Practice management

A former client of the Swiss banks UBS AG and Wegelin & Co. has pleaded guilty to personal income tax evasion for hiding more than $26.4 million in secret bank accounts.

The Internal Revenue Service is reminding anyone who has a bank account or other financial account in a foreign country, or who has signature authority over such an account, that they may be required to report the account to the U.S. Department of the Treasury by June 30 each year.

Governments around the world are either increasing indirect taxes such as value-added taxes or introducing them for the first time.

IMGCAP(1)]“Going green” is all the rage. Some would say it’s the new black. Not only that, it can help your client's company stay “in the black” too.

The Internal Revenue Service has issued final regulations shortening the automatic extension time period for partnership, trust and estate tax returns from six to five months, meaning the returns are due Sept. 15.

The Internal Revenue Service’s financial management systems are unlikely to comply with federal laws at least until 2014, according to a new report.

Eight Democratic senators have written to the Internal Revenue Service urging the agency to address problems faced by same-sex couples while filing their 2010 federal income tax returns.

The Association for Accounting Marketing has released a report documenting compensation trends across a number of marketing, business development and sales positions within the accounting industry.

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., has exited from negotiations over resolving the problem of the looming debt ceiling, saying he is unable to agree to any tax increases.

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

Four people associated with a Bronx tax preparation business have been charged with participating in a scheme to file fraudulent federal income tax returns using the identities of others and one has been accused of threatening IRS agents.

The Internal Revenue Service has increased the optional standard mileage rates for the final six months of 2011, in response to higher fuel prices.

Some of the 2,200 databases that the Internal Revenue Service uses to manage and process taxpayer data are not configured securely, are running out-of-date software, and no longer receive security patches, according to a new government report.

An accounting firm owner and former IRS employee was arrested and charged with running a mortgage fraud scheme involving fake buyers of homes.

BKD LLP has introduced a mobile app version of its Web site, HealthCareReformInsights.com, showcasing the accounting firm’s health care consulting practice for Android phone users.

At a recent hearing before the Senate Appropriations Committee, IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman heard from senators that the agency ought to provide taxpayers with its own free online tax software.

The Internal Revenue Service has extended the filing due date for the 2009 and 2010 Form 8955-SSA, “Annual Registration Statement Identifying Separated Participants with Deferred Vested Benefits.”

Capital markets executives at leading investment banks predict continued growth in the number and size of initial public offerings on U.S. exchanges during the remainder of 2011, according to a new study by BDO USA LLP.