Practice management

The mausoleum set up by Roland Burris, the former Illinois attorney general named to succeed Barack Obama in the U.S. Senate by disgraced governor Rod Blagojevich, includes on a list of accomplishments the fact that he was the first non-CPA to be on the board of the Illinois CPA Society.

There’s nothing like a good clear financial statement. And in a time when lenders are very stingy, those basic reports are more valuable than ever. In fact, this is one of those times that good accounting and advisory services are more valuable than ever.

They’re back and ready to dole out hundreds of billions of dollars in new tax cuts and spending, but will it be enough to restart the limping economy?

National Taxpayer Advocate Nina Olson said in her annual report to Congress that taxpayers affected by the recession should be treated more compassionately by the IRS.

President-elect Barack Obama and his transition team reportedly plan to propose approximately $300 billion in tax cuts as part of an overall economic stimulus package.

The Internal Revenue Service has added four new tax experts to its IRS Advisory Council who will provide the agency with outside input on tax administration issues.

The Internal Revenue Service has issued new regulations on cost-sharing arrangements for multinational companies that provide some extra flexibility in transfer pricing schemes.

Kahn, Litwin, Renza & Co., has merged in Sullivan Shuman & Freedberg, allowing KLR to build its presence in the Greater Boston area.

Accounting firm Holtz Rubenstein Reminick plans to hold a town hall-style meeting for New York-based individuals or businesses that were defrauded by Bernard Madoff's investment scam.

The Internal Revenue Service has set Monday, Jan. 5, as the deadline for victims of Hurricanes Gustav and Ike to qualify for tax relief.

Accounting firm Goldstein Lieberman has introduced a consulting team to help business clients cope with the recession.

The Internal Revenue Service Advisory Council's 2008 Report contains more than 70 recommendations on a wide variety of issues affecting tax administration. The recommendations focus on communication, relief and assistance due to the economic downturn."It's refreshing to see that communications are a concern," said Robert Kerr, senior director of government relations at the National Association of Enrolled Agents. "The IRS is charged with a bifurcated task - enforcement and education. In both realms they have to communicate fairly complex things."

E-FILING SURGES 12 PERCENTWashington, D.C. - Individual taxpayers e-filed nearly 90 million tax returns this year, an increase of more than 12 percent compared to last year, a record according to the IRS.

One technique for giving better focus to tax planning in a new year is to look back at the old one. Our column for this issue of Accounting Today uses this strategy, looking at significant 2008 tax developments from the perspective of their impact on tax planning in 2009.In examining 2008 developments for this review, we found that our results fit neatly into a Top 10 list - coincidentally, long a staple of New Year's forecasting. Our list gathers significant 2008 tax developments based on their impact on certain issues or themes. Our list focuses only on those developments that have an impact on strategies that may be implemented in 2009 - that's the reason why a significant amount of tax legislation didn't make the list, but also the reason why some letter rulings and similar types of developments made the cut.

We tend to associate successful CPA firms with interesting clients that offer high-visibility products and innovative services. At least for me, that image has not typically included firms that handle government or public-sector work. That's whyI was so pleasantly surprised to make the acquaintance of Tucson, Ariz.-based Heinfeld, Meech & Co. PC.

A Tax Court judge has ruled that taxes on elderly gamblers' casino winnings are not discriminatory.

The Treasury Department plans to purchase $5 billion in equity from GMAC, and lend another $1 billion to the automobile-financing company.

Accounting firm Eisner LLP has formed a Tax Recovery Assistance Task Force to help investors who have suffered losses as a result of Bernard Madoff's fraudulent investment scheme.

Accounting firm Rives & Associates has merged in Allen & Woodall, another firm in North Carolina.

The Treasury Department released a letter with responses to 10 questions posed by a recent report that criticized its management of the Troubled Asset Relief Program.