Tax strategies

Visitors to the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas, leave appreciative notes on a glass wall near the entrance.

The Congressional Budget Office is seeing a $400 billion reduction in the federal government’s budget deficit for the current fiscal year, thanks to increased tax revenues due largely to the expiration of the payroll tax cut.

Awareness of the implications of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, also known as FATCA, is growing.

The Group of 20 world leaders issued a declaration last week calling for a crackdown on cross-border tax evasion.

The leaders of Congress’s two tax-writing committees have continued their tax reform road show tour with a stop in Memphis, Tenn.

The Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service have issued proposed regulations to implement the information reporting requirements for insurers and certain employers under the Affordable Care Act.

Check out the digital edition of the September 2013 issue of Accounting Today.

The Supreme Court’s recent DOMA decision raised a number of questions regarding its tax implications.

The Internal Revenue Service has issued final regulations restricting multinational corporations from bringing net built-in losses from abroad into the U.S.

The American Legion and other veterans’ organizations are expressing concern over reports that the Internal Revenue Service is requiring them to maintain military service records for their members or face stiff penalties.

Swiss banks will reach final settlements over tax disputes with the U.S. by 2015, according to Patrick Odier, chairman of the Swiss Bankers Association.

The Internal Revenue Service has issued temporary and proposed regulations for charitable hospital organizations on how to report any excise taxes for failing to meet the community health needs assessment requirements of the Affordable Care Act.

The Internal Revenue Service plans to make a priority of issuing guidance relating to measurement of a Section 501(c)(4) organization's primary activity and whether it is operated primarily for the promotion of social welfare, including guidance relating to political campaign intervention, in response to recent scandals at the agency.

Tax planning for individuals before year-end

Ideas for tax planning as 2013 begins to wind up

What companies need to know as the IRS shifts its compliance focus

Seeing signs of movement on changing the Tax Code

The Tax Code giveth and the Tax Code taketh away. The depreciation and expensing provisions in the Tax Code allow taxpayers to recover the cost of property through an annual allowance. As a result, many businesses have taken advantage of the opportunity to write off expenses of equipment and other tangible property by making purchases toward the end of the year, driven as much by the tax advantage it gives them as by the actual need for new equipment. But many of these business owners forget that when they sell an asset, the IRS can take their depreciation allowance back, often at the highest possible tax rate. Taxpayers use depreciation to write down the cost of assets, both tangible assets like capital equipment and real property, and intangible assets such as patent costs and goodwill. But if those assets are sold at a profit, the IRS can recapture the full amount that was depreciated.

Amazon.com has enlisted former Solicitor General Ted Olson to file a petition with the U.S. Supreme Court to stop New York State from requiring Amazon customers to pay sales taxes on their purchases.

Switzerland is paving the way for its banks to settle a dispute with the U.S. over tax evasion, approving a plan after years of diplomatic wrangling.