Tax research

The Internal Revenue Service reported that its e-file program set another record this tax season, with more than 86 million individual tax returns filed so far this year, a 12 percent increase over last year at this time.

A new initiative aims to create more diversity among corporate tax professionals.

Cindy McCain, wife of presidential hopeful Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., has released the opening two pages of her 1040 return for 2006 after coming under pressure for refusing to provide details of the sources of her income.

The National Conference of CPA Practitioners held a quarterly meeting in Washington to meet with various senators and representatives as well as the Internal Revenue Service, and talk about tax policy.

The Internal Revenue Service's Spring 2008 Statistics of Income Bulletin is a bit of misnomer as it mainly covers income stats for 2006 and 2005, but the report does provide some interesting insights into income patterns and sources in recent years.

Under new regulations, taxpayers must consent to the disclosure or use of their tax information by return preparers. Stiff penalties can be imposed on the preparer who makes unauthorized disclosures.

The Senate has approved a bill offering more than $1.2 billion in tax relief to veterans and military families.

The Senate voted 82-13 to override President Bush's veto of the Farm Bill, which includes nearly $2 billion in tax relief.

Under new regulations, taxpayers must consent to the disclosure or use of their tax information by return preparers. Stiff penalties can be imposed on the preparer who makes unauthorized disclosures.

Actor Wesley Snipes will remain free on bond pending appeal of his conviction.

The Treasury Department said it plans to start sending out more tax rebate checks as soon as it finishes mailing checks for regular tax refunds.

Under new regulations, taxpayers must consent to the disclosure or use of their tax information by return preparers. Stiff penalties can be imposed on the preparer who makes unauthorized disclosures.

Presidential hopeful Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., has written to Internal Revenue Service Commissioner Douglas Shulman asking him to fix problems her constituents have reported with receiving the wrong amount on their tax rebates.

Investigators from the Treasury Department's watchdog agency, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, plan to discuss the impact of phishing schemes on tax professionals at a series of two-day IRS Tax Forums around the country.

A federal jury has convicted six defendants in a $60 million nationwide tax fraud conspiracy.

The House of Representatives has passed a bill containing a set of tax deductions and extensions, renewable energy incentives, and a provision equalizing the penalty standards for tax preparers and taxpayers.

The Internal Revenue Service said that it would mail out approximately 350,000 additional economic stimulus payments starting in early July, after discovering that some tax returns did not capture the information needed to generate the $300-per-child payments.

In a 7-2 vote, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled to uphold the tax exemptions that states and localities afford to their in-state municipal bonds.

The Internal Revenue Service is facing a troublesome manpower drain, as a whopping average of 16 percent of its total workforce is now leaving the agency each year.The soaring employee turnover rate has raised eyebrows and concerns among members of the IRS Oversight Board, which warned that the tax service is losing a distressingly large number of talented workers who “possess skills and institutional knowledge that are extremely difficult to replace.”

Despite the availability of free searches and materials over the Internet, proprietary online tax research platforms continue to grow.“We [do] use free services such as the IRS Web site and the various state Web sites, and they’re very helpful,” explained Jake M. Bodenheimer, manager in the tax department at Atlanta-based HLB Gross Collins. “And occasionally, I’ll Google something. But you have to have access to the services. If you depend solely on the free sites, you’ll miss something. There’s always something different. You pick up something from one service that you don’t get on the other, and merge the information. We have a complicated society with complicated laws.”