Tax practice

The Internal Revenue Service needs to do a better job of protecting its computer systems and taxpayer data as it expands its use of wireless technology, according to a new government report.

The Tax & Accounting business of Thomson Reuters has introduced Interactive Decision Tools for its Checkpoint research service to help tax, accounting and audit professionals solve challenging issues.

State tax revenues increased 10.8 percent in the second quarter of 2011, but revenues for local governments headed in the opposite direction.

IMGCAP(1)]There are close to 2 million tax-exempt organizations operating in the United States.

The free trade agreements with Colombia, South Korea and Panama signed into law by President Obama earlier this month included little-publicized provisions that would increase tax preparer penalties and crack down on prisoner tax fraud.

The Internal Revenue Service’s Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Initiatives are generally effective at convincing thousands of taxpayers with foreign bank accounts to come forward and disclose them to avoid heavy penalties and criminal prosecution, but some improvements are needed, according to a new government report.

The House voted overwhelmingly on Thursday to repeal the 3 percent withholding rule on payments to contractors.

President Barack Obama pledged to help borrowers cope with student loan debt by capping student loan repayments at 10 percent of a borrower’s discretionary income, starting next year.

An advisory committee cautioned the Internal Revenue Service that implementation of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act could run afoul of foreign laws.

The Internal Revenue Service is doing a better job of attracting and retaining qualified personnel, but it still needs to do a better job of complying with legal requirements.

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp, R-Mich., has released a discussion draft version of proposed legislation to transition the U.S. from a worldwide system of taxation to a territorial system, while lowering the top tax rate for both individuals and businesses to 25 percent.

Texas Governor Rick Perry introduced a plan for a flat tax of 20 percent in an effort to revive his candidacy for the Republican Presidential nomination.

A pilot project at the Internal Revenue Service to send out so-called “soft notices” to taxpayers whose tax returns appear to disagree with the information forms from their employers and banks could provide some benefits in terms of improved tax compliance.

The Taxpayer Advocacy Panel has released its annual report calling for changes at the Internal Revenue Service to provide better customer service and reduce the burden on taxpayers.

Tax 2.0, a new tax-focused online community, is set to make its official debut later this month.

The Internal Revenue Service is facing challenges keeping ahead of financial services companies that create sophisticated financial derivatives and offer them as a way to evade tax liabilities.

The Internal Revenue Service is gearing up to handle the complex tax provisions of the health care reform law and has made significant progress so far in planning for the law’s implementation, according to a new government report.

New information made public by the U.S. Federal Election Commission reveals that members of the accounting profession are opening their checkbooks early and often in an effort to help candidates in the 2012 Presidential elections.

An analysis of tax liens across the U.S. found that New York City, with some of the wealthiest neighborhoods in the nation, was the country’s leading area to be on the receiving end of federal tax liens.

Across the U.S., there were 97 increases in state sales and use taxes, 96 new taxes and nine decreases in the third quarter of the year, according to a new report.