, the structure of its economy, the types of business taxes levied, as well as business tax features that may provide a competitive advantage or disadvantage in attracting and retaining business employment and investment.

Taking a vacation this time of year may as well be considered illegal.

Making its annual announcement, the Internal Revenue Service said that it is holding more than $2.2 billion in unclaimed refunds for about 1.8 million people who failed to file a federal income tax return for 2003.

The Internal Revenue Service completed a round of staff cuts in recent weeks, letting go nearly 100 employees from the division that oversees gift- and estate-tax returns, according to published reports.

The Internal Revenue Service announced that taxpayers are continuing to file their tax returns electronically from home computers at a record pace, up almost 7 percent from the same period last year.

For the past year, the Securities and Exchange Commission has been investigating how Google accounted for its income taxes, according to the online search giant’s 2006 annual report.