Tax practice

With California unemployment hovering at 13 percent and the national unemployment rate still above 9.5 percent, long-term unemployment is clearly one of the biggest challenges for the U.S. economy.

The Senate Finance Committee held hearings last week to consider the effects of the soon-to-expire “Bush” tax cuts, and those problems could be magnified for tax practitioners and their clients.

The Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation division has stepped up its prosecutions of tax preparers in Southern California.

Goldman Sachs will pay a record penalty of $550 million and reform its business practices to settle SEC charges that the bank misled its investors in marketing a subprime mortgage product just as the U.S. housing market was starting to collapse.

Senators Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., has proposed extending the HIRE Act tax credit for employers who hire out-of-work employees.

The Senate passed a sweeping financial regulatory reform bill on Thursday by a 60-39 margin after three Republicans joined all but one Democrat in supporting the Wall Street overhaul.

The Tax & Accounting business of Thomson Reuters plans to introduce iPhone and iPad apps that will provide a front-end to the company’s Checkpoint Learning software.

The Internal Revenue Service's current method of sending notices and letters is costing taxpayers millions of dollars because it results in a large amount of undeliverable mail, according to a new government report.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid plans to hold a procedural vote on extending unemployment benefits next Tuesday and a vote on the financial reform bill this Thursday.

The Senate Finance Committee held a hearing Wednesday to discuss the soon-to-expire 2001 and 2003 tax cuts and how to extend any of them without increasing the budget deficit or hurting economic growth.

The Internal Revenue Service gave the following tips for job seekers on how they can deduct some of their job search expenses on their tax returns.

A group of Democratic senators has written to IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman expressing concerns about new requirements for expanded 1099 reporting.

Businesses will be able to claim up to $8.5 billion in tax exemptions and credits for 4.5 million recently hired employees under the HIRE Act, according to a new Treasury Department report.

The Internal Revenue Service has opened a special telephone line for taxpayers affected by the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

The IRS Oversight Board has improved its internal financial management, but more needs to be done, according to a new government report.

In her first report of the year, National Taxpayer Advocate Nina Olson cited the new Form 1099 reporting requirements among her objectives for focus during the fiscal year ahead.

A former IRS revenue officer has been sentenced to nearly three-and-a-half years in prison for filing false tax returns through the tax prep business he operated after leaving the IRS.

A group of small businesses has written an open letter to the leaders of the Senate Finance Committee requesting changes in the expanded 1099 reporting requirements in the health care reform law.

National Taxpayer Advocate Nina Olson expressed concerns in her latest report to Congress about the IRS’s reduced spending on taxpayer service, new 1099 information-reporting burdens, and the IRS’s “hard-core” collection practices.

Before departing on its holiday break, the Senate left a number of important issues unresolved, including the fate of the unemployment extension and tax extenders legislation, not to mention the financial reform bill.