Tax practice

The Internal Revenue Service said personal exemptions and standard deductions would rise in 2009 to keep pace with inflation, providing more than three dozen tax benefits.

Two of the Internal Revenue Service's newest modernized computer systems were deployed with known security vulnerabilities that could expose confidential taxpayer information, according to a new report from the Treasury Department's inspector general.

Former Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Arthur Levitt blamed recent SEC actions for contributing to the credit crisis and urged legislators to expand fair value accounting.

Presidential candidate Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and his rival Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., have proposed differing tax and retirement plan measures to deal with the economic downturn.

The Internal Revenue Service has explained how eligible homeowners who received federal reimbursement grants stemming from Hurricanes Katrina, Rita or Wilma can take advantage of a new tax provision.

The Tax Court has amended its rules of rules of practice and procedure for whistleblower actions, making it easier for informants to keep their identities confidential.

The Internal Revenue Service issued a last-chance warning that only a few days remain until the Oct. 15 deadline for retirees and disabled veterans to file an income tax return that will allow them to receive an economic stimulus payment this year.

A new audit by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration has found security weaknesses on each of the three computer systems it reviewed in the Office of Research, Analysis and Statistics.

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., has proposed a $150 billion Emergency Stabilization Fund to help small businesses, universities, students and municipalities cope with the credit crisis, with the money coming from the $700 billion financial bailout package.

The Internal Revenue Service issued a notice late last week that allows U.S. corporations to get more tax-free loans from their foreign subsidiaries.

Representatives of the McCain and Obama camps sparred politely at a Presidential Tax Forum sponsored by the New York State Society of CPAs.

The financial rescue plan approved by Congress last week included many extensions of expiring tax credits and deductions that helped it win passage in the House, but it also left out some tax issues that will surely be bones of contention for the next Congress.

The passage of the financial rescue plan by Congress last week depended in part on the insertion of a provision on reevaluating the fair value accounting standards, which could come back to bite the same lobbyists who urged its inclusion.

The Internal Revenue Service said that certain lean-burn technology vehicles now qualify for the alternative motor vehicle tax credit.

New data from the Internal Revenue Service suggests that American corporations controlled by foreigners are now responsible for a larger share of total U.S. corporate assets and earnings than ever before - despite a U.S. corporate tax rate that is among the highest in the world.The most recently released IRS Statistics of Income bulletin revealed that the total receipts of foreign-controlled domestic corporations in 2005 reached $3.5 trillion, which is $450 billion more than in 2004, twice the 1996 level and almost 90 times the level reported in 1971.

JUDGE DECLINES TO DISMISS JACKSON HEWITT SUITNew York - A federal judge has turned down Jackson Hewitt's request to have a class-action lawsuit dismissed against the company and some of its franchises.

The Internal Revenue Service has been working for a couple of years on revisions to Form 990 (Return of Organization Exempt From Tax), which has not had a major update in 30 years. With the recent release of revised draft instructions, the IRS is close to finalizing the process. The new Form 990 will generally be required for 2008 returns.Although issued as draft instructions, the IRS has indicated that the Form 990 instructions should be thought of as final instructions. They were hurried out to try to get the information in the hands of tax professionals and tax-exempt organizations as soon as possible to prepare for the new requirements. The final instructions are only expected to differ from these draft instructions if there has been a significant error or omission.

A Las Vegas man who worked as a real estate broker in Nevada since the late 1970s has pleaded guilty to felony tax evasion and impersonating an IRS agent.

The lead defendant in a nationwide $60 million tax fraud conspiracy was sentenced to more than 18 years in prison.

Nearly a third of the income tax returns prepared by volunteer preparers for an IRS program were incorrect, according to a report by the Treasury Department's inspector general.