Tax practice

Third Point Reinsurance Ltd. said it’s more than just a hedge fund investing vehicle as the Internal Revenue Service weighs tightening regulation for offshore companies.

A Finnish government tax auditor died at his desk while examining tax returns and the death went unnoticed in his office for about two days.

The number of self-prepared federal returns has increased almost 6% so far this season and professionally prepared returns have dropped, according to the IRS.

New York City’s Department of Consumer Affairs wants to expand interest in free tax preparation services, particularly for low-income New Yorkers who qualify for the Earned Income Tax Credit, by redesigning the sites where they can get Volunteer Income Tax Assistance.

A majority of small businesses are happy with their accountants, but feel they pay too much in taxes, even though they’re not sure their accountants can do much to reduce their tax liability, according to a new survey.

Tax reform, if it happens in the next two years, will occur in incremental steps rather than as a comprehensive package.

The Senate Finance Committee heard testimony Thursday about the increasing prevalence of tax scams and identity theft, with senior citizens finding themselves especially vulnerable to callers impersonating Internal Revenue Service employees.

The most popular way Americans will use their tax refunds is to pay down their debt, according to a new survey.

Dave Camp, the former Republican chairman of the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee who spearheaded an effort at tax reform in Congress, has joined PricewaterhouseCoopers as a senior policy advisor based in PwC US’s Washington National Tax Services practice.

The campaign for the Republican nomination for president is poised to become a race to the biggest tax cut.

Each New Year brings with it issues and regulations—both new and revisited—that cause accountants and their small business clients to scramble in order to remain compliant with the law.

A married couple who are partners in a Louisiana tax preparation service are also allegedly partners in crime, according to prosecutors.

The Internal Revenue Service said it has federal income tax refunds totaling $1 billion waiting for an estimated 1 million taxpayers who did not file a federal income tax return for 2011.

The Internal Revenue Service generally has adequate processes in place to prevent inadvertent disclosures of taxpayer information to unauthorized people, but it also understates the number of inadvertent disclosures it makes, according to a new government report.

The leaders of the Senate Finance Committee, chairman Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, and ranking Democrat Ron Wyden, D-Ore., have revived a bipartisan effort to solicit ideas from interested members of the public and other stakeholders on how best to overhaul the tax code to make it simpler, fairer and more efficient.

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

The Internal Revenue Service has issued a notice in anticipation of the ABLE tax-free savings accounts that disabled Americans will soon have the ability to set up to cover expenses such as education, housing and transportation.

The Senate has re-introduced a bipartisan bill aimed at making it easier for states to collect sales taxes on online purchases.

A group of Republican senators have introduced legislation to disallow the Earned Income Tax Credit for prior tax years to any immigrants who would benefit from President Obama’s executive action on immigration reform.

Criminal prosecutions by the Internal Revenue Service appear to be timed to coincide with tax season, according to a new analysis.