Tax practice

A group of seven accounting and business organizations are protesting a proposed amendment to the financial regulatory reform legislation from Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, that would legislate some accounting standards for financial reporting.

Although the overall effects of the Obama administration's health care reforms may not be known for years, they promise to significantly affect CPAs and their clients.

2010

The recently enacted Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, as amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, relies heavily on new tax provisions in the Internal Revenue Code to implement many of the goals of health care reform. The effective dates for many of these tax provisions are delayed - some do not take effect until 2013, 2014 or even 2018.

SERVICE PROPOSES REGS ON PREPARER ID NUMBERS

The Internal Revenue Service has opened examinations of over 30 colleges and universities as part of an ongoing investigation into the business activities of tax-exempt academic institutions.

The majority of CFOs see state taxes increasing for their companies and believe that state and local tax compliance has become more demanding than federal tax compliance, according to a new survey by Grant Thornton.

Sales and use taxes are key issues for many states that have been hit with dwindling revenue due to the economic downturn. And there’s a case now on appeal in a New York court that is being closely watched by other states suffering a loss of tax revenue from Internet sales.

The American Institute of CPAs told Internal Revenue Service officials that it supports the IRS’s plan for mandatory preparer tax identification numbers and stricter ethics requirements, but it objects to the education and testing elements of the IRS’s tax preparer regulation proposals.

The Internal Revenue Service is accepting applications for new members of the Internal Revenue Service Advisory Council, which provides a forum for IRS officials to discuss key areas of tax administration with a broad range of tax and other relevant professionals.

Two weeks after Goldman Sachs was charged by theSecurities and Exchange Commission for fraud, federal prosecutors have begun aninvestigation into the banking giant according to sources.

In comments submitted to the Internal Revenue Service,the National Society of Accountants supported the agency's proposed taxpreparer registration requirements, but suggested broadening them to includeeven more preparers.

The economic realities of budget shortfalls faced bygovernments worldwide will accelerate a shift toward indirect taxes such asvalue-added taxes and present new risks, challenges and opportunities for U.S.businesses operating globally, predicts a new report from KPMG LLP.

JPMorgan Chase has begun sending out notices to approximately 13,000 independent tax preparers that it is exiting the refund anticipation loan business.

The initial meeting of the White House deficit commission kicked off as a bipartisan panel considered ways to curb the growing federal budget deficit and the national debt.

The IRS’s Criminal Investigation Division needs to improve the way it manages the criminal tax investigations it refers to the Justice Department for prosecution, according to a new government report.

The Internal Revenue Service has provided guidance on how tax-free health insurance coverage should now be provided for employees’ children who are under 27 years of age under the recently passed health care reform law.

A former UBS client who claimed he hid his money in a Swiss bank account because of his parents’ experiences fleeing the Nazis was sentenced to 10 months in prison.

An Arkansas tax attorney and an Oklahoma businessman he represented have each been sentenced to 15 years in prison for their involvement in a tax fraud scheme.

The Internal Revenue Service is helping spread the word that the COBRA subsidy eligibility period has been extended to May 31.