Tax practice

For the fourth year in a row, the whistleblower awards that the Internal Revenue Service pays to tipsters will be reduced.

In my early days I would get many leads for clients who told me they were switching accountants because they believed they were paying “too much tax.”

Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Wis., has introduced two pieces of legislation to combat corporate tax inversions and tax deferral.

Some of our favorite recent tax fraud cases.

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s Base Erosion and Profit Shifting action plan is likely to have a major impact on tax planning at multinational corporations by both tax professionals and corporate treasurers.

A significant amount of planning is typically involved before most major events. For example, the D-Day invasion was planned and scheduled with extreme detail months before its execution on June 6, 1944. Likewise, accountants each year experience a tax season that requires detailed planning and precise execution.

A new Inspector General report faults the security of the computer connections at the Internal Revenue Service.

Highlights of some of our favorite tax-related blogs from the past week.

The sharing economy has created untold numbers of micro-entrepreneurs, who provide services through digital-age apps.

The House passed a highway funding bill Thursday that includes a provision reviving the use of private debt collectors by the Internal Revenue Service.

Sales tax technology provider Avalara is integrating with EPiServer, an ecommerce and digital marketing software provider that has become a certified solution partner for Avalara.

Wolters Kluwer, CCH Small Firm Services has added new features and integration to the 2015 edition of its professional tax preparation software products, ATX and TaxWise.

In his first big personnel decision, House Speaker Paul Ryan put the committee that writes U.S. tax law in the hands of Texan Kevin Brady, who agreed to stand aside last year when Ryan wanted that chairmanship.

One year after the announced closing off of the Double Irish tax arrangement, U.S. multinationals once again turned their attention to Dublin as Ireland announced details of the Knowledge Development Box, or KDB.

Liberty Tax offices with onsite health insurance agents opened on November 1 to offer taxpayers help with Obamacare enrollment and plan renewals.

Internal Revenue Service commissioner John Koskinen told a group of tax practitioners that budget cuts at the agency are harming not only taxpayers, but tax practitioners as well, and warned that unless Congress acts on tax extenders legislation, tax season might need to be delayed next year. At the same conference, National Taxpayer Advocate Nina Olson complained of declining taxpayer service levels by the IRS and obstructions to the work of her office on behalf of taxpayers.

The Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has just handed the American Institute of CPAs a victory in its dispute with the Internal Revenue Service over tax preparer credentials.

Careful planning is a must to maximize the effect of deductible assets on a business return.

Though Donald Trump devotes an entire chapter of his just-published book “Crippled America” to his tax proposal, it remains difficult to see how it will have a detrimental effect on the Republican presidential candidate's bottom line—as he has often claimed while pitching the plan in speeches and media appearances.

President Obama signed into law on Monday a two-year budget deal that Congress approved last week to raise the debt limit and avert a default. To help pay for it, the bill includes a provision that will make it easier for the Internal Revenue Service to audit large partnerships, including hedge funds, private equity firms and even accounting firms.