Roger Russell

Is it unfair to accountants that the attorney-client privilege is stronger than the accountant-client privilege?

The merchant card reporting program, in place since January of this year, may pose some problems that were unanticipated by Congress when it was passed as part of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008.

The plan for Economic Growth and Deficit Reduction recently released by President Obama offers a view into specific tax provisions that Congress may be asked to enact before the end of the year.

Will $447 billion in new taxes help to create jobs, or kill them?

Despite all the new tax regulations, registration requirements, and the promise of new tax legislation, there’s one thing that return preparers can eliminate from their worry list: tax strategy patents.

It looks as though the time has come for comprehensive patent reform, which includes the banning of tax strategy patents.

Maybe it was the time of day. Or maybe I was just lucky. That’s what the CPA who prepares my tax return told me when we were able to reach the Philadelphia office of the IRS twice in a row, to speak with someone about some pesky notices I had been receiving.

While Congress tackles long-term tax reform, it continues to consider and enact piecemeal legislation aimed at specific areas. As a result, there are several bills afloat that, if enacted, would impact the ability of business to do business.

Typically, accounting industry job supply and demand vary with proximity to tax season.

It’s good that tax reform is high on the political agenda these days.

It’s doubtful whether the tax changes proposed by the President in his speech on Wednesday would generate much of a dent in the deficit, even if they were to be accepted by Congress.

It’s easy to understand the IRS Small Business/Self-Employed Division’s rollout of its program to request QuickBooks or Peachtree files from small business taxpayers under examination.

Any move on tax reform should take into consideration what the European Union and various countries are doing with their tax systems, observed David Lifson, past president of the New York State Society of CPAs and a tax partner at Crowe Horwath.

It’s comforting to know that tax reform is proceeding apace on several different fronts.

Practitioners who represent taxpayers with unreported offshore accounts should urge them to come forward and assist them under the new voluntary disclosure initiative for a number of reasons.

Tax reform for business isn’t just about lowering the corporate tax rate. That’s what Patricia Thompson, chair of the AICPA’s Tax Executive Committee, told the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Select Revenue Measures yesterday.

Whether or not the Obama administration budget proposal to add some clarity to worker classification sees the light of day, the employee vs. independent contractor issue will surely be undergoing increased scrutiny.

We’ve been operating without a budget for the past year, and despite the budget proposal this week, it appears likely that we will continue to operate the government under a series of continuing resolutions.

Tax strategy patents have been around for more than a decade, ever since a federal appeals court in 1998 validated business method patents, including tax strategies.

The new cost basis reporting rules won’t affect this year’s returns, but they are already in effect.