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Tax Research

Editors' Picks

  • Thomson Reuters Adds Transaction Tax Services

    February 16, 2010

    The Tax & Accounting business of Thomson Reuters has introduced two new online services to help businesses stay informed of changes in sales and use tax and value-added tax.

  • State and Local Tax Revenue Plummets Further

    December 30, 2009

    Tax revenue for state and local governments fell 6.7 percent in the third quarter, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, marking the fourth consecutive quarter of negative growth.

  • Paychex Offers Year-End Payroll Tax Resources

    December 21, 2009

    Payroll services provider Paychex has published four online tax resources for CPAs and small businesses free of charge on its Web site.

  • CCH Ships 2009 ATX and TaxWise Software

    November 23, 2009

    CCH Small Firm Services has begun shipping its ATX and TaxWise lines of software for tax year 2009, with links to tax research from CCH.

  • Study Identifies Most Regressive State Tax Systems

    November 20, 2009

    Most states tax their middle- and low-income families far more heavily than the wealthy, according to a new study by the Institute on Taxation & Economic Policy.

  • Discover New Innovations in Tax Prep

    November 17, 2009

    Software as a Service (SaaS) has become popular in today's business environment. But what exactly does SaaS mean and how can it play an integral part in your operation? After completing the session, you will be able to:

    • Recognize the significance of SaaS in an increasingly complex world.
    • Build your practice become more efficient and profitable.
    • Identify ways to improve workflow and your bottom line.

    Don't miss this chance to learn more about a tool that can help your practice be more successful!

  • Thomson Reuters Adds State Apportionment Planning

    November 12, 2009

    The Tax & Accounting business of Thomson Reuters has released a state apportionment planning tool on its Checkpoint online research service.

  • Sabrix Updates Tax Management Service

    November 12, 2009

    Sabrix has released the fall 2009 version of its outsourced sales tax system.

  • CCH Enhances Business Entity Planning Library

    November 11, 2009

    CCH has added Smart Charts, checklists and decision trees to its Business Entity Planning Library to provide further guidance to tax practitioners analyzing and comparing the entities used by small- and midsized businesses.

  • CCH Expands Tax Prep Partner

    November 10, 2009

    CCH’s Tax Prep Partner series has expanded to cover nonprofit, estate tax and payroll forms.

  • CCH Improves IntelliConnect Research Service

    October 28, 2009

    CCH plans to enhance its IntelliConnect research service with new filtering and interface features.

  • Seeking to Justify the Tax Research Librarian

    September 22, 2009

    Remember when the hefty three-ringed tax research guides required a whole room set aside as a library?

  • CCH Offers International Corporate Tax Calculators

    August 31, 2009

    CCH has introduced Worldwide Tax Rates and Answers: Calculators, a set of software calculators that help accountants calculate corporate income tax and withholding tax liabilities in 90 countries around the world.

  • Intuit Offers Tax Research

    August 11, 2009

    Intuit has introduced Intuit ProLine Tax Research, powered by BNA, a Web-based service that integrates directly with Intuit’s Lacerte and ProSeries professional tax software.

  • PDI Offers Online Tax Guide

    July 16, 2009

    PDI Global has introduced an online version of its 2009-2010 Tax Planning Guide that accounting firms can put on their Web sites and market to clients.

  • BizActions Offers Online Tax Guide

    June 30, 2009

    E-mail newsletter provider BizActions has introduced an Online Tax Guide that CPAs can link to from their own Web sites and brand with their own firm’s name and logo.

  • TAX BRIEFS

    May 20, 2009

  • You have tax questions? They have answers

    May 18, 2009

    Providers unveil new online tax research apps

  • IRS issues guidance for Ponzi victims

    April 19, 2009

    In the wake of several high-profile Ponzi schemes - most notably, the $65 billion fraud perpetrated by the now-jailed Bernard Madoff - the Internal Revenue Service has issued new guidance for victims of these types of schemes and their tax preparers.

  • In brief

    April 19, 2009

  • Tax strategy: Ponzi scheme guidance: More details

    April 19, 2009

    The Bernard Madoff situation is just the most notorious of dozens of Ponzi schemes that have surfaced since the current recession made it more difficult for the operators of those schemes to keep covering payouts and redemptions with money from new investors.

  • Shooting for the stars

    April 19, 2009

    The Internal Revenue Service now has a new interest in sports and entertainment - and not just as a spectator.

  • Thomson Reuters Buys WTE

    April 19, 2009

    The Tax & Accounting business of Thomson Reuters has acquired World Trade Executive Inc., a provider of international tax, accounting, finance and energy content.

  • IRS Makes Some Card Fees Deductible

    April 9, 2009

    The Internal Revenue Service said that it would make some credit and debit card convenience fees tax-deductible, but only under certain circumstances.

  • States Hike Sales Tax Rates to New Records

    April 9, 2009

    The economic crisis is forcing many states and cities to increase their sales tax rates to the highest average level ever, according to a new report.

  • IRS Offers New Free Way to File for Extensions

    April 8, 2009

    This year, the Internal Revenue Service is offering a new way to file an extension request for free.

  • Grassley Praises IRS for Hiring Veterans

    April 8, 2009

    Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, has commended the Internal Revenue Service for hiring more than 1,000 veterans last year.

  • Buddy Systems Created By Youth

    April 7, 2009

    Like many good ideas, Weiser's Buddy System started over drinks.

  • IRS Takes Slow Train to Security Fixes

    April 7, 2009

    The Internal Revenue Service has made slow progress in implementing federally required security settings on nearly 100,000 desktop and laptop computers, said a newly released audit.

  • BDO Partner Charged with Tax Crimes

    April 7, 2009

    A federal grand jury has returned an indictment charging a BDO Seidman partner with tax charges for attempting to help one of his clients evade income taxes.

  • CPAs and Tax Preparers Charged in Methane Scam

    April 7, 2009

    The Justice Department has filed suit against four CPAs, 27 tax preparers and another individual, accusing them of promoting a tax scam that claimed bogus income tax credits for sham sales of methane from landfills.

  • Estate Tax Planning for 2009 and Beyond

    April 7, 2009

    With the repeal of the federal estate tax set for 2010 and its reinstatement scheduled just one year later, estate tax planning has become more complicated than ever.

  • U.S. and Swiss to Share More Tax Information

    April 7, 2009

    The U.S. Treasury Department said that it plans to begin negotiating a protocol with the government of Switzerland to exchange more tax information, opening a window on formerly secret Swiss bank accounts.

  • Practitioner Suspended for Bilking Taxpayers

    April 7, 2009

    The Internal Revenue Service has suspended an enrolled agent from practicing before the agency after his clients complained that he did little to help them settle their tax disputes.

  • Buddy Systems Created By Youth

    March 31, 2009

    Like many good ideas, Weiser's Buddy System started over drinks.

  • Off to a running start

    April 5, 2009

    An early-season surge in tax filing - attributed by most observers to the declining economy - has thus far characterized this year's filing season.

  • Lawmakers petition IRS for greater leniency

    April 5, 2009

    Washington, D.C.-With millions of Americans needing help to survive the recession, job losses and home foreclosure, Congress is urging the Internal Revenue Service to cut some slack for taxpayers who are "struggling to stay afloat while their debts increase."

  • Madoff investors: Tax victims, too?

    April 5, 2009

    Many are surprised to learn that while it sometimes appears that the Internal Revenue Code reaches into every aspect of our lives, it lacks focus in addressing the complex tax consequences that face the unfortunate victims of Ponzi schemes.

  • In brief

    April 5, 2009

  • Tax strategy: Maximizing small-biz incentives in the Recovery Act

    April 5, 2009

    he $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (P.L. 111-5, Feb. 17, 2009) provides almost $300 billion in tax relief. As a stimulus package, the bill makes available over $280 billion in tax relief in the short term in 2009 and 2010.

  • IRS Copes with Challenging Tax Season

    April 6, 2009

    Despite all the tax changes in the past year to stimulate the economy, the Internal Revenue Service appears to be weathering the tax season well so far.

  • Video: Joe the Plumber Takes on the IRS

    April 6, 2009

    Joe the Plumber has made his next mission the abolition of the Internal Revenue Service.

  • Companies Foresee More Tax Audits

    April 6, 2009

    As governments desperately seek all kinds of additional revenue, senior business professionals see the increased possibility of an audit by taxing authorities as the most significant tax risk facing their organizations today, according to a new survey.

  • IRS to Assess Risks of Tax Software

    April 3, 2009

    The Internal Revenue Service should determine whether using tax software creates any security and compliance risks, recommended the Government Accountability Office in a new report.

  • Former KPMG Execs Sentenced in Tax Case

    April 3, 2009

    Two former KPMG managers received prison terms and multimillion-dollar fines in a long-running tax shelter case.

  • IRS Grants Relief to Flood Victims

    April 3, 2009

    Victims of severe flooding in Minnesota and North Dakota have an extra 30 days, until May 15, to file their 2008 individual tax returns and pay any taxes due.

  • Congress Passes Budget Plan

    April 3, 2009

    Both the House and Senate approved the Democrats' version of a $3.5 trillion budget plan for fiscal year 2010, but without a single Republican vote.

  • Accountant Arrested for UBS Tax Shelters

    April 3, 2009

    The first U.S. client of Swiss bank UBS has been arrested on tax evasion charges by federal authorities, and he's an accountant.

  • Congress to IRS: Go Easy on Small Biz

    April 2, 2009

    Lawmakers at a congressional hearing Wednesday pressed Internal Revenue Service Commissioner Douglas Shulman to ease up on audits of small businesses.

  • U.S. Signs Tax Deal with Gibraltar

    April 2, 2009

    Just in time for the G20 economic summit in London, the U.S. Treasury Department has signed a tax information exchange agreement with the government of Gibraltar.

  • Tax Tips for Individuals and Businesses

    April 2, 2009

    As the tax deadline looms in two weeks, the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants has some advice for businesses and individual taxpayers.

  • Beware the Taxman (or Student)

    April 2, 2009

    Tax evaders beware. Pittsburg State University students are coming to get you.

  • Tax Strategies for IRA Owners Affected by the Market

    March 31, 2009

    The sharp stock market decline we've experienced has no immediate tax effect on pre-retirement-age taxpayers who invested their traditional IRAs or Roth IRAs in stocks and mutual funds, since losses as well as gains are not recognized within either type of IRA.

  • Tax Season Essentials

    March 31, 2009

  • Tax Briefs

    March 31, 2009

  • New Budget, New Tax Scene

    March 31, 2009

  • Tech Bulletin Briefs

    March 31, 2009

  • Recovery Act Moves

    March 31, 2009

  • IRS Announces Tax Break on New Car Purchases

    April 1, 2009

    The Internal Revenue Service has begun spreading the word about a special incentive for taxpayers to buy a new car this year: a hefty deduction next year.

  • HHS Nominee Pays $7,040 in Back Taxes

    April 1, 2009

    Secretary of Health and Human Services nominee Kathleen Sebelius became the latest prospective Cabinet member to run afoul of the Tax Code after she admitted to recently paying $7,040 in back taxes and $878 in interest.

  • Thomson Reuters Updates Tax Planning App to Include Stimulus

    March 31, 2009

    In order to include provisions in the recently enacted American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, the Tax & Accounting business of Thomson Reuters has updated its Planner CS program.

  • Bonus Tax Bills May Be Unconstitutional

    March 31, 2009

    The Congressional Research Service has found that both the Senate and House bills that seek to tax bonuses paid to employees of entities receiving assistance from the federal government under the Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 may have constitutional problems.

  • Obama Nominates Tax Policy Head

    March 31, 2009

    President Barack Obama has nominated a California professor, Helen Elizabeth Garrett, as his Assistant Treasury Secretary for Tax Policy.

  • IRS Employee Stole Taxpayer Identities

    March 31, 2009

    An Internal Revenue Service employee has been charged with illegally accessing IRS computers to obtain information on taxpayers and filing false tax returns in their names.

  • Baucus Introduces Middle-Income Relief Legislation

    March 30, 2009

    Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., has announced legislation that would make existing tax breaks permanent for working families and individuals.

  • IRS to Offer Leniency to Offshore Evaders

    March 30, 2009

    As part of its plan to generate intelligence on accountants, bankers and lawyers who help clients evade U.S. taxes by hiding money in offshore accounts, the Internal Revenue Service will grant leniency to those who volunteer to pay taxes on overseas accounts in exchange for information on who aided them in hiding the money.

  • Prosecutors Ask for the Max for Tax Shelter Execs

    March 27, 2009

    Prosecutors maintain that two former executives of Big Four firm KPMG should be sentenced as much as 24 years in prison for their part in marketing illegal tax shelters.

  • Volcker to Lead Tax Reform Effort

    March 26, 2009

    The Obama administration will ask the Economic Recovery Advisory Board, led by former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker, to form a task force to recommend an overhaul of the tax code, according to reports.

  • IRS Recruiting for TAP Panel Members

    March 25, 2009

    The Internal Revenue Service is looking for civic-minded volunteers to serve on the Taxpayer Advocacy Panel, which listens to taxpayers, identifies key issues and makes recommendations for improving IRS service.

  • IRS Employees Abuse Phone Cards

    March 24, 2009

    Employees at the Internal Revenue Service are running up millions of dollars in charges on agency-issued telephone calling cards with little control over their spending.

  • CCH Adds More Audit Guidance to ARM

    March 24, 2009

    CCH has expanded the audit modules in its Accounting Research Manager database with expert guidance on topics such as construction and not-for-profit accounting.

  • IRS Audit Rates for Millionaires Plummet

    March 23, 2009

    Audits by the Internal Revenue Service of the tax returns of millionaires nosedived in the just-ended fiscal year, according to a new report.

  • Judge Dismisses Suit Against Tax Software Vendors

    March 20, 2009

    A federal judge has for the second time rejected a class action lawsuit against the Free File Alliance, the group of tax software vendors who provide free software and electronic filing to low-income taxpayers.

  • Tax Season Essentials: IRS Intros Employment Tax Adjustment Forms

    March 20, 2009

    The Internal Revenue Service has added three new forms for correcting errors on employment tax returns.

  • PayCycle Adds Stimulus Payroll Tax Deductions

    March 19, 2009

    PayCyle said that it has implemented the payroll tax reduction included in the recently passed economic stimulus bill.

  • IRS to Offer Free Tax Prep on Saturday

    March 19, 2009

    The Internal Revenue Service and a group of community partners plan to open their doors on Sat., March 21, to help people who need free tax preparation services, a question answered or a payment schedule arranged.

  • House Votes to Tax AIG Bonuses

    March 19, 2009

    In response to public outrage over the $165 million in bonuses awarded to AIG executives, the House voted 328 to 93 to levy a 90 percent tax on the money.

  • IRS Will Accelerate NOL Refunds Under New Provision

    March 18, 2009

    The Internal Revenue Service says that small businesses with deductions exceeding their income in 2008 can use a new net operating loss tax provision to get a refund of taxes paid in prior years. The IRS says it will work to issue refunds within 45 days or less "to the degree possible."

  • Taxing Health Care Benefits Won't Be Easy

    March 18, 2009

    The question of how to pay for universal health care could lead to a troubling answer: taxing health benefits.

  • Tax Talk Today to Go Silent (For Now)

    March 18, 2009

    The Internal Revenue Service plans to discontinue live programming of its Tax Talk Today webcasts on May 12, leaving accountants worried about their continuing professional education credits.

  • Former BDO Partner Pleads Guilty in Tax Shelter Scam

    March 18, 2009

    A chartered accountant from the U.K. who served as a former board member and vice chairman at global audit firm BDO Seidman has pleaded guilty to conspiracy with tax shelter promoters while claiming roughly $1 billion in fraudulent losses.

  • Testing your tax-time temps

    March 15, 2009

    Despite the current economic slowdown, the busy season is well underway as firms across the country are preparing the onslaught of returns that roll in during the weeks and months prior to April 15. The increased workloads during this period create the need for more workers to assist with the rush, and temporary employees are an effective resource during these times.

  • Tax strategy: Finding the silver lining to capital losses

    March 15, 2009

    2008 was a tough year for investors and 2009 so far is shaping up to be more of the same. Nevertheless, investors should not lose sight of the value of capital losses for tax purposes.

  • Man Indicted for Posing as Enrolled Agent

    March 16, 2009

    A federal grand jury has indicted a California tax preparer for claiming he was an enrolled agent with the Internal Revenue Service.

  • Treasury Tries to Jumpstart Small-Business Lending

    March 16, 2009

    President Barack Obama and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner unveiled a new effort aimed at unlocking the tight credit market for small businesses.

  • Swiss to Relax Bank Secrecy Laws

    March 16, 2009

    Switzerland's longstanding banking secrecy laws are about to become as holey as Swiss cheese after authorities caved in to pressure from international tax authorities.

  • More Tax Havens Disclose Secret Information

    March 13, 2009

    The tiny European countries of Liechtenstein and Andorra are two of the latest tax havens to succumb to pressure from international authorities to share information about assets hidden in bank accounts.

  • Home Computer Tax Filings Spike 20 Percent

    March 13, 2009

    The Internal Revenue Service reported that taxpayers are electronically filing their federal tax returns in record numbers this year.

  • IRS: 2008 Was a Big Year

    March 13, 2009

    The Internal Revenue Service released its 2008 IRS Data Book showing big increases last year in tax filings and revenue.

  • IRS Audits Credit Card Counseling Industry

    March 13, 2009

    The Internal Revenue Service has been spending tens of thousands of hours auditing nonprofit credit counseling agencies and ordering changes at the vast majority of them, according to newly released data.

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