Roger Russell

While I’ve not yet been the victim of identity theft, the possibility—and the consequences—are beginning to loom.

There is often a disconnect between what a court directs a taxpayer to do and what is permitted under the Tax Code.

While most observers are reluctant to forecast any tax legislation prior to the November elections, there is legislation pending in Congress that, if enacted, would be a boon to small business and help jumpstart the economy.

The Federal Register publishes a quarterly list of persons who have renounced their citizenship. Known as the "name and shame" list, the most recent one, published on April 30, contains the name Eduardo Saverin, co-founder of Facebook. While the move may have nothing to do with Friday's Facebook IPO, it could result in significant tax savings for Eduardo.

Maybe we need tax education as well as tax reform. No matter how simple the Tax Code becomes, it might not be simple enough.

Things don’t look so good for Amazon laws. The laws, which are the efforts of states to extend nexus to cover sales from remote vendors, have suffered several setbacks in recent weeks.

It’s been awhile since serious consideration has been given to estate tax reform, but with the Jan. 1, 2013 deadline looming, more people are offering their views on the subject.

It’s been said that you can’t tell the players without a scorecard. Where I need a scorecard is to figure out which tax provisions expired at the end of 2011, and those slated to give up the ghost at the end of 2012. Luckily, the Joint Economic Committee has a Web site that lists all of the expiring provisions of recent memory, together with the dates they expired or will expire.

“Only two things in life are certain,” Marc Albaum tells his clients. “I can help you with the other one.”

There’s good news and bad news to be found in the predictions of the tax business executives polled in the Tax Policy Forecast Survey.

John Wanamaker is famously quoted as saying “Half of the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don’t know which half.”

This is the first year that the IRS requires payments made with a credit or debit card to be reported by merchants who processed more than $20,000 and 200 transactions.

On April 1, the tax rate for U.S. corporations will go from second highest to the highest tax rate in the world. That’s when Japan will lower its rate by five points from its current 39.5 percent.

The Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 may be the last piece of tax legislation we’ll see this year.

There hasn’t been a federal budget in three years, so what’s to worry about the just-released budget for fiscal year 2013?

The IRS effort to combat identity theft couldn’t have come at a better time. With the IRS closing in on its goal of 80 percent e-filed returns (aided in part by the e-filing mandates on return preparers), the last thing it needs is a decline in confidence in the system. Yet that’s just what has happened, according to a survey commissioned by tax software developer Taxsoftware.com.

Sometimes it’s possible to predict a legislative outcome by comparing opening statements and testimonies of committee witnesses.

The President’s annual State of the Union speech is traditionally more than just a memo of the past or a blueprint for the future.

They say the third time’s a charm. And the third iteration of the IRS Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program is likewise a good thing, according to Kevin Packman, a tax partner at Holland & Knight and chair of the offshore compliance team.

The Internal Revenue Code requires National Taxpayer Advocate Nina Olson to submit a report to Congress each year identifying, among other things, 20 of the most serious problems encountered by taxpayers, and to make administrative and legislative recommendations to mitigate those problems.