Tax practice

CONGRESS KILLS MINIMUM DISTRIBUTIONS FOR 2009Washington, D.C - Congress has passed a waiver of the minimum distribution rule for 2009, but not for 2008, for employer-provided qualified retirement plans and individual retirement accounts and annuities in H.R. 7327, the Worker, Retiree and Employer Recovery Act of 2008. The Treasury Department is studying whether to provide relief with regard to 2008 minimum distributions.

On Dec. 16, 2008, the Internal Revenue Service released the long-awaited final tax return preparer regulations. Although they had been expected to be issued in November, they were further delayed by the changes to Code Sec. 6694 included in the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008. In addition to the final regulations, the agency also promulgated Notice 2009-5, providing some interim guidance for the 2008 tax filing season, and Revenue Procedure 2009-11, updating the list of IRS forms that are subject to the preparer penalties.The final regulations do not differ significantly from the proposed regulations, but make several changes in response to comments received. The interim guidance responds to the statutory changes made by the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act and can be relied on by tax return preparers until final guidance is issued. Tax return preparers will want to make sure that they are familiar with these new requirements to avoid penalties as the 2008 tax return season gets underway.

The Senate has approved Mary Schapiro by a unanimous vote as the next Securities and Exchange Commission chairman.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has sent a letter to Congress signed by 27 U.S. companies asking for a two-year easing of taxes on debt purchases to be included in economic stimulus legislation.

The Senate Finance Committee has approved Timothy Geithner as the next Treasury secretary despite concerns over his taxes.

Treasury Secretary-designate Timothy Geithner apologized for his tax mistakes and promised reforms of both tax policy and the controversial Troubled Assets Relief Program during a confirmation hearing.

Taxpayers in Delaware, Illinois, New York and Rhode Island who file paper returns will be sending them to different Internal Revenue Service centers this year.

The House has approved legislation to close loopholes and provide more transparency in the controversial Troubled Assets Relief Program.

The inspiring inauguration of President Barack Obama marked a historic moment and is sure to signal some broad tax policy changes in his administration.

S corporations are the nation's most common corporate tax designations.

Current tax law allows corporations to obtain a Quick Refund from the IRS when they overpay estimated tax during the year.

Eighty-three of the 100 largest publicly traded U.S. corporations in terms of 2007 revenue reported having subsidiaries in jurisdictions listed as tax havens or financial privacy jurisdictions, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office.

A federal court has ordered a Louisiana CPA to stop claiming improper tax deductions for the business expenses of his mariner clients.

The Internal Revenue Service has issued interim guidance on the ability of a tax return preparer to use statistical compilations of anonymous tax return information to support their business.

The Internal Revenue Service implemented a new electronic filing system knowing it contained security vulnerabilities that could put taxpayer information at risk.

A man who operated several tax preparation businesses has been sentenced to 11 years in federal prison after he was convicted of defrauding clients and the Internal Revenue Service.

S corporations are the nation's most common corporate tax designations.

Mary Schapiro, President-elect Barack Obama's choice as chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, signaled that she could delay the planned transition to International Financial Reporting Standards.

The Internal Revenue Service plans to open its electronic filing season on Friday, Jan. 16, and debut a new service that allows taxpayers to simply fill out forms on-screen and file their taxes for free.

Raoul Weil, the former head of Swiss bank UBS's cross-border private banking operations, was declared a fugitive by a Fort Lauderdale judge as U.S. prosecutors upped the ante in their battle against Swiss bank accounts used to shelter assets from taxation.