Tax practice

A California tax preparer who submitted false tax forms and promoted a tax fraud scheme in the U.S. and Canada was sentenced Friday in a Seattle federal court to 12 years in prison, three years of supervised release and over $6.2 million in restitution for conspiracy and wire fraud.

The Internal Revenue Service cautioned tax professionals Friday that their clients need to submit reports of any foreign bank accounts by the June 30 deadline.

Leaders of the Senate and House committees charged with tax policy plan to hold a rare joint hearing next Thursday on tax reform and the tax treatment of capital gains.

The Internal Revenue Service said it plans to improve the timeliness and responsiveness of its Whistleblower Office to claims of tax underpayments.

The Internal Revenue Service said Friday that it is making important interim changes to strengthen its procedures for issuing Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers from now through the end of the year.

The U.S. Treasury Department said it reached agreements with both Switzerland and Japan to cooperate on a framework for sharing financial information on bank accounts under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act.

The Internal Revenue Service needs to do a better job of estimating its staffing needs for implementing the Affordable Care Act, according to a new government report.

A group of Democrats on the House Ways and Means Committee have introduced a bill to extend 100 percent bonus depreciation through 2012 to encourage capital investments and job growth.

Securities and Exchange Commission Chief Accountant James L. Kroeker will leave his post in July to enter the private sector.

The IRS kicked off its series of forums in Orlando, Fla, on Tuesday with over 2,500 attendees. The three-day forums, held each year, cover a range of tax compliance and administrative topics, and feature speakers from academia and the private sector, as well as from the IRS.

Former Senator Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., told attendees at the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners conference that the financial reform law is essential, even though he wishes his name were not attached to it.

A group of 11 senators have written to the Internal Revenue Service asking for information about requests for confidential donor information from organizations applying for tax-exempt status.

The Internal Revenue Service has improved its oversight of nonbank trustees that act as custodians for tax-exempt retirement and savings accounts, and should now reevaluate the resources it expends on the program, according to a new report.

The Internal Revenue Service has just issued temporary and proposed regulations aimed at simplifying the handling of portability elections in estate tax law.

Tax preparation chain Liberty Tax's parent JTH Holding announces earnings, OTC listing

IRS Revenue Procedure 2012-28 offers help and a safe harbor on cancellation-of-debt income for publicly traded partnerships

KPMG has introduced an online resource that examines how tax authorities in 18 different countries are dealing with the challenge of taxing cloud computing services.

A trio of tax preparers have been charged with helping their clients evade taxes by hiding millions of dollars in secret accounts at two Israeli banks.

The Internal Revenue Service’s Return Preparer Office is extending its social media presence to LinkedIn.

Thomson Reuters has released mobile versions of Thomson Reuters Checkpoint, the online service that provides research, news, analysis and productivity tools to tax, accounting, trade and finance professionals, for smartphones and tablets.