Tax research

President Bush is considering a variety of options for an economic stimulus package to perk up the economy, reportedly including a possible tax rebate of $500 for individuals, along with business tax breaks to encourage equipment investments.

Amazon.com has come up with an unusual way to sell its tax prep packages this season, featuring characters from NBC's TV series "The Office" as examples of the kinds of taxpayers who might try out different packages.

The Internal Revenue Service said it is now possible to electronically file a tax return in which the Individual Taxpayer Identification Number and the Social Security Number don't match.

Anchin, Block & Anchin LLP has merged with H.J. Behrman, adding 26 accounting and tax professionals to Anchin's roster and building the firm's real estate practice.

Ernst & Young has been holding a conference in New York this week to attract ethnically diverse college students to the tax profession.

The Internal Revenue Service has established rules for substantiating lump-sum charitable contributions made through the Combined Federal Campaign or similar programs such as a United Way campaign.

The tax prep season is just upon us, and it has some very interesting wrinkles already. To begin with, Congress once again enacted legislation just before it left for the Holiday recess that directly impacted tax return preparation. Then there is the concern over severe implications of the tax preparer penalty changes.

KPMG plans to host a webcast on Section 904 regulations and their potential implications on the foreign tax credit positions of U.S. multinationals.

Tax practitioners who take the plunge into financial planning find that it's a natural step to go from preparing a tax return and answering a client's questions, to tax planning and full-scale financial services."Financial planning has been a nice blend of what I'm already doing for my clients," explained Matawan, N.J.-based CPA Salim Omar.

CCH INTROS TAX INCENTIVES FINDERCCH has debuted a Web-based tool designed to find local incentives that can reduce income, property, and sales and use taxes, as well as identify enterprise zones and non-tax financial incentives. The Business Incentives Navigator on the CCH Tax Research Network allows users to search for statewide and location-based incentives. Users select an industry, followed by an incentive category such as investment, job creation, or research and development. Then they can select one or more jurisdictions.

By now, the excitement of receiving college acceptance letters is likely to have been long ago replaced by the shock of the tuition bills that follow enrollment. Or the joy of a child's graduating from college - and no longer incurring tuition - is eclipsed by the obligation to repay student loans. As families scramble to get the largest grants and lowest interest rates available, they should not overlook the tax implications of the arrangements they make.The tax breaks fall into two categories: ones for paying the education costs themselves, and deductions for paying interest on loans used to pay the bills. Most of the tax provisions are restricted to those with incomes below specified amounts, and those amounts vary from one tax provision to another. This creates additional confusion for families attempting tax planning and increases their need for professional guidance.

Tax prep chains H&R Block and Jackson Hewitt said they are not concerned by the Internal Revenue Service's proposals to restrict the marketing of refund anticipation loans and require consent before tax preparers can share taxpayer information with third parties.

Glass Jacobson, a wealth management and CPA firm, has acquired Finkelstein & Geser, another firm also based in Owings Mills, Md.

FedEx said it is preparing to meet with an audit team from the Internal Revenue Service to discuss the IRS's tentative conclusion that FedEx should reclassify its delivery drivers as employees rather than independent contractors.

Tax Compliance Inc. has released version 4.0 of its Property Tax Management System with new features for processing tax bills, creating customized reports, linking to external files, and handling airline property.

The alternative minimum tax isn't the only tax that will continue to surprise taxpayers if Congress fails to act on its repeal. The estate tax, currently set to expire in 2010, will return with a vengeance to a full 55 percent in 2011 if Congress does nothing.The Joint Committee on Taxation estimated that in 2009 there will be 9,600 estates subject to the estate tax. While that number falls to zero in 2010, it will jump to nearly 62,000 in 2011, with increases every year thereafter.

Since this is our first column of the New Year, it may be particularly appropriate to look back into 2007 to try to predict some of what will happen in 2008. The history of important tax developments that took place in 2007 is rich and varied. Shakespeare's "What is past is prologue" was never so apt.In that spirit, we have selected 10 developments as standouts in terms of their impact on the future, and especially on 2008 tax strategies. We explain each of these top 10 below. And, of course, respecting the difficulty of prioritizing just 10 2007 tax developments as most significant, we conclude by listing several more as runners up!

Intuit said its Lacerte and ProSeries professional tax prep products would flag any returns that cannot be filed until mid-February because of the delayed patch for the alternative minimum tax.

President Bush is reportedly mulling an economic stimulus package that could include further tax cuts this year.

The Internal Revenue Service and the Treasury Department have released final regulations and a revenue procedure requiring tax preparers to obtain consent before they can distribute taxpayer information to third parties, along with a proposal to restrict the marketing of refund anticipation loans and similar products.