Tax research

The Internal Revenue Service Oversight Board has sent a letter to the leaders of the Senate Finance Committee saying it is "gravely concerned about the serious risks to the 2008 filing season" if legislation to change the alternative minimum tax is delayed much longer.

The Internal Revenue Service has issued the optional standard mileage rates for calculating the deductible costs next year of operating an automobile for various purposes.

Presidential candidate Fred Thompson issued a tax plan that would give taxpayers the option of choosing a simplified flat tax.

CPA firm Habif, Arogeti & Wynne has acquired another Atlanta-based accounting firm, Miller Ray Houser & Stewart, in a multimillion-dollar deal.

WebCPA presents a free online session discussing various facets of philanthropy and its potential benefits for accountants.

It began in college, continued in law school, and still exists today, my fascination with court and disciplinary opinions that provide an inside view of something the involved parties would rather had never come to light. The most recent one is a PCAOB disciplinary order involving an accountant who worked for KPMG.

Tax planning is one of the few forward-thinking services that accountants can offer their clients. Given the fact that the accountant has most of the data and is the clients’ most trusted advisor, it makes sense for them to show clients how to save money on taxes in the year ahead.“They generally see the direct benefit of tax planning, and they don’t mind getting a bill for planning services,” said Rob Carmines, a partner at Newport News, Va.-based Carmines, Robbins & Co. PLC.

Avalara aims to make the process of calculating sales tax less taxing and more relaxing.The company is so serious about their message that they’ve adopted an island theme for their exhibition booth at technology trade shows, complete with tiki-hut-like decorations and margaritas.

Labeling it the “Mother of all Tax Reforms,” Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, has introduced a bill aimed at repealing the alternative minimum tax and cutting the top corporate tax rate while raising taxes in other areas, including on the salaries of hedge fund and private equity fund managers.The $1 trillion plan would reduce the top corporate rate from its current 35 percent to 30.5 percent.

While the word is that defined-benefit plans are no longer in favor, they can still provide a tax savings for the right client.“A lot of the press would lead you to believe that defined-benefit plans are on the way out,” said Karen Shapiro, chief executive of Dedicated DB, a San Mateo, Calif.-based provider of such plans. “But for some small-business owners, it’s a terrific tax strategy.”

In a special area on its Web site (in a Q&A on home foreclosure and debt cancellation), the Internal Revenue Service advised, “Insolvency can be fairly complex to determine and the assistance of a tax professional is recommended.”Also, in recognition of the important role that the “insolvency exception” plays in excluding a beleaguered homeowner’s forgiveness-of-indebtedness income, the site further advised, “Consider the tax consequences before foreclosure.” This article explores what planning can be done to maximize the use of the insolvency exception to reduce or eliminate forgiveness-of-indebtedness income for the individual caught in the current mortgage financing or similar credit squeeze.

CPA firm Braver said it is merging with Edward Giardina P.C., as Giardina joins Braver as a partner at the firm.

Immigration attorney Grisel Ybarra got back a canceled check from the Internal Revenue Service for the two cents the IRS had billed her as a late fee.

The head of the United Kingdom's tax authority, Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs, resigned after it was revealed that two discs with information on 25 million people from 7.25 million families was missing.

President Bush plans to nominate Douglas Shulman as Internal Revenue Service commissioner.

Unfortunately, since December 31 coincides with the tax-reporting period for 99 percent of U.S. individual taxpayers, the average taxpayer will only begin thinking about their 2007 taxes during the first quarter of 2008. Unfortunately, this delay is generally very costly, since almost every individual taxpayer reports taxable income on a cash basis, as opposed to an accrual basis.

President Bush is nominating Nathan J. Hochman, of California, to be Assistant Attorney General (Tax Division) at the Department of Justice.

David Greenberg, a former tax partner with KPMG, faced a superseding indictment that added six more charges of tax evasion to the charges he was already facing as part of the government's case against KPMG's marketing of questionable tax shelters for clients.

H&R Block Chairman and CEO Mark Ernst has stepped down two weeks after the company CFO resigned, as the company faces losses from its subprime mortgage operations.

New York State tax officials are crying foul over New York Yankees captain Derek Jeter's claim of Florida residence and are demanding that he pay back taxes that could amount to millions.