Practice management

Immigration attorney Grisel Ybarra got back a canceled check from the Internal Revenue Service for the two cents the IRS had billed her as a late fee.

President Bush plans to nominate Douglas Shulman as Internal Revenue Service commissioner.

Tax software vendors Intuit and H&R Block were hit with a potential multi-billion-dollar class-action lawsuit alleging that they charge excessive fees for electronic filing.

Leaders of the Senate Finance Committee have introduced a bill to prohibit the Patent and Trademark Office from granting any further patents for tax strategies and tax-planning inventions.

The Internal Revenue Service wants to track down 115,478 taxpayers who are owed approximately $110 million after their refund checks were returned as undeliverable.

More than 30,000 Medicaid providers had a total of over $1 billion in unpaid federal taxes last fiscal year, according to a report released by the Government Accountability Office.

We come across many surveys in our work, especially on the Internet. One of my most recent favorites posed the following question, “Is your firm, or one or more of its professionals, a recognized thought leader?”

The House has voted to approve a $78 billion bill that would provide a temporary fix to prevent the alternative minimum tax from spreading to about 23 million more taxpayers this coming tax season.

The Internal Revenue Service's financial management systems and internal controls came under sharp criticism in a financial audit conducted by the Government Accountability Office.

The Bush administration threatened to veto the Temporary Tax Relief Act of 2007 in its present form, putting the patch for the alternative minimum tax in jeopardy as the deadline nears for fixing the AMT before it spreads to millions more taxpayers.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board has decided to defer the effective date for FASB Interpretation No. 48, "Accounting for Uncertainty in Income Taxes," for nonpublic entities.

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, has sent letters to six media-based ministries asking for information about their expenses, executive compensation and the amenities lavished on their executives to see if they are violating their tax-exempt status.

The Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service have issued proposed regulations that would make it easier for companies to automatically enroll employees in 401(k) plans at a predefined contribution percentage.

The Internal Revenue Service said it received nearly 80 million electronically filed tax returns this year, breaking last year's record of 73.3 million.

The House of Representatives unanimously passed legislation that would give tax relief to the families of military personnel, as well as help volunteer firefighters and emergency medical responders.

During the month of November, a number of accountants will be getting a telephone call or an e-mail from clients all asking the same question. “What is the little-known tax break that makes investing In GPS-tracking technology more affordable than ever?” Be careful what you say if asked because that inquiring client already has the answer.

INDEXING WILL LOWER TAXES NEXT YEAR

The Small Business Tax Act amended Code Sec. 6694 to increase tax return preparer penalties, the types of returns to which the penalties apply, and the support required for the position taken on the return. The provision was to be effective for tax returns prepared after May 25, 2007.However, based on requests from the return preparation community, the Internal Revenue Service has provided transitional relief that generally applies the prior standards to returns and refund claims due before Jan. 1, 2008, estimated tax returns due on or before Jan. 15, 2008, and employment and excise tax returns due on or before Jan. 31, 2008. The transitional relief does not apply to willful or reckless conduct.

The American Institute of CPAs and the Small Business Administration have signed an agreement that will give CPAs more access to the SBA's programs and network of small businesses.

The Internal Revenue Service is sending out free copies of its CD-ROM, the Small Business Resource Guide, to help small business owners comply with federal tax laws, and it's ready to ship them in bulk.