Tax research

Amazon.com has sued New York State over a new law that requires Internet businesses that receive referrals from other Web sites in the state to begin taxing purchases by New York customers.

2008 was to be the year that companies and their tax advisors worked to get their nonqualified deferred-compensation plans in order to comply with the new requirements under Code Section 409A and the regulations thereunder. Recent positions from the Internal Revenue Service are, however, expanding the focus of compensation concerns for 2008 beyond deferred compensation to include deductions for current performance-based compensation.BACKGROUND

Just because the idea of violating a patented tax strategy sounds ridiculous on its face doesn’t mean you won’t get sued for using it.Currently, some 65 tax patents have been issued, and 109 more are pending, according to Eileen Sherr, technical manager at the American Institute of CPAs’ Tax Division. “Many of these are common twists on everyday transactions,” observed Sherr, who attended a recent Internal Revenue Service hearing on the issue.

Taxpayer Advocate Nina E. Olson is putting new pressure on lawmakers to establish nationwide standards that would weed out bad-apple tax practitioners and serve to protect the more than 60 percent of taxpayers who rely on paid tax preparers.In bluntly worded testimony suggesting that she is losing patience with both Congress and her own agency, Olson called on the House Ways and Means Committee to move forward on proposals to rein in rogue tax preparers and protect American taxpayers from other forms of abuse.

The Internal Revenue Service is making progress on devising a strategy to narrow the tax gap, but significant challenges remain, according to a new report by the Treasury Department's inspector general.

Orrtax Software Solutions has renamed itself IntelliTax to reinforce its current software line.

The House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Select Revenue Measures held a hearing to discuss tax incentives for post-secondary education.

The Taxpayer Advocate Service needs to do a better job of processing requests from taxpayers for relief from Internal Revenue Service enforcement actions, said a new report from the Treasury Department's watchdog group.

The Internal Revenue Service said that economic stimulus payments directly deposited to individual retirement accounts and other tax-favored accounts may be withdrawn tax-free and penalty-free.

Comedian and Senate candidate Al Franken pointed the finger at his accountant for paying his taxes incorrectly and said he would make good on the mistake.

At least 485 cities across the U.S. increased their sales tax rates last year, according to a newly released study.

IRS Narrows Tax Gap

The American Institute of CPAs found a range of responses when it surveyed Americans on how they intend to use their tax rebates.

Pop singer Britney Spears' company has been slapped with a tax lien by the state of California for owing nearly $24,000 in back taxes.

Fed Cuts Rate to 2 Percent

The government won its second victory in the past month in a lease-in, lease-out tax shelter case, after the Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit agreed with a federal district court that BB&T Corp. is barred from obtaining a tax refund of approximately $4.5 million.

The Internal Revenue Service stepped up its compliance activities last year and saw its revenues jump, according to a new report.

Entertainment and sports accountant Mike Vaden and his Vaden Group have allied with regional accounting and business advisory firm Joseph Decosimo & Co. to form a business management practice aimed at the entertainment industry and high-net-worth individuals.

President Bush said the Treasury Department would begin distributing the first batch of tax rebates by direct deposit on Monday.

Wesley Snipes was sentenced to the maximum of three years in prison for failing to file his income taxes.