Tax research

Once again this year, the headline for the Alternative Minimum Tax is another one-year fix with no permanent solution. The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 raised the AMT exemption amount for 2008 to $69,950 for joint filers and $46,200 for single filers. This represents another inflation-adjusted extension of the exemption amount designed to preserve the status quo and keep an additional 21 million taxpayers from being subject to the AMT in 2008. And, once again, without further action, the AMT exemption amount reverts to its pre-2001 level in 2009 unless further congressional action is taken.

H&R Block said it would offer the ability to electronically file up to five federal tax returns in its TaxCut software next tax season, as Intuit also offered the ability for TurboTax users to prepare and print multiple returns at no extra cost along with free e-filing of up to five federal returns.

The Internal Revenue Service should strengthen its approach to evaluating a pilot project for matching federal and state taxpayer information before it extends the tax compliance project to 45 states next year, recommended a new report from the Government Accountability Office.

IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman said the agency would begin ramping up enforcement against tax abuses such as the avoidance of withholding taxes, especially on dividends.

Accounting firms are increasingly going paperless as they prepare for next tax season, relying more on scanners and workflow technology, according to a new survey.

Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, has written to congressional leaders criticizing a provision in the automobile industry bailout bill that provides government guarantees to mass transit agencies that have taken advantage of an outlawed tax shelter.

The United States and Liechtenstein have signed an agreement to exchange tax information, including details on the holdings of citizens who are sheltering money in the foreign bank accounts, but only when the U.S. already knows the names of the tax evaders.

Two California residents have been indicted for filing over $2 million in false tax refund claims using the names and Social Security numbers of dead people, with help from a CPA.

The Teamsters Union has written to the Internal Revenue Service taking issue with proposed regulations that would change the public approval requirements for tax-exempt private activity bonds and potentially undermine the public approval process.

Online payroll service PayCycle unveiled the latest version of its software, with improved set-up and export features.

A group of Democratic representatives from the House Ways and Means Committee wrote a sternly worded letter to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson warning him against expanding a controversial IRS Notice that allows banks to write off the tax losses of other banks they acquire.

The fourth of six defendants in a $60 million tax fraud conspiracy case has been sentenced to more than 17 years in prison for his role.

Former Internal Revenue Service Acting Commissioner Kevin Brown has joined PricewaterhouseCoopers as a partner in the firm's IRS Service Team.

Tax advocacy group Citizens for Tax Justice has released a report urging President-elect Barack Obama to avoid cutting the federal estate tax.

Disaster Relief Resource Center for Tax Professionals

President-elect Barack Obama has quietly dropped his original proposal for a windfall profits tax on oil companies, according to a spokesperson.

Prosecutors have decided not to appeal the dismissal of charges against 13 defendants in the KPMG tax shelter case to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The U.S. reportedly plans to sign an agreement with the government of Liechtenstein that will help put a stop to the use of the small European principality as a tax haven.

A federal grand jury in New York has indicted four people in a scheme to claim false income tax refunds using the identities of clients of two New York City agencies.

Tax attorney Roni Deutch has written an open letter to the Internal Revenue Service criticizing the agency's offer in compromise program, which is supposed to help taxpayers settle their debts.