Tax research

Intuit appointed R. Neil Williams as its new chief financial officer, succeeding Kiran Patel, who in June became general manager and senior vice president of the company's consumer tax business.

Lawyers for actor Wesley Snipes have filed a motion requesting a change of venue in his tax evasion trial, claiming that the current location is "a hotbed of Klan activity."

The Internal Revenue Service's financial management systems and internal controls came under sharp criticism in a financial audit conducted by the Government Accountability Office.

The Bush administration threatened to veto the Temporary Tax Relief Act of 2007 in its present form, putting the patch for the alternative minimum tax in jeopardy as the deadline nears for fixing the AMT before it spreads to millions more taxpayers.

Copanion released GruntWorx, a Web-based application that captures and organizes tax return documents and data from clients.

Authorities have charged two employees of the District of Columbia's Office of Tax and Revenue with stealing more than $16 million in illegal property tax refunds.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board has decided to defer the effective date for FASB Interpretation No. 48, "Accounting for Uncertainty in Income Taxes," for nonpublic entities.

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, has sent letters to six media-based ministries asking for information about their expenses, executive compensation and the amenities lavished on their executives to see if they are violating their tax-exempt status.

The Internal Revenue Service said it received nearly 80 million electronically filed tax returns this year, breaking last year's record of 73.3 million.

The House of Representatives unanimously passed legislation that would give tax relief to the families of military personnel, as well as help volunteer firefighters and emergency medical responders.

The Internal Revenue Service said it would begin sharing the results of employment tax examinations with 29 different state labor agencies to cut down on avoidance schemes and fraudulent employment tax filings.

Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh's former attorney cannot write off the value of the papers he donated from the case to the University of Texas at Austin, according to a U.S. Tax Court decision last week.

During the month of November, a number of accountants will be getting a telephone call or an e-mail from clients all asking the same question. “What is the little-known tax break that makes investing In GPS-tracking technology more affordable than ever?” Be careful what you say if asked because that inquiring client already has the answer.

The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a case that could end state income tax breaks for municipal bonds.

H&R Block CFO William L. Trubeck has stepped down, the company announced.

Thomson Tax & Accounting released an online tax research service, QuickFinder Tax Manager, aimed at sole practitioners and small accounting firms.

The continuing business boom, rising client demand and the movement of tax professionals toward other accounting niches has generated varied responses to staffing needs, as firms turn to remote technology, outsourcing, part-time former employees and retirees and college students to fill the personnel void.Meanwhile, the overall demand for accountants has dried up the available supply of tax professionals, according to industry observers.

Jackson Hewitt Tax Service has ousted chair and chief executive Michael Lister after more than 125 of the company's franchises faced charges of fraudulent tax return preparation.Michael Yerington succeeded Lister as CEO, while Margaret Richardson was elected non-executive chair of the board. Yerington joined the company in 2006. Richardson, who joined the company's board in 2004, was a former commissioner at the Internal Revenue Service.

The Internal Revenue Service is sending out free copies of its CD-ROM, the Small Business Resource Guide, to help small business owners comply with federal tax laws, and it's ready to ship them in bulk.

A federal judge sentenced a man to a year and a day in jail for flying an airplane without a license and failing to file federal income tax returns four years in a row.