Tax practice

They say the third time’s a charm. And the third iteration of the IRS Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program is likewise a good thing, according to Kevin Packman, a tax partner at Holland & Knight and chair of the offshore compliance team.

People who have received restitution payments from those convicted of human trafficking do not need to include those payments in gross income for federal income tax purposes, the Internal Revenue Service said Thursday.

The Internal Revenue Service plans to hold the second in a series of public meetings next Wednesday to get feedback on its plans to create a “real-time tax system” that would be able to catch incorrectly reported tax return information at the time it is filed.

Republican Presidential candidate Rick Santorum’s tax plan would reduce federal tax revenues substantially, according to a preliminary analysis by the Tax Policy Center.

Rep. Sander Levin, D-Mich., the ranking Democrat on the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee, said Wednesday he would re-introduce legislation later this year to end the tax break on carried interest income.

A White House-appointed group of business, academic and labor leaders recommended corporate tax reforms and other measures to increase jobs and improve the economy.

Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney reversed course and, under pressure from rival candidates, said that he would release his tax returns, probably around April 15.

The Internal Revenue Service’s newest version of the Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program is designed to give some reassurance to taxpayers who have been hesitating to come forward and disclose their foreign bank accounts, but the increasing complexities of U.S. tax law are leading more people to renounce their citizenship.

While the Internal Revenue Service is making gains in its processing capabilities due to increased electronic filing, the agency still needs to offer taxpayers more self-service tools, according to a new report.

The Internal Revenue Service said Tuesday that its Modernized e-File, or MeF system successfully opened this morning at 9:00 am Eastern Time and is now operational for individual tax returns and extensions.

The Government Accountability Office has provided Congress with a guide for screening and assessing proposals to disclose confidential tax information to specific parties for certain purposes.

The Internal Revenue Service has issued a notice that provides transitional relief from information reporting requirements for issuers of stock with respect to organizational actions that affect the basis of the stock.

President Obama proposed Friday to consolidate six major federal departments and agencies that oversee various aspects of business in the U.S., including the Commerce Department and the Small Business Administration.

The Internal Revenue Service has begun offering a $25,000 buyout program to encourage up to 400 of its employees to accept retirement or early retirement by March.

The Internal Revenue Code requires National Taxpayer Advocate Nina Olson to submit a report to Congress each year identifying, among other things, 20 of the most serious problems encountered by taxpayers, and to make administrative and legislative recommendations to mitigate those problems.

President Barack Obama plans to include tax incentives in his fiscal 2013 budget to encourage more U.S.-based multinational companies to relocate jobs from foreign countries back home.

IMGCAP(1)]A new bill making its way through Congress has the potential to change the world of e-commerce quite drastically and hurt the viability of small businesses across the country to compete in a growing sector of our economy.

A former partner at a top international law firm has been sentenced to 28 months in prison for failing to pay taxes on over $10 million in income.

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

Groundhog Day isn’t until next month, but the Internal Revenue Service is again invoking that same sense of déjà vu with its third Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program in the past three years.