Practice management

MICHIGAN

The Worker, Homeownership and Business Assistance Act of 2009 has given hard-pressed businesses a generous pre-holiday gift in its extension and expansion of the enhanced five-year net operating loss carryback provision under Code Sec. 172. Many economists predict an eventual windfall to businesses far in excess of the $10.5 billion 10-year cost estimated by the Joint Committee on Taxation. Even so, the Joint Committee forecasts front-loaded benefits of over $33 billion in 2010. To maximize this windfall, however, each taxpayer must carefully evaluate how its own facts and circumstances relate to certain variables and recommended strategies.

It looks like we are going to be ina tough economy for the foreseeable future. That doesn't mean that you have to be satisfied with mediocre profits. I want to share some things you can do to help improve your profit picture during the next 12 months.

The economic storm is battering companies nationwide, and small businesses are not immune to its fury.

The recession has taken its toll among the shop keepers on Main Street.

While the economic crisis continues, it's a constant challenge for small businesses just to weather the storm. Streamlining various aspects of company-wide operations is a priority that can be approached from various aspects.

RANGEL BILL CLAMPS DOWN ON UNREPORTED FOREIGN INCOME

The surge in projected government spending, coupled with diminishing sources of revenue, raises the probability that lawmakers may look toward a value-added tax to close the gap.

The House has approved a comprehensive financial reform bill, albeit with a number of key provisions weakened in recent days.

Forensic accounting firm Hagen, Streiff, Newton & Oshiro, has added Guidance Software’s EnCase Portable and Field Intelligence Model software to its practice.

The past year saw a number of unusual sales and use tax laws enacted in a number of states.

Los Angeles attorney Matthew G. Krane has pleaded guilty to passport fraud and tax evasion after failing to report more than $35 million in income hidden overseas.

The prospect of the enactment of a value-added tax in the United States is getting closer – five years and counting, according to a Tax Governance Institute survey.

The House approved the Tax Extenders Act of 2009, with extensions of a number of tax breaks that are scheduled to expire at the end of the year, including the R&D credit.

President Obama described a series of proposals aimed at encouraging companies to add more jobs, including tax cuts for small businesses.

Large corporations have dominated the use of the research tax credit, with 549 corporations with receipts of $1 billion or more claiming over half of the $6 billion of net credits in 2005, the most recent year available, according to a new study by the Government Accountability Office.

The Internal Revenue Service has appointed Victor Song as the new chief of its Criminal Investigation division, replacing Eileen Mayer, who is retiring next month.

The Internal Revenue Service has issued a new tax guide to help taxpayers and tax preparers get the most out of new recovery tax breaks and get a jump on preparing 2009 income tax returns.

Fifty-seven percent of the senior business executives surveyed by KPMG’s Tax Governance Institute expect some type of value-added tax to be introduced in the U.S. within five years, and 18 percent anticipate a VAT within 10 years.

A group of Democratic lawmakers has introduced legislation that would impose a tax on Wall Street securities transactions.