Tax research

The Treasury Department is upgrading its Electronic Federal Tax Payment System while phasing out some of its older systems.

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez called on the Senate to pass a permanent moratorium on taxes for Internet access and electronic commerce.

The Internal Revenue Service has issued regulations governing practice before the agency.

A church is demanding a correction and an apology from the Internal Revenue Service after the IRS closed a two-year examination of its tax-exempt status that had been prompted by a guest sermon delivered on the eve of the 2004 presidential election.

The Internal Revenue Service may start adjusting tax penalties for inflation to make sure the penalties retain their bite.

The Internal Revenue Service has been called on to develop federal licensing requirements for all paid tax return preparers - an approach that would involve potentially controversial competency rankings to help taxpayers to identify and select tax professionals based on their level of expertise.The proposal was recently placed on the table by the IRS's own Taxpayer Advocacy Panel as part of a laundry list of recommendations for improvements at the tax service.

Maximizing contributions to retirement savings plans is a priority with which few people would disagree. When money is needed for life's more immediate necessities or deemed necessities, however, retirement savings for that "distant future" may get squeezed out - at least temporarily.But even during those times when every dollar of salary may be called upon to satisfy an immediate need (or if salary itself is in short supply), tax-preferred retirement savings do not necessarily need to grind to a halt. Through gifts from one family member to another, or through moving regular savings into retirement savings, tax-preferred retirement savings opportunities need not be lost.

The Internal Revenue Service is not doing enough to control system administrator accounts on its computers, putting taxpayer information at risk, according to a new report.

New proposed Internal Revenue Service regulations to determine the value of a taxable estate may create a series of traps for unwary executors and tax preparers, according to the American Institute of CPAs.Moreover, the regulations lead to the situation where an estate must be held open for a number of years to determine the amount of the deduction for a contingent obligation.

Companies that send employees on extended international business trips and short-term international assignments face tax and immigration risks, according to a survey by KPMG's International Executive Services practice.

The Justice Department has sued a tax preparer from Charlotte, N.C., to prevent him from preparing federal tax returns for others, alleging that he abused the federal fuel tax credits.

The Internal Revenue Service is finally reaching out to former homeowners who have suffered foreclosure and now are being hit with taxes on any money they were forgiven on their mortgages.

Orrtax Software Solutions has appointed a new president, Matt Scheuing, to develop the tax prep company's corporate strategies.

The Treasury Department's watchdog group thinks it smells a rat when it comes to reports of Schedule C losses on tax returns, and it's urging changes in the Tax Code to establish "bright-line" rules for determining when an activity is a legitimate business.

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama, D.-Ill., outlined his tax proposals in a speech at the Tax Policy Center in Washington, highlighted by a proposal for a tax cut of between $80 billion and $85 billion, coupled with increases in the capital gains tax.

The American Institute of CPAs has sent comments to the Internal Revenue Service recommending changes in the redesigned form for tax-exempt nonprofit organizations.

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, ranking member of the Committee on Finance, along with two committee members, is urging the Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service to take action to ensure that families who lose their homes to foreclosure face more reasonable, accurate tax bills for their home loan debt forgiveness. "Working families who lose their homes are getting hit with huge tax bills," Grassley said. "Some of those bills are unfairly high and even inaccurate. The IRS needs to take steps to ensure the accuracy of the bill in the first place. Then the IRS should offer the taxpayer every opportunity to negotiate the size of the bill and a fair payment plan. The agency has plenty of authority to treat taxpayers reasonably in these situations. It needs to use that authority to serve taxpayers." Grassley and fellow GOP Finance Committee members Sens. Gordon Smith of Oregon and Pat Roberts of Kansas, wrote to the Treasury to urge these changes. "While the Congress considers the president's proposal for relief Americans shouldn't have to wait to get the relief that is needed right now," they wrote. "We strongly urge the Treasury Department to take immediate steps to encourage working families that face the difficulties that the President outlined in his (Aug. 31) speech to submit (and have the Internal Revenue Service accept) offers in compromise that will either eliminate or reduce the taxes that they owe due to cancelled mortgage debt on a primary residence."

Jamie Fowler, a Grant Thornton LLP tax partner, has been named the firm's new national managing partner for its National Tax Process Group. The group, which supports the more than 1,000 tax practice professionals in the firm, encompasses not only process improvements, but also internal tool development, deployment, training and support; external tool and third-party research selection, deployment, training and support; vendor and contract management; project management; and knowledge management. Fowler has over 22 years of experience leading major large-scale international and domestic restructuring projects for companies nationwide, bringing to bear international, federal, and state and local resources. Prior to joining Grant Thornton's Dallas office as tax practice leader in 2004, she was a federal tax partner at KPMG in Dallas.

The Justice Department has filed suit against a Detroit tax preparer to keep her from preparing federal tax returns for others, accusing her of cheating her clients.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., has proposed a series of measures intended to provide tax relief and disaster assistance to farmers and ranchers as part of a revamped farm bill.