Practice management

Preparers’ reactions range from annoyance over spam to concern over online privacy as they’ve learned that the IRS is publicly releasing some of the information it collects as part of its Preparer Tax Identification Number registration.

Taxpayers can generally deduct ordinary and necessary expenses for conducting a trade or business or for the production of income.

The Internal Revenue Service Statistics of Income Division has released its 2012 Summer SOI Bulletin, with a number of articles based on the most recent data available from various returns filed by U.S. taxpayers.

The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, in an audit to assess the IRS management of the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System, found that business taxpayers were effectively transitioned to electronic payments, but were not always timely contacted when payments were missed.

CPACA Leadership Study Says Communication Key, Integrity Essential

The top personal income tax area of concern for technology executives that CPA Bill Melton of the Silicon Valley accounting firm Abbott, Stringham & Lynch sees in his client base is equity compensation.

Cincinnati, Baltimore and Cleveland ranked highest among large cities in their tax favorability for businesses, according to a new study by KPMG, with New Orleans and Baton Rouge, La., leading the way among smaller cities.

A California tax preparer has been sentenced to 18 months in prison and a year of supervised release for preparing false tax returns and stealing tax refunds and stimulus checks.

Farmers and ranchers who have been forced to sell livestock as a result of the drought currently affecting much of the nation now have an extended period of time in which to replace the livestock and defer tax on any gains from the forced sales, the Internal Revenue Service said Tuesday.

For tax professionals and paid preparers in particular, an item that should be of growing concern over the past few years has been preparer penalties.

Tax practices make some fundamental mistakes in their marketing -- but they can correct them, according to Chuck McCabe, CEO of The Income Tax School Inc.

Three defendants involved in a stolen identity refund fraud scheme have been sentenced in the Middle District of Alabama, according to the Department of Justice.

A bill requiring federal agencies to place new controls on government charge cards and enforce more stringent penalties for violations by federal employees is on its way to President Obama for his signature, following final passage by Congress over the weekend.

The Internal Revenue Service would be able to save more than $111 million in real estate rental costs over the next five years by requiring employees to share their work space if they often work remotely, according to a new government report.

I speak with many executives who, when asked about whether or not they have an anti-fraud hotline in place, respond, “We don’t need an anti-fraud hotline; I know what goes on in my company.”

Accounting and professional services firm Kolb+Co. has recently launched a new blog, The Kolb+Co Element.

Mitt Romney released his 2011 tax return this afternoon, which revealed that the Republic presidential candidate paid taxes of $1,935,708 on $13.7 million in income, mostly from investments, giving him an effective tax rate of 14.1 percent.

The Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations held a hearing on offshore profit shifting and the U.S. tax code, examining in particular the practices of Microsoft and Hewlett-Packard, while questioning an Ernst & Young tax partner who services HP.

Congress’s two tax-writing committees, the House Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Finance Committee, held a joint hearing Thursday to discuss capital gains taxes and how they might be reformed.

Government debt hit a record $16 trillion last week, accompanied by the usual calls for tax increases to help plug the gap between revenue and expenditures. But for those who believe that the way out of our deficit includes raising taxes, there’s a cautionary study that suggests otherwise.