Tax practice

President Obama urged Republicans in Congress to agree on a compromise on the soon-to-expire tax cuts, even as the prospects for an agreement remained uncertain.

Understandably buried beneath the news of last Tuesday'sRepublican onslaught in the House and to a lesser degree the Senate came thelatest earnings release from mortgage concern Freddie Mac.

The Justice Department has asked a federal court in Chicago to permanently bar tax lawyer John E. Rogers, a former partner at the law firm Seyfarth Shaw LLP, from promoting tax shelters.

Whether you’re happy, sad or indifferent with the election results on Tuesday, elections do have consequences and will affect all of us. Especially tax preparers.

Six Texas-based CPAs won elections on Tuesday for seats ranging from the U.S. House of Representatives to the Texas Railroad Commission, while other CPAs around the country both won and lost.

President Obama, chastened by Democratic losses in the midterm elections, said Wednesday he would work with Republican leaders in Congress on the Bush tax cuts and other issues after a “shellacking” in the midterm elections.

California voters rejected ballot measures that would legalize and tax marijuana sales, while Washington State voters defeated a proposal to impose a tax on upper-income taxpayers, and Massachusetts voters said no to a ballot question that would have lowered state sales taxes.

Republicans will gain greater leverage in Congress now that they have won control of the House and captured more seats in the Senate, giving them more influence over tax policy and financial regulation.

The balance of power shifted in Washington as Republicans captured enough seats in the midterm elections to win a majority in the House, but Democrats managed to hang on to a more evenly divided Senate.

The Internal Revenue Service was inconsistent in how it processed foreclosure cases and coordinated with local United States Attorneys’ Offices, and needs to improve its procedures, according to a new government report.

The Internal Revenue Service will be taking additional steps to check on whether sole proprietors are hiding sources of income during field audits.

As one of the unfortunate household casualties of the current contract imbroglio between East Coast cable and professional sports titan Cablevision and FOX Network, I've resigned myself to the inevitable fact that I'll not only miss all my beloved Giants' games for the foreseeable future, but the World Series and "House" as well.

President Barack Obama reiterated his proposals for cuts in business and individual taxes and called on Republicans and Democrats to work together after the elections.

President Barack Obama visited a Maryland factory Friday and promoted his proposal for allowing businesses to deduct the entire cost of their purchases of new equipment through the end of next year.

The Internal Revenue Service has decided that breast pumps and other breast feeding supplies cannot be paid for with money from mothers’ tax-exempt flexible spending accounts and health reimbursement accounts.

The Internal Revenue Service has posted information on how tax-exempt organizations can claim the Small Business Health Care Tax Credit.

The Internal Revenue Service has released additional information on how medical residents may be eligible for a refund on the employment taxes withheld from their paychecks by teaching hospitals.

“The First-Time Homebuyer Credit will jump up and bite you in the shorts at least six times this next tax season,” Doug Van Der Aa told attendees at the Thomson Reuters Users Conference.

Reports have surfaced that the federal debt commission (officially known as the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform) is considering the heretofore unimaginable elimination of popular tax breaks, including deductions on mortgage interest, as part of its report due on December 1.

The Internal Revenue Service faced challenges last tax season verifying taxpayers’ eligibility for some of the newer stimulus-related tax credits, allowing 125,762 individuals to receive nearly $111.4 million in erroneous Recovery Act-related tax benefits, according to a new government report.