Tax practice

The Internal Revenue Service has issued the 2011 optional standard mileage rates used to calculate the deductible costs of operating an automobile for business, charitable, medical or moving purposes.

The U.S. economy gained only about 39,000 jobs in November, far fewer than expected, sending the unemployment rate up two-tenths of a percentage point to 9.8 percent, and putting more pressure on Congress to pass an extension in federal unemployment benefits.

The former co-owner of a cement and masonry contracting business has been sentenced to two years in prison in a scheme to file false tax returns and illegally structure transactions.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., has introduced a package of tax cuts for middle-class families after the House passed tax cut legislation Thursday extending the Bush-era tax rates.

Preparers looking for a wish list of provisions for the lame duck session of Congress to pass have a number of items to consider.

The House voted Thursday to censure former House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., for violations of ethical rules.

irs, tigta, prisoners, taxes, fraud, tax refunds

House Democrats passed a tax cut package on Thursday aimed at extending the Bush-era tax cuts for taxpayers who earn below $250,000, but the prospects for passage in the Senate will depend on the deal worked out by a bipartisan group of four lawmakers and two Obama administration officials.

The Internal Revenue Service has begun sending more than 10,000 letters to tax return preparers nationwide to remind them of their obligation to prepare accurate tax returns, and during the 2011 filing season, IRS representatives will visit approximately 2,500 tax return preparers who received the letters to discuss their responsibilities and verify their compliance.

The Internal Revenue Service detailed how, starting Jan. 1, 2011, paid tax return preparers can comply with a new law that requires them to electronically file tax returns for individuals, trusts and estates.

The Senate has unanimously approved a clarification to the Federal Trade Commission’s oft-delayed Red Flags rule after lobbying by the American Institute of CPAs and a variety of state CPA societies.

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Sander Levin, D-Mich., introduced legislation Wednesday that would extend the Bush-era tax cuts only for those making less than $250,000 a year, and provide a two-year AMT patch.

Internal Revenue Service Commissioner Douglas Shulman has written to congressional leaders informing them that he has directed the IRS’s technology team to reprogram its computers with the assumption that the Alternative Minimum Tax will be patched by the end of the year.

One promising sign of President Obama’s meeting with congressional leaders Tuesday was that he didn’t emerge with his lip bleeding from a fresh elbow jab in the face.

The Senate failed Tuesday to pass legislation to continue eligibility for federal unemployment benefits for one year.

President Obama met with congressional leaders on Tuesday to discuss the fate of the Bush tax cuts, along with other tax extender items and the extension of unemployment benefits.

The Internal Revenue Service could unearth as much as $1.3 billion in unpaid taxes, penalties and interest by making better use of currency report data to identify taxpayers with potentially unreported income, according to a new government report.

The Senate voted Monday evening on a competing pair of amendments to repeal the expanded 1099 information reporting requirements that were included in the health care reform bill, but failed for the second time this fall to roll back the controversial requirements.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., introduced legislation Monday to continue for one year eligibility for federal unemployment insurance benefits for jobless workers.

The Internal Revenue Service has published revenue procedures setting forth the discount factors that property and casualty insurance companies can use for accidents and other types of claims this year.