Practice management

Legislation that extends soon-to-expire provisions of last year's tax cuts for families -- at a cost of about $146 billion over a 10-year period -- easily sailed through Congress late yesterday.

Outsourcing provider Xpitax has added accounting services for clients, including bookkeeping and write-up solutions, work paper conversion, and year-end accounting work and financial analysis, to its offerings.

Washington (Sept. 21, 2004) -- In its aggressive crackdown on credit counseling abuse, the Internal Revenue Service filed a $15 million suit against Germantown, Md.-based AmeriDebt Inc. in anticipation that the company's tax-exempt status would be overturned.

IRS GETS TOUGH ON 527S: Having identified concerns about dozens of filings among the growing tax-exempt Section 527 political group segment, the Internal Revenue Service is moving to improve reporting and disclosure by those groups.

Finally, it appears that the Internal Revenue Service has had its say for a while on the rules governing the sale of a principal residence.

by Roger Russell

IRS INITIATIVE EYES TAX-EXEMPT GROUPS’ COMPENSATION: The Internal Revenue Service has started a new enforcement effort to identify and halt abuses by tax-exempt organizations that pay excessive compensation and benefits to their officers and other insiders.

by George G. Jones and Mark A. Luscombe

by Roger Russell

NEW TAXPAYER ACCOUNT, PROCESSING SYSTEM DEBUTS: A modernized system designed to replace the Internal Revenue Service central database of taxpayer account information has processed its first live returns, the IRS announced.

San Francisco — After announcing a 10 percent drop in earnings for the second quarter, discount brokerage Charles Schwab said that chief executive David S. Pottruck would be stepping aside in favor of company founder and chairman Charles R. Schwab.

Washington — The Department of Justice filed a lawsuit to stop an East Cleveland tax return preparer from preparing federal tax returns and from promoting an alleged tax scheme that omits wages from taxpayers’ returns.

by George G. Jones and Mark A. Luscombe

by Roger Russell

AICPA SUPPORTS PREPARER REGISTRATION, WITH RESERVATIONS: While the American Institute of CPAs supports the concept of tax preparer regulation, it raised some public policy and drafting concerns about the registration proposal in S. 882 (H.R. 1528), known as the Tax Administration and Good Government Act, which passed the Senate in May.

by Ken Rankin

by George G. Jones and Mark A. Luscombe

by Roger Russell

IRS NOTICE ADDRESSES IMPROPER DEDUCTIONS FOR CONSERVATION DONATIONS: The Internal Revenue Service advised taxpayers that it will disallow improper charitable contribution deductions for transfers of easements on real property to charitable organizations and for transfers of easements in connection with purchases of real property from charitable organizations.

New York — Former Cendant subsidiary Jackson Hewitt Tax Service Inc. made its Big Board debut in late June in an initial public offering priced at $17 per share.