Tax planning

The Internal Revenue Service has taken steps to improve its management controls for technology that will help it implement the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, or FATCA, to improve U.S. tax compliance involving foreign financial assets and offshore accounts, according to a new report, but more work needs to be done.

The increasing globalization of the economy is resulting in more small and medium-size businesses seeking to expand internationally. While companies are extending their products and services across borders, many don’t consider the compliance and planning issues that come with doing so.

The U.S. Supreme Court stayed out of the multibillion-dollar fight over Internet sales taxes, leaving intact a New York law that forces Amazon.com Inc. to collect money from customers in that state.

Tips for your clients as 2013 draws to a close

Accounting and advisory firm Marcum LLP has released the 2013 Marcum Year-End Tax Guide.

Preservation of an unlimited charitable deduction garnered wide support from Senate leaders after more than 200 officials from various nonprofits paid a visit to Capitol Hill last week to lobby lawmakers.

A bipartisan group of lawmakers is asking the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee to avoid enacting any proposed tax reforms that would limit accounting flexibility for small businesses.

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development announced some new steps that the international community is taking toward automatic exchange of tax information between governments worldwide and published ratings of how well countries are complying with demands for greater transparency.

G2 Fintech has improved the dividend analysis features in its tax analysis software TaxGopher.

Corporate capital expansion plans present opportunities for companies to leverage tax credits and incentives, according to a new study by Ernst & Young that found such plans driving activity in this area.

The on-again, off-again nature of the federal tax provisions traditionally known as tax extenders is leading to uncertainty and unnecessary complexity, according to tax policy experts at the American Institute of CPAs.

Senate Finance Committee chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., released a third set of proposals Thursday to overhaul America’s tax code, this one focusing on reforms to tax accounting and cost recovery rules.

A pair of congressmen who are also physicians, Ami Bera, M.D., D-Calif., and Charles Boustany, M.D., R-La., introduced a bipartisan bill late last month to make health care more affordable for working families, small businesses and seniors.

With only weeks remaining in 2013, many Americans have finalized their financial planning for the year, thinking they’ve done all they can to maximize tax savings. But many do not know there are still a number of opportunities to do some last-minute finagling to save as much as possible.

The Internal Revenue Service Advisory Council has released its annual report featuring recommendations on a wide range of tax administration matters, including a suggestion that the IRS expand its voluntary correction programs to make it easier for taxpayers to self-report any prior year non-compliance.

Senate Finance Committee chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., unveiled a series of proposals Wednesday to combat tax fraud and make the tax-filing process simpler and more efficient.

Some big-dollar tax deductions that affect businesses are set to expire in 2013, so now’s the time to make sure your company considers taking advantage of them for the current tax year. Doing so may allow you to buy more equipment, send less to the IRS, or both.

At a hearing Monday before the IRS, a number of employer groups urged the agency to alleviate the burdens and costs to employers of health care coverage reporting under the Affordable Care Act by allowing for greater flexibility and simplification in the reporting requirements.

Senate Finance Committee chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., has released the first in a series of discussion drafts for overhauling the Tax Code, with the first set of proposals focusing on international tax reform.

The higher tax rates passed by Congress this year have some top U.S. earners seeking last-minute strategies to lower their tax bite as year-end calculations turn up unpleasant surprises.