Tax research

Despite published reports, the Tampa Bay, Fla., prosecutor in charge of the tax evasion case against actor Wesley Snipes says that his office has struck no deal with the star of the “Blade” trilogy.

The Tax Policy Center has released a series of data tables taking a look at the effect of the major tax changes enacted since 2001.

Representatives from industry, government and the accounting profession called on Congress to reform the nation's business tax structure, warning that the current web of corporate tax incentives and penalties is pressuring companies to adopt inefficient practices.Tax Executives Institute International president David Bernard urged the Senate Finance Committee to abandon the current "patchwork of tax incentives and inducements" for businesses, and switch instead to a "simpler, more administrable code" that will promote sound tax policy. Rather than legislating business tax preferences in an effort to "pick winners and losers" in the marketplace, he recommended a broader tax base with lower rates for all businesses.

Harmonization of corporate taxation rates in the European Union took a small step forward with a ruling by the European Court of Justice in favor of Cadbury Schweppes, where the ECJ found against the British government's policy of applying its own higher national tax rates to a company's subsidiaries in another, lower-taxed, EU member nation.However, despite the positive implications of the ruling for the British confectionery and soft drinks company, observers said that any move towards a serious union of corporate tax policy in Europe still faces a long road.

Congress left town without passing a number of tax breaks that expired at the end of 2005, including the option to deduct state sales taxes in place of state income tax, a deduction for college tuition and fees, the deduction for school teachers, and a research and development credit.Although the breaks themselves are not controversial, and leaders of the Senate Finance Committee pushed for their enactment, the breaks became mired in political infighting when they were attached to "trifecta" legislation that would have included an increase in the minimum wage and a slash in estate tax rates.

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board will delay implementation for one part of a rule relating to professionals who provide both tax and audit services to companies.Adopted in July 2005, Rule 3523, “Tax Services for Persons in Financial Reporting Oversight Roles,” went into effect on Oct. 31. The rule prohibits auditors from providing tax services to certain members of management who serve in financial reporting oversight roles at an audit client.

The Internal Revenue Service today issued the 2007 optional standard mileage rates used to calculate the deductible costs of operating an automobile for business, charitable, medical or moving purposes.

U.S. tax directors report that they now have greater visibility before corporate leadership, but they also believe they are spending more time on work that is less valued by their organizations because of increasing legislative and regulatory demands, according to a survey of senior tax executives by KPMG LLP.

H&R Block Inc. said that it will provide better and more transparent notification to customers detailing all the costs tied to its refund anticipation loans.

It took some time and an issue as seemingly innocuous as Katrina tax relief for the Internal Revenue Service to get dragged into a public relations skirmish this election season.The trouble start a couple of weeks ago, when Commissioner Mark Everson made an announcement that the IRS will postpone collection activities against taxpayers in the hardest-hit areas struck by Hurricane Katrina until 2007. That’s essentially buys those taxpayers a couple more months -- through the holidays -- after a one-year filing extension expired Oct. 16.

In its latest attempt to become a player in the accounting software space, Microsoft had released a free stripped-down version of its software -- targeting small businesses that are late adopters and rely on pencil and paper or Excel for their bookkeeping needs.

A federal report says that the Internal Revenue Service needs to put a better system in place to evaluate the results of the private debt collection program it implemented this fall.The Government Accountability Office looked at a trio of issues, including whether the IRS addressed critical success factors before limited implementation, whether the IRS will assess lessons learned before fuller implementation, and finally, whether the IRS’s planned study will help determine if using private contractors is the best use of federal funds.

The Internal Revenue Service is pushing back the printing schedule for a number of its tax products, including several versions of the 1040 and 1099 forms.Earlier this month, the IRS warned the Senate Finance Committee tax staff that delays in enacting a number of expiring tax breaks could have an adverse impact on tax administration -- affecting outside contracts with vendors to get the forms and instructions printed, and possibly eventually having a negative impact on collections.

Nearing the November elections, Intuit Inc. has given $1 million to a California political action committee called the Alliance for California's Tomorrow.The group has already spent $66,000 supporting the campaign of Republican Tony Strickland for state controller, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Robert Wayne Hallock was convicted by a federal judge today of tax evasion for attempting to hide from the government over $1 million obtained by selling fraudulent certificates of deposit, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service jointly announced.According to the indictment, in February 1997, Hallock, formerly a partner at the law firm of Kirkland & Ellis LLP in Chicago, sold a fraudulent CD from which he received approximately $1.8 million dollars. In an attempt to hide that income from the government, Hallock funneled it through a Florida bank account in the name of Himmel & Grund, LLC and hired an associate to use the from that bank account to purchase hundreds of thousands of dollars in cashier’s checks that Hallock used to spend on personal expenditures.

In a press conference timed to coincide with the 20th anniversary of President Reagan’s signing the last major tax reform act into law, former Sen. Bill Bradley, D-N.J., and Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., issued a call for another tax reform push.Wyden has introduced his Fair Flat Tax Act in the Senate, which includes provisions to lower tax rates and broaden the overall tax base. The legislation would allow taxpayers to file their returns on a simplified, single-page 1040 form; collapse individual tax brackets from the current six down to just three; and set a single, flat corporate rate. The bill would also end the alternative minimum tax and contains a unique provision to provide a refundable 10-percent tax credit for every taxpayer’s state and local taxes -- a benefit for taxpayers who don’t itemize.

I always believed that New York had a deserved reputation of aggressively going after individuals regarding whether they have New York residency with regard to collection of its income and estate taxes.

Beginning in January, Link2Gov will be able to process credit card payments related to federal business tax Forms 941 and 940 for an expanded number of filing years -- 1997 through present balance due.

Let me preface my weekly missive with the admission that I’m a Wesley Snipes groupie.

Surfing champion Sunny Garcia was sentenced to three months in federal prison for failing to pay taxes on more than $417,000 in prize money.