Tax planning

Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., has written letters to the Big Four accounting firms asking what they are doing to let their financial institution clients know about waivers on mortgage accounting standards that could let borrowers refinance their loans.

Republican presidential candidate Rudolph Giuliani announced his tax proposals, saying he would make the Bush administration tax cuts permanent, eliminate inheritance taxes and reduce marginal tax rates.

The Justice Department has filed suit against a Maine tax preparer to keep her from preparing tax returns for others, even though she is currently in prison.

CCH introduced a CPE Podcast Center with downloadable audio files that accountants can listen to on their iPods to earn continuing professional education credits.

Tax Compliance Inc. has released an upgrade of its Property Management Tax System with improved asset-mapping tools.

Steve Bennett, Intuit’s CEO and president, plans to step down at the end of the year, the tax and accounting software developer said.

Thomson Tax & Accounting said that it is partnering with Orbitax on a product called International Tax Expert that will leverage Thomson’s Checkpoint and InSource products.

The Internal Revenue Service is encouraging more midsized companies to file their corporate returns electronically as the Sept. 17 deadline approaches for calendar-year filers who asked for extensions.

More than 8 million people file tax returns each year who don’t need to do so, imposing heavy costs on the Internal Revenue Service, according to a new report from a Treasury Department watchdog.

British firm Bentley Jennison has joined the RSM International network of audit, tax and consulting firms, expanding RSM’s reach abroad.

The Justice Department sued the founder of an “asset protection” business that allegedly helped clients evade income taxes and hired actor Robert Wagner to plug its services.

Tax information publisher BNA introduced the BNA Tax and Accounting Center, an online service that unites all of the company’s tax and accounting information in one place.

The Houston Business & Tax Law Journal plans to hold a symposium in October on the patenting of tax strategies, an idea that has already generated some controversy among patent defenders and critics.

The Taxpayer Advocacy Panel has issued a report calling on the Internal Revenue Service to improve its services and customer satisfaction as well as reduce the burden on taxpayers.

Congress hopes to partially remedy the tax gap by making tax preparers more responsible for the positions their clients take on returns.Because paid preparers prepare over 62 percent of all individual income tax returns, they are a critical quality control for tax administration by helping to prevent noncompliance, according to an April report released by the Government Accountability Office.

Pope Benedict XVI plans to issue an encyclical denouncing tax evasion and the use of offshore tax shelters as Italy embarks upon a campaign to crack down on tax avoidance.

The United States Tax Court has ruled on a case involving a taxpayer, David Billings, who asked to be relieved from liability for the tax owed on money his wife embezzled from his employer without his knowledge, and has decided in his favor.

This coming January officially marks the three-year countdown before the axe falls on the lower individual capital gains rates now in place.Since May 6, 2003, thanks to the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003, gain from the sale of most long-term capital assets is subject to a maximum tax rate of 15 percent (5 percent for individuals in the 10 percent or 15 percent tax bracket). Starting in 2011, however, these rates are scheduled to revert to their former pre-May 6, 2003, levels of 20 percent and 10 percent, respectively. Nevertheless, before the party ends, a 0 percent rate will replace the 5 percent rate for tax years beginning after Dec. 31, 2007.

Sabrix introduced a subscription-based, outsourced service that handles tax determination, return preparation and audit administration for sales and use taxes.

The Internal Revenue Service received a double barrel of criticism from Treasury Department watchdogs for not validating the amount of savings it claimed it would generate from various taxpayer service projects, and for laxness in security.