Tax practice

Retailers and other businesses that sell prepaid phone cards for long-distance service can usually qualify for the telephone tax refund, according to the Internal Revenue Service.

In an effort to assist taxpayers who pay their taxes owed with a credit card, H&R Block Inc. has teamed with payment processing company Link2Gov to lower the convenience fee to 1.99 percent, from 2.49 percent.

Everyone has a story of the email they accidentally sent to the wrong recipient, or the computer that crashed and lost an entire day’s worth of work.The disaster recovery industry has proven to be a lucrative one in the age of information, and recent snafus at the Alaska Department of Revenue and the Canada Revenue Agency only serve to underscore that problems can happen -- and illustrate the different ways in which an organization can be prepared for the worst-case scenario.

Although I have been in professional publishing and writing for tax practitioners for over 30 years, a good Internal Revenue Service letter ruling or a Tax Court decision still excites me. This is especially true when they are taxpayer victories that tax practitioners can use to benefit clients that are similarly situated.

Citing pressures created by the nation's current and projected budget deficit, a growing long-term fiscal imbalance and a heavier workload that may impair its ability to serve its mission to Congress, the Government Accountability Office has requested a 2008 budget of $530 million – an 8.5 percent rise over the previous year’s funding levels.

Backed by a 20-year resume in claims experience, Redwood City, Calif.-based Camico Mutual Insurance Co. has identified the areas and sources of frequent tax claims lodged against CPAs.With tax season in full swing, here are some of the fruits of the company's experience with practitioner claims - and things to watch for as you wade through all those 1040s.

IRS HELPS CITIZENS ABROADWASHINGTON - The Internal Revenue Service and the U.S. Treasury have released guidance on the estimated tax penalty for citizens or residents of the United States living and working abroad.

While an administration and Congress may differ on the tax proposals that they want to see passed, especially when each is controlled by a different political party, there often are some areas of agreement. In addition, certain provisions may become acceptable as tradeoffs. Still others make it into law due to issues that may spark widespread public attention.President Bush's tax proposals within his fiscal year 2008 budget - contained in the Treasury's general explanation of the administration's FY 2008 revenue proposals (a.k.a. the "Blue Book") - have something to fit each category.

The Internal Revenue Service needs to do a better job of reviewing the non-cash charitable contributions deductions taxpayers are claiming.

The Internal Revenue Service has posted the 2006 Data Book on its Web site.

With many of its players accruing lengthy rap sheets, charged with felonies ranging from illegal firearms possession to sexual assault, it would be safe to say the National Football League has been battling something of an image problem of late.

The measures to close the tax gap offered by President Bush in his 2008 budget are somewhat modest, according to observers.The president's $2.9 trillion budget contains a number of legislative proposals to close the gap in four areas: by expanding information reporting, improving compliance by businesses, strengthening tax administration and expanding penalties.

The Internal Revenue Service announced that through March 13, more than 2.6 million taxpayers have electronically filed their returns using the agency’s Free File program. TThough that’s about 4 percent drop from the number of returns filed during the same time last year.

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said that U.S. rulemakers should consider adopting "principles-based" regulations and accounting standards in a speech at the Capital Markets Competitiveness Conference.Paulson said that in particular, there should be a focus on three issues in the United States -- the country’s regulatory structure, its accounting industry and its legal and corporate governance environment.

A Goldman Sachs investment banker, who earned $115,000 in 2002, will not be able to take all of the $55,000 charitable contribution deduction she took for that tax year -- $49,000 of which she took for donations of used clothing to a thrift store.

In an early spurt of spring cleaning, I came across an ancient, yellowed clipping from the New York Post. Although there was no date on it, it is clearly from 1986, the year the Bears won the Super Bowl and Ronald Reagan got his tax reform. It tells the story of then-Treasury Secretary James Baker, who in his enthusiasm for both rap music and a simpler tax code, broke out into rhyming couplets during a rally to tout tax reform. His poetic achievement was based loosely on the Chicago Bears’ “Super Bowl Shuffle,” which members of the team recorded en route to their victory in Super Bowl XX, and which reached No. 41 on the Billboard charts before actually landing a Grammy nomination.

The American Institute of CPAs has asked Congress to restrict the issuance of patents for tax strategies.

An Internal Revenue Service pilot project is asking the very tax lawyers and accountants who create shelters and take advantage of tax code loopholes to assist in drafting new tax rules, according to published reports.According to a recent New York Times article, its becoming increasingly common for the federal government to ask outsiders to do more of the work in drafting such rules -- a practice that critics say could create a conflict of interest if those outsiders have their own clients’ interests to consider.

Halfway through the filing season, the Internal Revenue Service said that 35.6 million taxpayers had chosen to have their refunds -- totaling more than $100 billion -- deposited directly into a savings or checking account this year.

The Internal Revenue Service announced that its revised taxpayer application for an offer in compromise, Form 656, is now available.