Tax research

The American Institute of CPAs' Tax Division presented Alan Einhorn with its 2007-2008 Distinguished Service Award at its spring meeting.

The Government Accountability Office conducted an undercover investigation of tax preparers earlier this year to learn what they disclose to clients about the fees they charge for refund anticipation loans.

Richard Hatch, the first-season winner of the reality TV series "Survivor," has appealed his conviction on tax evasion charges to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The Senate Finance Committee held hearings on small business tax issues as part of a series of hearings on tax reform.

A report from Ernst & Young describes the potential adverse impact on the U.S. economy if the research and development tax credit is not renewed.

The U.S. Tax Court has proposed amending its rules and procedures for whistleblower award actions.

Buying goods over the Internet without paying sales tax is becoming a thing of the past.

Prosecutors who convicted actor Wesley Snipes on charges of failing to file his tax return for three years have filed a cross-appeal demanding that he pay $257,687.74 for the cost of prosecuting him.

An Internal Revenue Service tax examiner was arrested and charged with improperly accessing the tax records of celebrities and sports figures.

Despite a provision enacted by Congress prohibiting the Internal Revenue Service from labeling taxpayers as "illegal tax protesters" or similar designations, the IRS is still using the term, according to a new report.

Payroll processor ADP has launched an online portal aimed at accountants who service small businesses, giving them free access to some information from BNA and CCH.

Despite the constitutional, judicial and legislative pronouncements affecting nexus, states vary widely on what level of activity renders a business liable to pay state tax.“There are plenty of gray areas, and on some issues a state will say it depends on the facts and circumstances,” said George Farrah, executive editor of state tax and accounting for BNA.

IRS ENFORCEMENT PAID OFF LAST YEARWashington, D.C. — The Internal Revenue Service stepped up its compliance activities last year and saw its revenues jump, according to a new report.

The huge farm bill working its way through the final stages of the House/Senate Conference Committee appears to have preserved at least a few tax provisions. In March, the conference committee had stripped out the tax provisions that had originated with the Senate Finance Committee. However, when it came time to count votes, negotiators decided that some of the tax provisions had to stay in.The farm bill can be looked at as a net tax increase, with the somewhat unusual feature for legislation in recent years of providing for more revenue-raising offsets than tax incentives. The negotiators have agreed on $1.4 billion in tax incentives and $10 billion in offsets. The figure of $1.4 billion is a significant reduction from the $2.4 billion in tax incentives originally proposed by the Senate Finance Committee.

The Internal Revenue Service said that economic stimulus payments directly deposited to individual retirement accounts and other tax-favored accounts may be withdrawn tax- and penalty-free.The relief is designed to help taxpayers who may have been unaware that by choosing direct deposit for their entire regular tax refund, they were also choosing to have their stimulus payment directly deposited as well. The tax relief is available for amounts withdrawn from tax-favored accounts that are less than or equal to a taxpayer’s directly deposited stimulus payment.

While late-year legislative changes again delayed filing for some taxpayers, the season proceeded relatively smoothly, according to veteran practitioners.“It was one of the smoothest ones I’ve had, and my colleagues say the same. In part it’s because the software is getting better,” said Holliston, Mass.-based preparer Larry Novick. “I did notice that a lot fewer of my clients claimed non-cash contributions, and the amount of collection plate contributions decreased substantially. Most of them had heard of the stricter substantiation rules.”

The number of tax evasion prosecutions fell 5.3 percent last year, continuing a steady decline for at least two decades, according to a new study.

The American Institute of CPAs has sent the Internal Revenue Service a spreadsheet-full of comments on the draft instructions for the revised Form 990 that will be used by tax-exempt organizations to file their returns next year.

The Internal Revenue Service won another tax shelter case, this one involving a sale-in/lease-out transaction.

The brother of the former manager of the Washington, D.C., tax office has pleaded guilty in a wide-ranging tax scandal.