Tax research

The Congressional Research Service has found that both the Senate and House bills that seek to tax bonuses paid to employees of entities receiving assistance from the federal government under the Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 may have constitutional problems.

President Barack Obama has nominated a California professor, Helen Elizabeth Garrett, as his Assistant Treasury Secretary for Tax Policy.

An Internal Revenue Service employee has been charged with illegally accessing IRS computers to obtain information on taxpayers and filing false tax returns in their names.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., has announced legislation that would make existing tax breaks permanent for working families and individuals.

As part of its plan to generate intelligence on accountants, bankers and lawyers who help clients evade U.S. taxes by hiding money in offshore accounts, the Internal Revenue Service will grant leniency to those who volunteer to pay taxes on overseas accounts in exchange for information on who aided them in hiding the money.

Prosecutors maintain that two former executives of Big Four firm KPMG should be sentenced as much as 24 years in prison for their part in marketing illegal tax shelters.

The Obama administration will ask the Economic Recovery Advisory Board, led by former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker, to form a task force to recommend an overhaul of the tax code.

The Internal Revenue Service is looking for civic-minded volunteers to serve on the Taxpayer Advocacy Panel, which listens to taxpayers, identifies key issues and makes recommendations for improving IRS service.

Employees at the Internal Revenue Service are running up millions of dollars in charges on agency-issued telephone calling cards with little control over their spending.

CCH has expanded the audit modules in its Accounting Research Manager database with expert guidance on topics such as construction and not-for-profit accounting.

Audits by the Internal Revenue Service of the tax returns of millionaires nosedived in the just-ended fiscal year, according to a new report.

A federal judge has for the second time rejected a class action lawsuit against the Free File Alliance, the group of tax software vendors who provide free software and electronic filing to low-income taxpayers.

The Internal Revenue Service has added three new forms for correcting errors on employment tax returns.

PayCyle said that it has implemented the payroll tax reduction included in the recently passed economic stimulus bill.

The Internal Revenue Service and a group of community partners plan to open their doors on Sat., March 21, to help people who need free tax preparation services, a question answered or a payment schedule arranged.

In response to public outrage over the $165 million in bonuses awarded to AIG executives, the House voted 328 to 93 to levy a 90 percent tax on the money.

The question of how to pay for universal health care could lead to a troubling answer: taxing health benefits. Congress and the Obama administration will be weighing a variety of approaches in the coming months, with the goal of offering legislation before the August recess. Some legislative leaders, such as former Presidential candidate Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., have advocated taxing health care benefits as one way to pay for an expensive health care overhaul. Up to now, these benefits have been tax-free.

The Internal Revenue Service plans to discontinue live programming of its Tax Talk Today webcasts on May 12, leaving accountants worried about their continuing professional education credits.

A chartered accountant from the U.K. who served as a former board member and vice chairman at global audit firm BDO Seidman has pleaded guilty to conspiracy with tax shelter promoters while claiming roughly $1 billion in fraudulent losses.

The Internal Revenue Service says that small businesses with deductions exceeding their income in 2008 can use a new net operating loss tax provision to get a refund of taxes paid in prior years. The IRS says it will work to issue refunds within 45 days or less “to the degree possible.”