Tax practice

The U.S. and Swiss governments have requested a stay on the court hearings that were set to begin Monday on whether UBS could be forced to divulge the names and bank holdings of 52,000 U.S. taxpayers.

The Obama administration has proposed legislation to Congress that would establish consistent standards for anybody who provides investment advice.

A fourth former partner at BDO Seidman has pleaded guilty in a tax shelter case.

Many taxpayers spend time during the summer months polishing their résumé and attending career fairs.

Entrepreneurs urged lawmakers to extend the research and development tax credit at a House subcommittee hearing Thursday.

The Internal Revenue Service has shelved hundreds of balance-due accounts for taxpayers who owe more than $1 million.

The current economy has transformed valuation of property for tax purposes into an increasingly complex area and, at the same time, one that is increasingly critical for many taxpayers.

TAX REVENUES DIVE

The Swiss government said it is ready to confiscate UBS client information to prevent the bank from violating secrecy laws by handing documents over to the U.S. government.

Under pressure from Congress, the Internal Revenue Service has agreed to temporarily suspend until Sept. 30 its efforts to collect penalties for some listed tax shelter transactions.

A federal judge has permanently barred eight men — including two CPAs and five tax preparers — from promoting an alleged tax fraud scheme involving bogus income tax credits based on fictitious methane production at landfills.

The IRS recently issued a revenue procedure to help companies that don’t want to claim the 50 percent depreciation deduction on new property included in the stimulus bill.

Washington, D.C. — A new IRS revenue procedure offers reliance criteria for private foundations and sponsoring organizations that maintain donor-advised funds to use in determining whether a potential grantee qualifies as a public charity.

The IRS needs to create a plan to comprehensively evaluate the administration of civil tax penalties and their impact on voluntary compliance, recommended a new report from the Government Accountability Office.

H&R Block is stepping up its tax audit support services as the tax prep chain sees the IRS audit rate doubling.

In the classic 1935 Marx Brothers film, A Night at theOpera, Otis B. Driftwood is seen explaining the finer points of a contract inlegalese that the Italian, Fiorello, doesn't quite understand.

A federal grand jury has returned an 11-count indictment charging four Salt Lake City residents with conspiring to conceal profits stemming from their mergers and acquisition business from the IRS and under-reporting or not reporting income over a span of approximately seven years.

Eleven defendants have been charged in a massive scheme to file fraudulent tax returns using the stolen identities of Puerto Rican residents in an attempt to collect more than $18 million in tax refunds.

New Jersey Governor John Corzine must be breathing a sigh of relief now that his state has recovered over $625 million from a tax amnesty program.

Harriette Walters, the former tax office manager for the District of Columbia, was sentenced to 17 and a half years in prison for masterminding a tax scam estimated to have cost the district $48.1 million.