Tax practice

INFLATION ADJUSTMENTS WIDEN TAX BRACKETSWashington, D.C. - The Internal Revenue Service said that personal exemptions and standard deductions would rise in 2009 to keep pace with inflation, providing more than three dozen tax benefits.

While the driving force behind the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 may have been the need to find an immediate solution to the current financial crisis, the new law added energy tax provisions at the eleventh hour that might be viewed - in retrospect, if not at the time of passage - as an integral part of a longer-term national solution. The energy title of the new law, the Energy Improvement and Extension Act of 2008, provides a host of tax incentives for alternative energy use and development, as well as for general energy conservation.Some sections of the energy title to the EESA are extensions of existing provisions, while others provide new opportunities. Together, they present a plan to strengthen the economy by minimizing foreign oil dependency. Viewed by its parts, the act adds to the matrix of ways that individuals and businesses alike can lower their net costs of energy consumption.

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., has selected the accounting firm Watkins, Meegan, Drury & Co. to do forensic accounting on his tax returns and congressional disclosure forms.

The Internal Revenue Service has not developed sufficient processes to ensure that more than 61 million tax refunds were directly deposited last tax season to the correct bank account, according to a new report from the Treasury's inspector general.The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration said that the IRS places responsibility for compliance with federal direct deposit regulations on the taxpayer, and indicated that it is the taxpayer's responsibility to ensure that their tax refunds are directly deposited only into their accounts. TIGTA and representatives from the Treasury's Financial Management Service, however, believe that the IRS is responsible for enforcing the requirement.

The Financial Accounting Foundation advised President Bush and other U.S. and world leaders attending the G-20 summit to safeguard fair value accounting and the independent standard-setting process in a strongly worded letter.

Financial Executives International has written to House and Senate Leaders urging lawmakers to consider relief for small and closely held business in the event of any future stimulus packages.

The Internal Revenue Service continues to have problems with its internal controls and financial management systems, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office.

Electronic tax filing for individuals and businesses set a record in 2008, according to the Internal Revenue Service.

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said the department's Troubled Asset Relief Program would begin to focus more on relieving tight consumer credit markets and shift away from the original plans to buy mortgage-backed securities.

The Justice Department and the Internal Revenue Service have accused a senior executive at UBS of helping U.S. taxpayers evade income taxes on approximately $20 billion in assets.

The next Congress and the Obama administration are expected to make major changes in both individual and business taxes, said a panel of Ernst & Young tax experts.

The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform held hearings on the role of hedge funds in the financial crisis and whether they should be more strictly regulated.

The Internal Revenue Service is doling out nearly $8 million in matching grants to groups around the country participating in its Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program.

CCH has introduced two online tax research products for solo practitioners and small to midsized CPA firms.

The Treasury Department’s financial rescue plan has quickly provoked controversy in the month since it was passed, not least because of an IRS rule change that could well violate the Tax Code.

President-elect Barack Obama is looking for a new chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission to replace departing chair Christopher Cox.

President-elect Barack Obama is expected to begin working on passing an economic stimulus package, possibly even before he takes office.

Tax-related ballot initiatives went down to defeat in several states, including one in Massachusetts that would have repealed the state income tax.

Alma J. Batson and her son Kelcee L. Batson, operators of a tax prep business in Riverside, Calif., have pleaded guilty to federal tax charges.

The results of Tuesday's election are increasing the balance of power on the Democratic side of the aisle in both the House and Senate.