Tax research

The Tax & Accounting business of Thomson Reuters has released a state apportionment planning tool on its Checkpoint online research service.

Sabrix has released the fall 2009 version of its outsourced sales tax system.

CCH has added Smart Charts, checklists and decision trees to its Business Entity Planning Library to provide further guidance to tax practitioners analyzing and comparing the entities used by small- and midsized businesses.

CCH’s Tax Prep Partner series has expanded to cover nonprofit, estate tax and payroll forms.

CCH plans to enhance its IntelliConnect research service with new filtering and interface features.

IMGCAP(1)]Remember when the hefty three-ringed tax research guides required a whole room set aside as a library? Oh, and a librarian? Imagine justifying this expense to your partners today. You couldn’t. You wouldn’t want to because the alternative is so much better than the dark woodsy library ever was.

CCH has introduced Worldwide Tax Rates and Answers: Calculators, a set of software calculators that help accountants calculate corporate income tax and withholding tax liabilities in 90 countries around the world.

Intuit has introduced Intuit ProLine Tax Research, powered by BNA, a Web-based service that integrates directly with Intuit’s Lacerte and ProSeries professional tax software.

PDI Global has introduced an online version of its 2009-2010 Tax Planning Guide that accounting firms can put on their Web sites and market to clients.

E-mail newsletter provider BizActions has introduced an Online Tax Guide that CPAs can link to from their own Web sites and brand with their own firm’s name and logo.

Providers unveil new online tax research apps

IRS REFORMS CONTRACTING

The Bernard Madoff situation is just the most notorious of dozens of Ponzi schemes that have surfaced since the current recession made it more difficult for the operators of those schemes to keep covering payouts and redemptions with money from new investors.

The Internal Revenue Service now has a new interest in sports and entertainment - and not just as a spectator.

The economic downturn, coupled with proposals to make the Research and Development Credit permanent, the potential repeal of LIFO, and higher individual tax rates under the Obama administration, could significantly reshape the landscape of S corps over the next several years."For planning purposes, the proposal to make the R&D Credit permanent has significance because it will affect what types of investments companies will make," explained Rick Klahsen, managing director at RSM McGladrey's national tax department. "However, the proposed repeal of the LIFO inventory method would have a tremendous negative impact on S corporations. Many S corporations are manufacturers, and the loss of the LIFO method will cost them in terms of additional taxable income. It will cause them to take a look at the types of inventory investments they might make."

Washington, D.C.-In the wake of several high-profile Ponzi schemes - most notably, the $65 billion fraud perpetrated by the now-jailed Bernard Madoff - the Internal Revenue Service has issued new guidance for victims of these types of schemes and their tax preparers.

The Tax & Accounting business of Thomson Reuters has acquired World Trade Executive Inc., a provider of international tax, accounting, finance and energy content.

The Internal Revenue Service said that it would make some credit and debit card convenience fees tax-deductible, but only under certain circumstances.

The economic crisis is forcing many states and cities to increase their sales tax rates to the highest average level ever, according to a new report.

This year, the Internal Revenue Service is offering a new way to file an extension request for free.