Practice management

A recent decision by the Massachusetts Appellate Tax Board related to inter-company pricing may put state tax auditors on notice not to overreach when assessing the value of services and products provided between companies and their out-of-state affiliates.

The Internal Revenue Service is asking small tax-exempt organizations to remember to file their annual electronic informational return by the May 15 deadline.

Internal Revenue Service agents raided a local tax practice in Central Florida known as Taxes by Mr. Bill and accused the firm of stealing its clients’ tax refunds.

A county tax commissioner in New Jersey has been replaced after he was indicted last week for conspiring to embezzle $278,650 from his Elks Lodge to gamble in Atlantic City.

In a year that is projected to record a high number of CPA firm mergers, a pair of managing partners told attendees at the AICPA Practitioners Symposium here that both parties should be prepared to navigate through changes in culture and processes that often complicate the consolidation process.

The former director of finance for packaging-machine maker Winpak Lane’s California office has pled guilty to tax and embezzlement charges.

1. Between 2002 and mid 2008, CPA firms enjoyed one of the biggest booms in the profession’s history. Business was so good that most firms stopped proactive marketing because they couldn’t handle any more business.

MAY

Business must act quickly, but cautiously, in assessing whether to take advantage of the temporary relaxation of cancellation-of-debt-income (CODI) rules and applicable high-yield discount obligation (AHYDO) restrictions that are now operative, thanks to the 2009 Recovery Act.

CCH is offering free CPE sessions to tax and accounting professions to introduce them to its new IntelliConnect online tax research service.

President Barack Obama and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner outlined a series of moves aimed at closing corporate tax loopholes that encourage U.S. companies to shift income and jobs to other countries.

A 23-year-old Russian has been arrested for stealing about $105,000 in tax refunds after he set up a set of fraudulent Web sites that claimed to prepare taxes for free.

Last week, much of the media fawned over the president'sfirst 100 days in office to such a degree it's a wonder outlets such as the NewYork Times or MSNBC did not require its reporters to don drool bibs.

Sixty-one percent of senior financial executives believe their companies’ total effective state tax rate will increase, according to a survey by Grant Thornton.

CPA firm Dixon Hughes plans to integrate the practice of Presser, Lahnen & Edelman effective June 1, expanding the super-regional Southeast firm to the Jacksonville, Fla., area.

A Southern California couple has been indicted on charges of conspiracy to file false tax returns, mail fraud and identity theft after they were found to have filed for refunds of over $300,000 using stolen identities.

A record total of 90.6 million tax returns were filed electronically this year, with more than a third coming from home computers.

Both the House and Senate approved President Barack Obama’s $3.4 trillion spending plan on his 100th day in office, but largely along party lines.

Rep. Joe Donnelly, D-Ind., has introduced a bill to lessen the heavy penalties imposed by the Internal Revenue Service on taxpayers who use so-called “listed” tax shelter transactions.

A tax preparer couple has been arrested for filing false tax returns and diverting their clients’ refund money to their own bank accounts.