Tax practice

The IRS Oversight Board at its recent meeting raised concerns over the agency's plan to close some of its Taxpayer Assistance Centers this fall.

The Internal Revenue Service will co-sponsor a free Webcast next week focusing on collection issues, including partial-payment installment agreements and offers in compromise.

The Internal Revenue Service is reminding taxpayers that the agency isn't kidding around when it comes to frivolous cases aimed at delaying tax collections.

Interest rates for the third quarter will remain unchanged, the Internal Revenue Service said.

* Block, HSBC to Settle RAL Lawsuit: H&R Block and HSBC Taxpayer Financial Services Inc. reached a tentative agreement to settle a 1998 Chicago class-action lawsuit related to refund anticipation loans.

With the rising deficits and a series of tax reductions enacted in the first term of the Bush administration, many tax practitioners are starting to feel that the tax situation for their clients is never going to get much better than it is right now.

The Internal Revenue Service has been shifting its priorities from taxpayer service to enforcement and its management of the Business Systems Modernization program - an ongoing umbrella program of upgrades - from contractors to IRS staff.

As part of cost-cutting measures and a move toward online services, the Internal Revenue Service will no longer mail out its compilation of federal tax forms and instructions for tax professionals, known as Package X.

The National Society of Accountants has called on the Internal Revenue Service to grant Circular 230 practice privileges to public accountants in states that have practice rights similar to public accountants in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

Due to a decline in use and increasing costs, the Internal Revenue Service is discontinuing its TeleFile program.

The passage of H.R. 3, the Safe, Accountable, Flexible and Efficient Transportation Act of 2005, will effectively destroy the Internal Revenue Service's offer-in-compromise program, according to the American Association of Attorney-CPAs.

As part of cost-cutting measures, the Internal Revenue Service is forging ahead with plans to close some of its Taxpayer Assistance Centers, which provide walk-in service for taxpayers on tax law, tax return preparation and account inquiry resolution via face-to-face meetings with IRS employees.

The Internal Revenue Service is accepting applications for an annual grant program for matching funds to develop, expand or continue low income taxpayer clinics.

The Internal Revenue Service's Advisory Committee on Tax Exempt and Government Entities will hold a public meeting next month during which it will present its recommendations to the IRS Commissioner and senior leadership of the agency's tax exempt and government entities division.

While the Internal Revenue Service has made progress in improving taxpayer service, tax law enforcement and Business Systems Modernization areas, serious ongoing issues have kept the latter two areas on the Government Accountability Office's high-risk list, the watchdog agency said.

The Treasury Department and the IRS issued new rules related to Flexible Spending Arrangements -- which allow employees to pays for uncovered or unreimbursed medical costs with pre-tax funds -- in an effort to ease the year-end spending rush prompted by the current FSA deadline.

In response to requests from tax practitioners and professional organizations for clarification, the Internal Revenue Service and the Treasury Department issued revisions to the new Circular 230 standards -- rules related to written tax advice issued last December.

Tax and legal publisher BNA Inc. has appointed long-time executive Darren McKewen as group publisher of tax and accounting at Tax Management Inc.

Jackson Hewitt Tax Service said that its network of offices prepared 3.3 million tax returns for fiscal 2005, up 5.9 percent over last year.

TAX CUTS SAVED BUSH, CHENEY $110K: President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney saved a combined $110,182 in taxes last year under the income tax cuts passed by their administration, according to an analysis of the 2004 tax returns released by the White House.President and Mrs. Bush reported total income of $784,219 on their tax return and paid $207,307 in income tax - $28,846 (12 percent) less than they would have under the pre-Bush tax law, according to a report by Citizens for Tax Justice, a Washington-based research and advocacy organization.