Tax Strategies

The Tax Increase Prevention and Reconciliation Act of 2005, signed by President Bush on May 17, 2006, took so long in coming that it still carried the "Act of 2005" label.Far from having no surprises, however, the final bill contained a generous handful of provisions that had been far out of the money only weeks before. While some of these unexpected changes impact businesses, the most high-profile surprises appear to focus on the individual taxpayer. These include the lifting of the adjusted gross income cap on Roth IRA conversions, the raising of the "Kiddie Tax" age limit to 18 years, and the increase in the AMT exemption amounts.

When recognizing benefits from uncertain tax positions in their financial statements, what level of confidence should corporations have that those positions will be sustained? How do they determine whether or not their positions meet that threshold for recognition?And if the position meets that recognition threshold, what share of the related benefit should be included in the entity's financial statements? What actions or events could change that recognition status for future financial statements?

The Internal Revenue Service will survey nearly 50,000 taxpayers this month to help the agency improve the way it provides taxpayer services.

In the wake of a failed effort to push through a permanent repeal of the estate tax, two Republican Congressman have introduced companion bills to form a new "Securing America's Future Economy Commission."

For the next four months, the Internal Revenue Service's Statistics of Income Division will be testing a prototype SOI Table Wizard.

In testimony before the Senate Finance Committee, Comptroller General David Walker said that it is impossible to know th e total amount of corporate tax avoidance for a number of reasons.

I've always believed in the old adage, "Never say never."

Intuit Inc. is among the latest companies receiving an informal inquiry from the Securities and Exchange Commission regarding its stock option granting practices.

The Internal Revenue Service's Office of Taxpayer Burden Reduction is asking the public for recommendations on ways to reduce taxpayer burden.

A Republican-lead effort to repeal the estate tax failed to even reach a vote on the Senate floor.