Tax practice

The Taxpayer Advocacy Panel has issued a report calling on the Internal Revenue Service to improve its services and customer satisfaction as well as reduce the burden on taxpayers.

Congress hopes to partially remedy the tax gap by making tax preparers more responsible for the positions their clients take on returns.Because paid preparers prepare over 62 percent of all individual income tax returns, they are a critical quality control for tax administration by helping to prevent noncompliance, according to an April report released by the Government Accountability Office.

IRS SIMPLIFIES E-SIGNATURESWASHINGTON, D.C. - The Internal Revenue Service said that it plans to simplify the signature process for electronically filed individual tax returns by allowing tax practitioners to avoid the need to send a paper signature document in support of their clients' e-filed returns.

The United States Tax Court has ruled on a case involving a taxpayer, David Billings, who asked to be relieved from liability for the tax owed on money his wife embezzled from his employer without his knowledge, and has decided in his favor.

This coming January officially marks the three-year countdown before the axe falls on the lower individual capital gains rates now in place.Since May 6, 2003, thanks to the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003, gain from the sale of most long-term capital assets is subject to a maximum tax rate of 15 percent (5 percent for individuals in the 10 percent or 15 percent tax bracket). Starting in 2011, however, these rates are scheduled to revert to their former pre-May 6, 2003, levels of 20 percent and 10 percent, respectively. Nevertheless, before the party ends, a 0 percent rate will replace the 5 percent rate for tax years beginning after Dec. 31, 2007.

The Internal Revenue Service received a double barrel of criticism from Treasury Department watchdogs for not validating the amount of savings it claimed it would generate from various taxpayer service projects, and for laxness in security.

Potential Republican presidential candidate Fred Thompson has written a letter indicating that he would be willing to support an overhaul of the Tax Code called the FairTax, which could replace the income tax system and all payroll taxes with a non-regressive national retail tax.

The Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service have issued notices warning about two kinds of transactions that could arouse their interest: "toggling" grantor trusts and contributions of a successor member interest in a limited liability company.

At least 61 percent of sole proprietor companies are underreporting their net business income, but a small proportion of them account for the bulk of understated taxes, according to a report by the Government Accountability Office.

The Internal Revenue Service and the Treasury Department's Office of Tax Policy have released a "priority guidance plan" for 2007-2008, outlining the 303 projects they plan to complete through June 2008.

A federal court has permanently barred a Queensbury, N.Y., man, Robert L. Schulz, and his organizations, We the People Congress and We the People Foundation, from promoting a tax scheme that encouraged businesses to stop withholding taxes from their employees' wages.

President Bush said he is mulling the possibility of simplifying the corporate tax system, as long as the changes don't affect the amount of taxes the government collects.

The Internal Revenue Service wants teachers to know that a recent tax law change won't affect the way their tax is paid in the upcoming school year.

One of the more intriguing ideas in the energy bill that the House passed over the weekend was that of doing a "carbon audit" of the U.S. Tax Code. Exactly how Congress proposes to conduct such an audit is another matter.

Longstanding weaknesses in the financial systems of government agencies pose a "formidable challenge," according to a report released by the Government Accountability Office.

The Internal Revenue Service said that owners of thousands of Ford, Toyota and Lexus hybrid vehicles can continue to claim the Alternative Motor Vehicle Credit, but the phase-out period for claiming the credit has already begun for Toyota and Lexus owners because of strong sales of the company's hybrids.

Sixty percent of Internal Revenue Service employees were duped into giving control of their passwords to unauthorized callers, according to an inspection report that found lingering problems with computer security years after they were supposed to have been corrected.

The Internal Revenue Service has released drafts of the updated income tax forms for corporations and partnerships, and is asking for comments before it finalizes the changes for tax year 2008 and beyond.

PRIVATE COLLECTION PROGRAM SURVIVES HOUSE VOTEBy a margin of 240-179, House lawmakers approved funding for the Internal Revenue

It is always difficult to get the Supreme Court to review a case, but this seems especially true for tax cases. The recent court term just ended proved to be no exception. Of several cases practitioners were hoping that the court would accept, only one received a grant of certiorari in the closing days of the term.It is the decisions for which the court grants certiorari where the fight, and the hope, goes on. It is, however, in the cases with respect to which certiorari is denied where taxpayers must finally face the facts or explore other remedies.