Tax practice

With less than 30 days left in 2012, there is still time to do some year-end tax planning. This 2012 tax year is more difficult in that no one knows how the tax laws may change before the end of the year.

President Barack Obama reduced his demand for tax increases to $1.4 trillion from $1.6 trillion as he and House Speaker John Boehner traded another round of offers and inched toward a budget agreement.

Billionaire investors Warren Buffett and George Soros are calling on Congress to increase the estate tax as lawmakers near a decision on tax policies that expire Dec. 31.

Former U.S. Congressman Wester Cooley was sentenced to a year and a day in prison following his guilty plea last year to hiding $494,000 in income from the Internal Revenue Service.

A recent Gallup survey found eight in 10 Americans consider it extremely or very important that Congress and President Obama agree on a plan to avoid the so-called fiscal cliff — automatic budget cuts and the expiration of Bush-era tax increases set for Jan. 1.

After a Sunday meeting between President Obama and Speaker of the House John Boehner, R-Ohio, their staff members reportedly continued negotiations Monday on how to avoid the fiscal cliff.

The Internal Revenue Service has issued a revenue procedure that said certain losses do not need to be taken into account in determining whether a transaction is considered a “reportable transaction.”

The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a pair of cases challenging the constitutionality of the federal Defense of Marriage Act and of California’s Proposition 8, which banned same-sex marriage, and the cases could have tax ramifications.

Google Inc. avoided about $2 billion in worldwide income taxes in 2011 by shifting $9.8 billion in revenues into a Bermuda shell company, almost double the total from three years before, filings show.

CCH has issued a new tax briefing explaining the Internal Revenue Service’s proposed regulations on the Additional Medicare Tax and Net Investment Income Tax that will take effect in January as a result of the health care reform law.

As Democrats demand tax concessions from Republicans to avert a collision over the federal budget, Senate Democratic leaders are signaling that they may be willing to trade an entitlement spending overhaul to secure a deficit- reduction deal.

The Internal Revenue Service and the Treasury Department have issued a set of proposed regulations on the 3.8 percent Net Investment Income Tax that takes effect next year as a result of the health care reform law, along with a FAQ page with questions and answers.

The American Institute of CPAs has written a letter to the Internal Revenue Service and the Treasury Department asking for changes in proposed regulations for tax practitioners.

Failure by Congress to act on the alternative minimum tax by year’s end will lead to “significant” delays in tax filing and a strain on taxpayers, said Steven Miller, the Internal Revenue Service’s acting commissioner.

President Barack Obama again warned lawmakers that the U.S. economy will suffer unless there’s an agreement on a way to prevent more than $600 billion in automatic spending cuts and tax increases from taking effect.

While improvements have been made in the Internal Revenue Service’s information technology systems over the past year, the IRS still needs to do more to protect sensitive financial and taxpayer data and deliver new systems, according to a new report.

The Internal Revenue Service has released interim guidance and final regulations on the medical device excise tax that was included as part of the Affordable Care Act.

The Minnesota Board on Judicial Standards has made a formal complaint against the state tax court’s chief judge, George Perez.

The so-called fiscal cliff has politicians in Washington performing the political equivalent of a soap opera as they leave the country in suspense about whether they will manage to resolve a self-inflicted crisis in time to avoid a recession next year.

The Internal Revenue Service has issued proposed regulations on the 0.9 percent Additional Medicare Tax for upper-income taxpayers scheduled to take effect next year as a result of the Affordable Care Act.