Tax practice

A federal grand jury has indicted a California tax preparer for claiming he was an enrolled agent with the Internal Revenue Service.

Switzerland’s longstanding banking secrecy laws are about to become as holey as Swiss cheese after authorities caved in to pressure from international tax authorities.

Taxpayers who do not file their return and pay their tax by the due date may have to pay a penalty. Here are seven things you should know about failure-to-file and failure-to-pay penalties, according to the Internal Revenue Service. 1. The failure-to-file penalty is generally more than the failure-to-pay penalty. So if you cannot pay all the taxes you owe, you should still file your tax return and explore other payment options in the meantime.

Despite the current economic slowdown, the busy season is well underway as firms across the country are preparing the onslaught of returns that roll in during the weeks and months prior to April 15. The increased workloads during this period create the need for more workers to assist with the rush, and temporary employees are an effective resource during these times.In years past, firms have increased staff by up to 40 percent during tax season to supplement full-time staff. Temporary employees offer a number of advantages for big firms, and therefore are a commonly used resource during the busy season.

IRS SEES LESS E-FILINGKennesaw, Ga. - In early February, the Internal Revenue Service reported a nearly 10 percent drop in electronic tax filing from tax professionals, despite a push by the agency to encourage more e-filing.

2008 was a tough year for investors and 2009 so far is shaping up to be more of the same. Nevertheless, investors should not lose sight of the value of capital losses for tax purposes.Capital losses can help lessen the sting of the market's decline. Just as the government shares some of your gains by taxing them, it shares some of the losses by allowing certain deductions and carryovers. This article dusts off a handful of capital loss rules that are particularly relevant in today's economy - rules that may have been forgotten over recent years.

The tiny European countries of Liechtenstein and Andorra are two of the latest tax havens to succumb to pressure from international authorities to share information about assets hidden in bank accounts.

The Internal Revenue Service reported that taxpayers are electronically filing their federal tax returns in record numbers this year.

The Internal Revenue Service released its 2008 IRS Data Book showing big increases last year in tax filings and revenue.

Interactive data-tagging technology could assist government auditors in monitoring the spending done under the $700-billion-plus financial bailout plan.

The $410 billion spending bill approved Tuesday evening by the Senate to help fund the federal government for the rest of the year includes funding for some nine federal agencies, including the Internal Revenue Service.

A long-standing decision against building supplies retailer Menard, in which $20 million in compensation to its founder and CEO was ruled a dividend and therefore non-deductible, has been reversed by the Seventh Circuit Court.

The Internal Revenue Service has begun offering self-assistance options at some of its offices that give taxpayers limited access to computers and phones so they can reach the IRS’s Web site and toll-free phone lines without waiting in a long line, but those efforts can still be frustrating.

Financial Accounting Standards Board Chairman Robert Herz was pressed to make changes in mark-to-market accounting standards in as soon as three weeks during a contentious congressional hearing.

The adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards in the U.S. looks to be increasingly in doubt.

An Ohio CPA urges the National Taxpayer Advocate to lobby elected officials to do their own taxes.

There is an additional standard deduction for those who don’t qualify to itemize their tax deductions, but who do pay state or local real estate taxes, according to the Internal Revenue Service. This deduction is available for the 2008 and 2009 tax years.

In the wake of its decision not to renew contracts with two private debt collection agencies, the Internal Revenue Service now appears set to review other types of outside contracts.

The Internal Revenue Service has decided not to renew its contracts with two private debt collection agencies.

The Internal Revenue Service said that taxpayers are filing their taxes earlier and receiving larger refunds so far this year, citing early filing season statistics.