Tax practice

Julius Baer is prepared to pay a fine to escape an escalating U.S. crackdown on offshore bank accounts after last week's indictment of smaller rival Wegelin raised tension among Swiss private bankers.

The Internal Revenue Service has debuted an online tool to help low- and moderate-income taxpayers find Volunteer Income Tax Assistance locations where they can get help with their taxes.

A majority of taxpayers are concerned about the security and privacy of their personal and financial information when filing their state and federal tax returns online, according to a new survey.

During his recent State of the Contradiction address before a joint session of Congress, the President in typically impressive oratory tried his carnival barker best not to allow anyone to examine the fine print.

The Internal Revenue Service has issued proposed regulations to provide guidance on the excise taxes imposed on the sale of medical devices under the health care reform law.

In the first-ever indictment of an overseas bank in the U.S. for facilitating tax fraud, the Justice Department has charged Wegelin & Co., Switzerland’s oldest bank, with allegedly conspiring to hide more than $1.2 billion from the Internal Revenue Service.

Sometimes it’s possible to predict a legislative outcome by comparing opening statements and testimonies of committee witnesses.

Last year more states, counties and cities lowered their sales tax rates than in 2010, and the number of sales tax changes also went down, according to a pair of new reports.

A previously convicted felon and long-time tax defier who also worked as a tax preparer was sentenced to three and a half years in prison.

The Internal Revenue Service does not have effective internal controls in place to make sure that defendants who have been convicted of tax-related crimes comply with the conditions of their probation and restitution, according to a new report.

The Internal Revenue Service has introduced a new online tool for taxpayers who need to repay their First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit.

IMGCAP(1)]The Tax Court’s decision last month in the case of Peco Foods, Inc. & Subsidiaries, v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue (T.C. Memo 2012-18) caused waves of angst amongst tax practitioners and cost segregation professionals alike.

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., has introduced legislation to implement President Obama’s proposal in his State of the Union speech that millionaires should pay at least a minimum 30 percent income tax rate.

The cost estimates for an Internal Revenue Service program for matching data from tax returns with third-party information returns, which was used to justify the program’s projected budget of $115 million for fiscal years 2012 to 2016, “generally does not meet best practices for reliability,” according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office.

Just before the New Year, the Internal Revenue Service released much-anticipated temporary and proposed regulations on the capitalization of tangible property (so-called "repair regs").

IRS BOOSTS AUDITS OF HIGH-INCOME TAXPAYERS

National Taxpayer Advocate Nina E. Olson's annual report to Congress highlighted the combination of an expanding IRS workload and declining resources as the most serious problem facing taxpayers.

The Internal Revenue Service needed to put the brakes on its tax refunds this tax season when newly installed filters to prevent tax fraud and identity theft held up processing for a week or more.

The Internal Revenue Service and the Justice Department said Tuesday they have conducted a massive nationwide sweep to nab identity theft fraudsters as part of a stepped-up effort against tax refund fraud.

The Senate Finance Committee held a hearing Tuesday to examine the growing number of tax extenders in the Tax Code that need to be renewed every year or two, and how there could be greater predictability with overall tax reform.