Tax research

Senate Finance Committee leaders Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Max Baucus, D-Mont., will introduce legislation early next week to crack down on life insurance contract abuses that inappropriately afford benefits to private investors that would not otherwise be available without the involvement of a charity.

In light of recent changes to the rules that guide practitoner conduct, the Internal Revenue Service will host a Webcast next week focusing on the agency's Office of Professional Responsibility and Circular 230.

The Internal Revenue Service is hosting a number of seminars for tax practitioners on the latest information on the agency's policies and programs.

The Internal Revenue Service is requesting membership nominations for the Information Reporting Program Advisory Committee, a body that provides recommendations to IRS leaders on information reporting and administration issues.

The Internal Revenue Service has selected seven new members for the Advisory Committee on Tax Exempt and Government Entities, a formal body of external stakeholders in the specialized areas of tax-exempt organizations, employee retirement plans, tax-exempt bonds, and federal, state, local and Indian tribal governments.

Not surprisingly, the National Taxpayer's Union sees nothing but downside to the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement.

The Internal Revenue Service's tough stance on settling the "Son of Boss" tax shelters matches the call by the IRS Oversight Board for increased compliance funding, as well as the tax gap findings of the National Research Program. Together, they signal a sea change from the kinder, gentler, post-1998 hearings IRS.

Washington - The Winter 2004-2005 Statistics of Income Bulletin, a quarterly compilation of information on various topics from federal tax returns and other documents, has been released by the Internal Revenue Service.

It's official: Taxpayers who file paper returns are in the minority, the Internal Revenue Service reported.

In a move that promises to have far-reaching consequences for global operations and international tax compliance, the Supreme Court ruled that defendants who evaded Canadian taxes by smuggling large quantities of liquor into Canada from the United States could be prosecuted in the U.S. under federal wire fraud laws.

The 2005 tax return season wound down with a larger-than-expected late surge of filers to make up for the slow start, according to preparers.

Baseball season got underway this spring with a new frustration for ball players.

As of this writing, bankruptcy reform legislation had passed the Senate and was expected to move quickly through the House and be signed by President Bush. The Bankruptcy Abuse and Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 may already be law as you read this column.

A district court judge has sentenced four defendants to prison terms ranging from eight to 20 years in what the Justice Department says is one of the "most far-ranging tax schemes ever prosecuted."

Complexity is eroding voluntary compliance with U.S. tax laws, a member of the American Institute of CPAs Tax Executive Committee told the House of Representatives Small Business Committee this week.

The Internal Revenue Service, in partnership with stakeholder groups, has set up a new Web-based list of frequently asked questions aimed at helping corporate taxpayers understand the requirements of the new Schedule M-3.

Tax and accounting software provider Creative Solutions Inc. has acquired the tax software line of Cincinnati-based Accountware for undisclosed terms.

SurePrep, known for its outsourcing services, has developed a tax preparation workflow system to help firms maintain greater control over tax preparation decisions while reducing review and correction time. SurePrep Express is a Web-based system that categorizes scanned source documents to ease processing and data entry.

The implementing states of the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement voted to create an associate membership, keeping the agreement on track toward its Oct. 1, 2005, interstate effective date.

The Internal Revenue Service is seeking applications to fill seven vacancies on the Electronic Tax Administration Advisory Committee, a 14-member panel that provides a public forum for discussion of electronic tax administration issues in support of the goal of paperlessly filing tax and information returns.