Tax strategies

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Sander Levin, D-Michh., has released a draft bill that would provide tax credits for manufacturers of renewable energy equipment and funding for other sources of clean energy.

The District of Columbia plans to launch a tax amnesty program on Thursday in an effort to collect $170 million in known receivables owed by more than 42,000 individuals and businesses.

Senate Finance Committee ranking member Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, and Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., have teamed up to sponsor legislation that would provide tax credits for the use of hydrogen fuel cells in forklift trucks and other industrial vehicles.

Two Republican lawmakers are warning the Treasury Department against making a change in tax policy that would favor trial lawyers who handle lawsuits on a contingency basis and want to deduct loans to clients.

The nonprofit Tax Foundation has introduced an online calculator that allows taxpayers to compare how they would fare if all the Bush tax cuts expired as scheduled at the end of this year.

Call this a story about nurturing the goose that laid the golden egg.

Hoping to get the Small Business Jobs Act passed before the August recess, Senate Democrats have modified the legislation in an effort to avoid another filibuster battle.

A new report estimates that the total amount of federal tax revenue lost due to use of overseas tax havens adds up to at least $37 billion per year.

IMGCAP(1)]The escalating cost of providing group medical benefits has forced many employers to dedicate more time and energy toward gaining control over increasing premiums.

In spite of the growth and popularity of limited liability companies taxed as partnerships, S corporations remain a very popular option for doing business. Internal Revenue Service records show that S corporations remain the most popular way for a business to file tax returns.

With California unemployment hovering at 13 percent and the national unemployment rate still above 9.5 percent, long-term unemployment is clearly one of the biggest challenges for the U.S. economy.

The Senate Finance Committee held hearings last week to consider the effects of the soon-to-expire “Bush” tax cuts, and those problems could be magnified for tax practitioners and their clients.

Senators Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark., and Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., have introduced a proposal to reform the federal estate tax, which temporarily expired this year but is slated to increase to up to 55 percent next year for estates over $1 million.

The Senate Finance Committee held a hearing Wednesday to discuss the soon-to-expire 2001 and 2003 tax cuts and how to extend any of them without increasing the budget deficit or hurting economic growth.

SurePrep has added 1120, 1120S and 1065 preparation as a part of its outsourcing service, allowing firms to leverage the company’s technology and staff to prepare more types of tax returns.

Before departing on its holiday break, the Senate left a number of important issues unresolved, including the fate of the unemployment extension and tax extenders legislation, not to mention the financial reform bill.

The Federal Tax Authority, a private company that aims to make it easy for online merchants to collect sales tax, has launched TaxCloud, a free sales tax calculation and remittance service.

The Supreme Court’s much-anticipated Bilski decision earlier this week affirmed that business methods can be patented, although it rejected the specific patent at issue.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., has launched an investigation into the tax practices of Transocean Ltd., the owner of the offshore drilling rig that exploded in the Gulf of Mexico this past April, leading to the disastrous oil spill.

A set of tax provisions that are scheduled to expire at the end of this year will change the tax landscape for many investors who will need advice on how to adjust.