Tax practice

Just in time for Jon and Kate Gosselin’s impending divorce, the IRS has released a very helpful form.

The IRS has posted a preview of the 1040 for 2009, along with the latest rules for electronically filing the returns.

Despite some decreases in 2008, the IRS’s overall level of compliance activities remains higher than in the years immediately after implementation of the IRS Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998.

Four Southern congressmen have written to the IRS asking for casualty loss deductions for homeowners whose property has been damaged by installations of defective Chinese drywall.

Liberty Tax Service, the third largest tax preparer in the U.S., has lost a lawsuit over deceptive ads that California Attorney General Jerry Brown claimed blurred the line between free tax refunds and expensive refund anticipation loans.

The U.S. and Swiss governments have concluded their negotiations over expanding the sharing of tax information to root out tax dodgers, and now plan to sign a protocol in the next few months.

The Senate Finance Committee held hearings to learn more about the tax implications of climate change legislation, including whether companies should be taxed for carbon emission allowances.

The IRS is not using collection tools, including tax liens, levies and property seizures, soon enough in many instances, according to a new report from a Treasury Department watchdog.

A new search engine developed by a California CPA tries to make it easier to find relevant documents on the IRS’s Web site.

A tax preparer has been arrested for stalking and threatening to harm an assistant district attorney in the Manhattan DA’s office.

A white paper released by the White House outlining the administration’s plan for financial regulatory reform recommends that accounting standard-setters make more progress in agreeing on a single set of accounting standards by the end of the year and iron out differences over fair value accounting.

IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner want Congress to pass legislation ending the tax on personal use of employer-provided cell phones.

A bipartisan group of members of the House and Senate have written to IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman asking him to temporarily suspend the penalties on small businesses found using some questionable tax shelters.

A new report from the Government Accountability Office blames misreporting of charitable donation deductions as a major factor behind the tax gap, but said that requiring more information reporting might not improve compliance.

BNA RESTRUCTURES

The first budget agreement of the new Congress reflects not only its ability to at least reach agreement on a budget framework, but also the priorities of that new Congress and the new administration for tax legislation for the current year. Very little in the tax portion of the budget agreement comes as a surprise, except perhaps for the period of time that some of the proposals cover.

Strategy highlights service, enforcement, voluntary compliance

The IRS is asking the public to weigh in on the question of how to track cell phone usage when employers provide the phones to employees.

Changes should be made in the layout and typeface of 1040 individual tax forms, including more use of boldface, colors and explanations, to help reduce taxpayer errors, recommends a new government report.

The IRS needs to do a better job of providing guidance on the real estate tax deduction so taxpayers can properly comply, recommends a new report from the Government Accountability Office.