Tax practice

The two leaders of the Senate Finance Committee have offered to take a “blank slate” approach as a starting point for tax reform, in which there would be virtually no tax breaks available, and called on their Senate colleagues to provide suggestions on which tax provisions need to be added back and improved in a reformed tax code.

An Internal Revenue Service deputy director whose office awarded more than $500 million in contracts to a friend’s technology company wouldn’t testify before a congressional committee.

National Taxpayer Advocate Nina Olson’s latest mid-year report to Congress calls the IRS “an institution in crisis,” with its many problems affecting its ability to conduct its mission.

The Supreme Court has struck down the Defense of Marriage Act and California’s Proposition 8, awarding supporters of same-sex marriages wins that have major tax implications.

The owner of a New Jersey tax preparation business pleaded guilty to willfully preparing false tax returns for clients.

The Internal Revenue Service’s purchase card program lacks consistent oversight to identify and address inappropriate use, such as overspending on meals, according to a new government report.

A federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., has scheduled oral arguments for September 24 to hear the Internal Revenue Service’s appeal of Loving v. IRS, the case in which a trio of independent tax preparers successfully sued the IRS to suspend its mandatory testing and continuing education requirements for tax preparers.

Investors have a bit more to ponder as the administration rolls out its tax program, designed to both address the federal budget deficit and promote economic development.

The Internal Revenue Service has issued a report describing the changes it plans to address the problems with its approval process for reviewing applications for tax-exempt status.

The inability of cities and local jurisdictions to collect existing sales taxes on Internet sales translates into billions of dollars in lost revenue, according to a new report from the U.S. Conference of Mayors, that found New York City, Phoenix and Chicago as the top money-losing cities.

The Swiss parliament rejected a bill designed to resolve a dispute over undeclared bank accounts held by U.S. citizens, potentially setting the stage for American prosecution of the country’s banks

A new study jointly conducted by the Congressional Budget Office and the Joint Committee on Taxation estimates that the bill currently under debate in the Senate would save nearly $1 trillion over the next two decades, largely because more than 10 million additional people would be paying taxes.

Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett has signed into law a measure that will allow more practical, broad-based professional experience to fulfill the requirements for getting a CPA license.

A group of lawmakers from the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee have written a letter to Treasury Secretary Jack Lew urging the Internal Revenue Service to back off of a proposed rule change modifying the retail inventory method of accounting, which retailers fear could cost them millions of dollars a year.

A married pair of New Jersey tax preparers have been charged with tax fraud, with the wife arrested at her home, while the husband remains at large.

Italian fashion designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana, founders of the Dolce & Gabbana couture business, were sentenced by an Italian court to a 20-month suspended prison sentence and a steep fine of approximately $670,000 for tax evasion.

The House Financial Services Committee has unanimously passed legislation prohibiting the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board from mandating the automatic rotation of a public company’s independent external auditor.

The IRS Electronic Tax Administration Advisory Committee's 2013 Annual Report to Congress recommends that the IRS work more closely with tax preparers, accountants and others to pursue its goal of improving compliance electronically.

The Internal Revenue Service’s string of video parodies unfortunately may be nearing an end, now that outraged lawmakers in Congress have put a series of IRS commissioners, acting commissioners, deputy commissioners and ex-commissioners on the hot seat.

The Internal Revenue Service may be nearing an agreement to pay unionized employees $70 million in bonuses that aren’t legally required, said Republican Senator Charles Grassley.