Tax practice

The Internal Revenue Service has settled a legal dispute with a medical marijuana dispensary by agreeing to refund approximately $25,000 in fines and abate future penalties.

Grant Thornton has issued a document describing the advantages of relocating businesses to other countries, including their tax profiles.

The consumer finance site WalletHub has produced an analysis of 2015’s Best States to Be Rich or Poor from a Tax Perspective.

The American Institute of CPAs submitted a letter last week to the Internal Revenue Service and the Treasury Department recommending relief for surviving spouses who would like to elect portability of their deceased spouse’s unused estate tax exemption.

Internal Revenue Service Commissioner John Koskinen met with the heads of some of the major tax software companies, tax preparation chains, state tax commissioners and other officials in an effort to combat the growing problem identity theft and tax fraud.

The use of captive insurance by U.S. companies to manage costs and risks and realize tax benefits has been a legitimate activity for years. However, the IRS has recently focused significant audit resources on small and mid-market companies that are forming small or “micro” captive insurance companies.

Accountants see their small and midsize business clients making plenty of mistakes once tax season rolls around, but tax season may be too late to warn them.

The Internal Revenue Service is sending letters to verify the identity of taxpayers as part of its effort this tax season to combat the growing problem of identity theft.

This week’s edition of the Blotter includes not just our usual collection of preparer-related fraud, but also a chilling story about a preparer whose clients turned violent.

The Minnesota Society of CPAs has compiled a list of red flags that could trigger an audit from the IRS if they apply to your clients' tax returns.

Although tax reform remains a top priority for the business community, tax executives are not optimistic a bill will reach President Obama’s desk this year.

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

The Internal Revenue Service is reminding taxpayers who turned 70-1/2 during 2014 that they most likely need to start taking required minimum distributions from their IRAs and other retirement plans by April 1.

Congressman Keith Ellison, D-Minn., has re-introduced legislation that would impose a “Robin Hood Tax” on financial transactions and use the money to fund social programs and other causes.

A limited liability company has become the entity of choice for many businesses throughout the United States for tax and liability purposes, but many of the operating agreements governing LLCs could have significant defects.

A House subcommittee held a hearing Wednesday on the estate tax after one of its members introduced legislation to repeal it.

The Republican leaders of Congress’s two main tax committees, House Ways and Means Committee chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and Senate Finance Committee chairman Orin Hatch, R-Utah, have written a letter to Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew urging him to avoid pursuing an executive action by President Obama on tax reform.

The Internal Revenue Service is canceling the two days of unpaid employee furloughs it had planned in response to budget cuts.

The European Union launched a new salvo in its battle against tax evasion with a slate of proposals that would make it harder for companies to avoid taxes.

The owner of a New Jersey tax prep business was sentenced to six months in prison followed by six months of home confinement for willfully preparing false tax returns for clients.