Tax strategies

Corporate tax departments and high-ranking executives are doing a better job of communicating, according to a new survey BY Ernst & Young.

President Obama has written to congressional leaders encouraging them to eliminate special tax breaks for the oil and gas industry.

IMGCAP(1)]The current uncertain political, economic, and tax environment has led many people to postpone preparing or updating their estate plans.

Thomson Reuters released the latest Onesource Indirect Tax report on changes to state and local sales and use tax codes for the first quarter of 2011. According to the report, 83.3 percent of the changes are increases and new taxes and most are at the city and county level. They are likely a response to cut-backs in federal and state funding.

Less than half of affluent parents (49 percent) in a nationwide poll felt it was important to leave a financial inheritance to the next generation, according to the U.S. Trust Insights on Wealth and Worth Survey.

The House passed the controversial budget plan introduced last week by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., in a largely party-line vote on Friday.

It’s doubtful whether the tax changes proposed by the President in his speech on Wednesday would generate much of a dent in the deficit, even if they were to be accepted by Congress.

The House Ways and Means Committee held a hearing Wednesday on how the Tax Code’s burdens on individuals demonstrate the need for comprehensive tax reform.

President Obama outlined his plan for reducing the budget deficit by $4 trillion in the next 12 years during a speech Wednesday in which he said taxes would need to be raised on the wealthy and itemized deductions limited.

A new study from Ernst & Young examines the impact on flow-through businesses of the tax reform proposals, and cautions against lowering corporate tax rates at the expense of S Corporations.

The Senate Finance Committee held a hearing Tuesday to examine tax administration systems around the world.

A pair of U.S. lawmakers has introduced a bill that would allow the courts to intercept tax refunds from delinquent debtors who owe restitution to victims or have outstanding court fees.

Internal Revenue Service Commissioner Doug Shulman described his vision for a next-generation tax compliance system that would allow the IRS to pre-populate a taxpayer’s return with W-2, 1099 and other information reporting forms before a taxpayer files a return.

As Washington moves closer to the brink of a federal government shutdown, the battle lines are already being set for the next budget turf war.

The Supreme Court has ruled in favor of an Arizona government program that provided tax credits to individuals who contribute to nonprofit groups that offer scholarships for private school students, including those at parochial schools.

The House Ways and Means Committee has passed a bill that would limit tax breaks for health insurance policies that cover abortions.

Any move on tax reform should take into consideration what the European Union and various countries are doing with their tax systems, observed David Lifson, past president of the New York State Society of CPAs and a tax partner at Crowe Horwath.

IMGCAP(1)]Tax season is here. If you or your clients are among the thousands of Americans who have overpaid their annual tax obligation, you can look forward to a refund from the federal government.

The Senate Finance Committee held a hearing Wednesday on the effectiveness of various tax incentives.

General Electric is a company that has long been known for innovation going back to the days of founder Thomas Alva Edison, but now some of its greatest innovations may be in the way it avoids paying corporate income taxes.