December 31, 2009
Congress Amends Laws of Nature for 2010
In a piece that first appeared in the Tax Policy Center's Tax Vox blog, Urban Institute senior fellow Gene Steuerle offers his take on the mythical powers of Congress. [Read More]

December 30, 2009
IRS Expands Exceptions for Tax Return Information Disclosure
The IRS on December 29 issued temporary, proposed, and final regulations under section 7216 that expand the use of tax return information by tax return preparers without taxpayer consent in limited circumstances, and on December 30 provided additional guidance on avoiding civil and criminal penalties in certain situations. [Read More]

December 30, 2009
Happy New Year! Here's What's Different in the Tax Code
A host of tax provisions expire at midnight December 31, and legislation to extend some of them has stalled in the Senate, at least for the time being. [Read More]

December 29, 2009
Baucus, Grassley Plan Quick Action on Tax Extenders
In a December 22 letter to the Senate majority and minority leaders, Senate Finance Committee Chair Max Baucus, D-Mont., and ranking minority member Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said they will address legislation to extend expiring tax provisions without a gap in coverage as soon as possible after Congress returns in 2010. [Read More]

December 29, 2009
Former UBS Banker Seeks Reduced Sentence, Delay in Prison Term
Bradley Birkenfeld, the former UBS private banker who pleaded guilty to charges related to aiding billionaire Igor Olenicoff evade taxes, has filed a request seeking to delay the start of his prison term and asking for a hearing to reconsider his 40-month sentence. [Read More]

December 24, 2009
Don't Avoid Those Year-End Record-Keeping Chores
Here's a roundup of some very useful year-end tax tips to help make sure your records are in shape for the coming tax season. [Read More]

December 22, 2009
Citizen Tax Reform Comments Released by White House Advisory Panel
The President's Economic Recovery Advisory Board has released almost 400 suggestions for tax reform submitted by lobbyists, scholars, and ordinary taxpayers, giving readers a glimpse of some Americans' unrestrained fiscal thinking. [Read More]

December 22, 2009
Seattle Mayor Calls for Legalization, Taxation of Marijuana
Seattle Mayor-elect Mike McGinn wants to legalize and tax marijuana, arguing that it is comparable to alcohol and that the tax could raise needed revenue. [Read More]

December 19, 2009
Economic Analysis: Replace Pay-Go with Debt-to-GDP Targeting
In an economic analysis that appeared in Tax Notes on March 16, 2009, economist Martin A. Sullivan makes the case that Debt-to-GDP targeting would provide a more meaningful fiscal standard for the annual budget process than the current-law baseline. [Read More]

December 18, 2009
Probable Repeal of Estate Tax for 2010
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) recently blocked attempts by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus to pass legislation temporarily extending the estate tax rate and exemption. As a result, key lawmakers predict the federal estate tax will expire after 12.31.2009. [Read More]

December 17, 2009
Estate Tax Expiration Imminent After Congress Fails to Complete Action
The estate tax will disappear in 2010 as scheduled, lawmakers said December 16, but Democrats will try to reenact it retroactively in 2010. [Read More]

December 16, 2009
Estate Tax Officer Provides Hints for Audit Avoidance
Every estate tax return is reviewed by hand for audit potential, according to IRS Senior Estate Tax Officer John Pirri, who on December 15 provided practitioners with tips for avoiding audit selection. [Read More]

December 16, 2009
Pittsburgh Mayor Wants Council Vote on Tuition Tax
After the latest negotiations failed to generate a pledge for voluntary payments from higher education leaders, Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl (D) said he would call for a city council vote as early as December 16 on his proposal to impose a 1 percent tax on tuition paid to colleges and universities in the city. [Read More]

December 16, 2009
Japanese 'Cash for Clunkers' Program Discriminates Against American Cars, Big Three Says
U.S. car manufacturers have accused the Japanese government of excluding foreign cars from tax credit opportunities under Japan's "cash for clunkers" program. [Read More]

December 15, 2009
Treasury, IRS Employees Most Tax Compliant Among Federal Workers
More than a quarter-million federal employees and retirees were delinquent in paying more than $3 billion in income taxes in 2008, but not many of them work for the Treasury Department. [Read More]

December 15, 2009
Peru Approves Tax on Stock Profits
The Peruvian Congress has voted to institute a tax on stock trading profits beginning January 1, 2010. [Read More]

December 15, 2009
China Clarifies Individual Income Tax Treatment of Voluntary Retirement Plans
China's State Administration of Taxation on December 10 issued Guoshuihan [2009] No. 694, which clarifies the individual income tax treatment of voluntary supplemental retirement plans. [Read More]

December 11, 2009
Arizona Panel Recommends Changes to Tax Credits for Scholarship Donations
A panel of Arizona legislators has recommended changes to tax credits for private schools after newspaper investigations revealed abuses in the program, but one critic says the changes don't go far enough. [Read More]

December 11, 2009
Progressives Argue for Bolstering the Estate Tax
Progressive groups pushing for a long-term estate tax that brings in more revenue may have to look to 2010 if Congress fails to pass a more permanent fix to the tax this year. [Read More]

December 9, 2009
Obama Proposes Tax Cuts to Stimulate Job Creation
President Obama on December 8 called for the extension of some tax incentives enacted in the last stimulus bill and for creation of new tax cuts to encourage hiring and alleviate the "continuing human tragedy" of job losses. [Read More]

December 9, 2009
Hatch to Challenge Healthcare Bill's Constitutionality on Senate Floor
An amendment challenging the constitutionality of the House and Senate healthcare reform bills is being readied for introduction on the Senate floor, Finance Committee member Orrin G. Hatch, R-Utah, told Tax Analysts December 9. [Read More]

December 9, 2009
How Democrats and Republicans Unite Behind Unsustainable Medicare Cost Growth
As legislators consider feedback they've received from businesses concerning provisions in the Senate Healthcare bill affecting employers' Medicare payroll taxes, Urban Institute Fellow Eugene Steuerle offers one solution to the burgeoning costs of Medicare. [Read More]

December 7, 2009
Washington Governor to Propose Tax Increases to Fill Budget Gap
Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire (D) will seek unspecified tax increases to help fill a projected $2.6 billion budget hole, saying that state spending already has been deeply cut and that balancing the budget with continued spending reductions alone would be unacceptable. [Read More]

December 4, 2009
House Votes to Make 2009 Estate Tax Law Permanent
The House passed a permanent extension of 2009 estate tax law December 3 by a vote of 225 to 200. [Read More]

December 3, 2009
Carried Interests, Offshore Compliance to Pay for Extenders, Rangel Says
The House will pay for its tax "extenders" bill by raising taxes on carried interests and by enacting stricter offshore tax compliance measures, House Ways and Means Chair Charles B. Rangel, D-N.Y., told reporters December 3. [Read More]

December 2, 2009
Wary Reception on Captial Hill for Proposed War Tax
As President Obama prepared for his speech on the war in Afghanistan, the House majority leader and top Senate Democrats balked at a proposal to pay for the conflict with an income surtax. [Read More]

November 25, 2009
Washington Democrats Considering Higher Taxes to Fill Budget Hole
Democratic leaders in Washington state are discussing the possibility of tax increases to help close the $2.6 billion budget hole awaiting lawmakers when they convene in January. [Read More]

November 23, 2009
Can the New Health Subsidies Be Administered?
An old congressional hand once confided that tax legislation usually looks like sausage making, but, compared to health legislation, it starts to look like French cooking. His main boeuf? The extraordinary amount of hand waving in health bills due to the questionable assumption that administrators can solve problems the legislation can't. [Read More]

November 20, 2009
Prospects Uncertain for House Plan to Make Domestic Partner Health Benefits Tax Deductible
When Senate Democratic leaders released their version of healthcare reform November 18, notably absent was an amendment -- included with little fanfare in the House-passed healthcare bill -- that would mandate parity between jointly filing married couples and domestic partners in the tax treatment of family health insurance benefits. [Read More]

November 14, 2009
Taxing the Rich Will Help Speed Our Economic Recovery
In a viewpoint that first appeared on November 2, 2009, in Tax Notes, Martin Lobel and Lee Ellen Helfrich argue that economic recovery will be slow and a return to near full employment almost impossible without increasing the federal deficit, unless a stimulus package is accompanied by tax increases on the very rich. Lobel and Helfrich are partners in the Washington law firm of Lobel, Novins & Lamont, LLP. [Read More]

November 13, 2009
Healthcare Reform Tax Constitutionality a Hot Topic
As if healthcare reform weren't complex enough, a growing chorus of legal commentators is raising alarms that the tax provisions of the mammoth healthcare bills that have cleared the House and the Senate Finance Committee would violate the Constitution. [Read More]

November 12, 2009
Arizona Panel Recommends Vehicle Fees to Help Support Parks
A governor's task force eyeing ways to help keep Arizona's parks open in the face of mounting budget woes is turning to vehicle registration fees for help. [Read More]

November 12, 2009
Utah Lawmakers Propose Increasing Sales Tax on Food
Some leading Utah lawmakers are calling for consideration of a reinstatement of the full state sales tax on groceries, but Gov. Gary Herbert (R) has issued his strongest statement to date against any tax increase. [Read More]

November 10, 2009
When Health Reform Violates Standards of Equal Justice
Many families with moderate earnings pay 20 percent or more of their income for health insurance. By Congressional Budget Office estimates, a family making $54,000 a year can expect a moderate-cost insurance policy to cost about $14,700 in 2016. True, employers often contribute a big chunk of the total. But most economists believe that the family really pays by accepting lower cash wages. [Read More]

November 6, 2009
IRS Has $123.5 Million in Undelivered Refund Checks
The IRS has announced it is looking for taxpayers whose income tax refund checks, totaling about $123.5 million, could not be delivered because of mailing address errors. Undeliverable refund checks average $1,148 this year, compared with $990 last year. [Read More]

November 6, 2009
Last Chance (Maybe) for Some Business Tax Breaks
In a previous article, we looked at those "here today, gone tomorrow" provisions most likely to affect individuals. Well, the end of the year may spell the end of several tax breaks for business, unless Congress acts to extend them. Here’s a rundown on some disappearing business provisions. [Read More]

November 5, 2009
"Liquor before Beer...In the Clear"
In a speech given at the fifth Annual Value Investing Congress in New York City on October 19, 2009, hedge fund manager David Einhorn of Greenlight Capital criticized the administration's recent policies and argued that low interest rates are not helping rescue the economy but instead are increasing the deficit and creating a serious inflation risk. [Read More]

November 5, 2009
Graves Says Death Should Not Be Taxable
Following a House Small Business Committee hearing on estate tax reform, panel ranking minority member Sam Graves, R-Mo., in a November 4 statement said, "Death should not be a taxable event," and the "notion that the federal government is owed anything upon the death of a family member is outrageous." [Read More]

November 2, 2009
Thanks to Delaware, U.S. Leads in Financial Secrecy
The Tax Justice Network (TJN) on November 1 released a new ranking of global tax havens, the Financial Secrecy Index, and the United States heads the list based on Delaware's lack of transparency. [Read More]

October 30, 2009
Last Chance (Maybe) for Some Individual Tax Breaks
The end of the year is fast approaching, and so is the end for many tax breaks. At least it will be the end if Congress does not act to extend expiring provisions (as it so often does). Here’s a rundown on those “here today, gone tomorrow” provisions most likely to affect individuals. [Read More]

October 29, 2009
South Carolina Allows Scana Corp. to Carry Forward Tax Credits
In an article that first ran on September 21, 2009 in State Tax Today, Tax Analysts reported that the South Carolina Supreme Court allowed Scana Corp. to carry forward investment tax credits. [Read More]

October 29, 2009
California Lawmakers Get Revenue Estimates on Marijuana Legalization
The California Assembly's Public Safety Committee held a hearing on October 28 on the potential effect of marijuana legalization, including fiscal impact as well as legal and social issues. [Read More]

October 29, 2009
Credits for Energy-Saving Home Upgrades May Help Middle-Income Earners Facing Rising Taxes
This fall homeowners can take advantage of two home energy tax credits that were expanded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act; the credits may come in handy for middle-income taxpayers, whom Senate Finance Committee ranking minority member Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, on October 29 said may face tax increases under this year's healthcare legislation. [Read More]

October 26, 2009
Updates in IRS Retirement and Savings Initiatives
Treasury and the IRS have announced several new retirement and savings initiatives that will expand opportunities for individuals to participate in automatic plan enrollments, save payments they would receive for unused vacation or other similar leave, and better understand their tax-favored savings options. [Read More]

October 25, 2009
Revised IRS Disclosure Guidelines Conform to Restrictive Bush Administration Policies
On October 21 the IRS released a revised delegation order loosening the restrictions on the Service's ability to assert executive privilege to withhold IRS records in the context of federal discovery requests and specifying who can assert the privilege on the commissioner's behalf. [Read More]

October 25, 2009
'Transparency': A New Buzzword With a Past
Tax Analysts President Christopher Bergin delivered the following speech at the January 2007 meeting of the American Bar Association Section of Taxation in Hollywood, Fla. [Read More]

October 23, 2009
Illinois Poll Finds Most Voters Oppose Income Tax Increase
A poll of Illinois voters released October 21 shows that a majority oppose an income tax increase, saying that the budget crisis can be fixed with cuts alone -- a finding that poses a challenge to lawmakers; about two-thirds (65.5 percent) of those polled opposed raising the income tax from 3 percent to 4.5 percent. [Read More]

October 19, 2009
Tax Reform Task Force Hears Argument for ReadyReturn
President Obama's tax reform task force on October 16 heard from a proponent of creating IRS-prepared tentative tax returns, an idea that some say could inexpensively make a significant dent in the tax gap. [Read More]

October 16, 2009
Home Improvements May Net Substantial Tax Credits
If you are planning improvements to increase the energy efficiency of your home, now may be the time to act. For this year and next, the federal government is offering a 30 percent tax credit, up to a maximum credit of $1,500, for the following... [Read More]

October 15, 2009
IRS Commissioner Pleased With Preliminary Results of Voluntary Disclosure Program
To date about 7,500 individuals have disclosed accounts through the IRS's special voluntary disclosure program, with some accounts containing more than $100 million, IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman said October 14. [Read More]

October 9, 2009
Is Obama's Tax On Health Care Constitutional?
Without regard to one's views about the health care legislation promoted by President Obama and currently being redrafted by Sen. Max Baucus, everyone is entitled to expect that the task will be carried out with competence and integrity — also with dignity and a high regard for the intelligence of the American people. [Read More]

September 29, 2009
Economic Analysis: 10 Tax Changes to Prevent the Next Fiscal Crisis
The following is an open letter to Paul Volcker, the head of a special task force created by President Obama to review the shortcomings of the U.S. tax system. The task force is scheduled to deliver its report and recommendations by December 4. [Read More]

September 28, 2009
Grassley Tax Staff: Leak at ACORN Shows Pipeline to Charitable Funds
The Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) is engaging in a "shell game," and dollars raised for charitable activity may be used by the group for impermissible lobbying and political activity, according to the staff of Senate Finance Committee ranking minority member Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa. [Read More]

September 28, 2009
Oregon Launches First Tax Amnesty
Oregon has begun its first tax amnesty, a 50-day period during which taxpayers can pay back taxes with partial interest while avoiding major penalties. [Read More]

September 25, 2009
New Hampshire Republicans Aiming to Repeal Tax Increases Next Year
Months before the state legislature convenes early next year, New Hampshire Republicans are already gearing up to undo several fees and taxes passed by Democrats in the last session. [Read More]

September 21, 2009
Senators Would Extend Home Buyer Credit to Sales Made After December 1
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Sens. Benjamin L. Cardin, D-Md., John Ensign, R-Nev., Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., and Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., have introduced legislation that would extend for six months the $8,000 federal tax credit for first-time home buyers, which was passed as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. [Read More]

September 21, 2009
Low-Income Taxpayers Face Compliance Obstacles, but Reform Is Difficult, Panelists Say
Incremental steps may be the most practical approach to reform the tax system for low-income families, said panelists at a recent American Tax Policy Institute conference in Washington. But reforms won't come easy, considering limited administrative resources and the nature of political realities, they added. [Read More]

September 18, 2009
Rangel Introduces Tax Aid Bill for Military Homeowners
Active-duty military and other service members may find it easier to claim housing tax incentives if a House bill introduced September 17 becomes law. [Read More]

September 16, 2009
Why Postappeal Mediation Isn't Working and How to Fix It
Former Tax Court Judge Carolyn Miller Parr provides her perspectives on how postappeal mediation can be improved at the IRS. One of the problems, she says, is that taxpayers will trust an outside mediator that they've brought in after a case has gone through Appeals, but they won't speak candidly with the IRS in the room. [Read More]

September 16, 2009
Illinois Democrats See Only Cigarette Tax Increase on Fall Session's Agenda
Illinois Democrats have said the only tax increase expected to surface in the upcoming fall veto session is a $1-a-pack cigarette tax increase; Gov. Pat Quinn (D) said after a recent closed-door meeting with lawmakers to plan for the October session that any income tax increase likely would be considered only after the February 2 primary election. [Read More]

September 15, 2009
Extra Tax Breaks for College Students a Limited Time Offer
For two years only, 2009 and 2010, college students may qualify for greater education tax credits. What’s more, education credits are available to more upper-middle-income parents than was the case last year. Another break available for those with the foresight to have set up college savings or prepaid tuition programs (section 529 plans) is that computers, Internet access, and related services may be paid for with funds from those plans. All these extra tax breaks are scheduled to disappear after next year. [Read More]

September 14, 2009
Jousting With the Tax Man: ADR at the IRS, Part II
In part 2 of a 2 part series, John Klotsche, a partner with Caplin & Drysdale, Washington D.C. notes that the IRS should be looking for new and creative ways to both accelerate and increase the collection of badly needed tax revenues and recommends an Extreme Makeover, IRS Edition focusing on Alternative Dispute Resolution. [Read More]

September 14, 2009
Jousting With the Taxman, Part 1
In Part 1 of a 2 part series, John Klotsche, a partner with Caplin & Drysdale in Washington D.C. takes a critical look a the IRS administrative dispute resolution system and concludes it is antiquated, too confrontational, and does not advance the agency's overarching mission of promoting a high level of tax compliance. [Read More]

September 10, 2009
One-Year Patch in Estate Tax Likely, Ways and Means Staffer Says
Congress is likely this year to pass a one-year extension of the 2009 estate tax unless lawmakers alter the landscape by first enacting a statutory "pay as you go" budgeting law, a top Democratic tax committee staffer said September 2. [Read More]

September 4, 2009
Six Observations on Obama's International Proposals
Mark A. Weinberger is the global vice chairman of tax for Ernst & Young. The following is a full transcript of his remarks at the Tax Analysts roundtable discussion, "Obama's International Tax Proposals: Where Would They Take Us?" on June 12, 2009. [Read More]

September 2, 2009
IRS Voluntary Disclosure Program Gets High Marks From Practitioners, So Far
As hundreds if not thousands of individuals rush to come clean about their undisclosed offshore accounts, Tax Analysts spoke with several practitioners to get their impression of the voluntary disclosure program and the reduced penalty regime. Their verdict: The program has been a success, so far. [Read More]

August 31, 2009
Taxes and Income Inequality
David Cay Johnston is a former tax reporter for The New York Times. He teaches at Syracuse University College of Law and is also the author of two books about taxes: Free Lunch and Perfectly Legal. [Read More]

August 27, 2009
Higher Taxes Are Coming, As They Should
Lawrence J. Haas, a former White House communications strategist, observes that while "no-tax pledges can be effective on the campaign trail", President Obama has no choice but to "raise taxes on middle-class Americans simply because, facing the challenges at hand, he won't be able to fulfill his no-tax pledge and govern effectively." [Read More]

August 26, 2009
Disrupting the Disrupters at a Healthcare Town Meeting
There were scattered boos from the crowd of some 2,500 after Rep. Jim Moran, D-Va., described the proposed surtax on the wealthy that is the main revenue raiser in one of the House healthcare reform bills. But the rude noises were nothing compared with the general screaming that went on hours before and during the August 25 town meeting in Reston, Va., which featured Moran and former Democratic National Committee Chair Howard Dean spreading the word on why they think healthcare reform is essential. [Read More]

August 24, 2009
Expanding Sales Taxation of Services: Options and Issues
Michael Mazerov of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, Washington, looks at how states could raise more revenue by taxing more services. [Read More]

August 20, 2009
Deadlines Loom Before Year-End
Numerous tax breaks are scheduled to expire at year's end. Many of those may be extended when Congress returns from its summer break. Other deadlines, however, will arrive much sooner. [Read More]

August 20, 2009
Remarks by IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman on UBS
IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman, in an August 19 statement, said an IRS agreement with the Swiss government and UBS AG represents a "huge step forward" in efforts to combat international tax haven abuse and will have the effect of deterring future abuses. [Read More]

August 20, 2009
Law Professors Express Concern over UBS Settlement
In an August 19 letter to the IRS, three American University law professors, Nancy Abramowitz, Andrew Pike and Robin Westbrook, expressed their concern over the IRS's decision to keep open the Sept. 23 amnesty deadline for taxpayers who come forward even after they receive notice from UBS that their names are about to be revealed. [Read More]

August 20, 2009
Coming of Age in a World of Taxes
Charles S. Clark, editor of Tax Analysts' Tax Notes Today journal shares a conversation he held recently with his daughter, who, he says, was "flummoxed" to see that her real-world take home pay from her first paycheck as a full-time professional was far less than what she had it imagined it would be when she accepted the job offer. [Read More]

August 20, 2009
State Tax Officials Using Clues From Social Networking Sites
Some state revenue collection agents use Internet social networking sites to find delinquent taxpayers, said collection managers sharing tips August 18 during the Midwestern States Association of Tax Administrators' 49th annual conference. North Dakota hosted the webcast conference. [Read More]

August 18, 2009
Does First-Time Home Buyer Credit Offer Opportunity to Cheat?
The $8,000 first-time home buyer tax credit enacted in 2008 offers qualified taxpayers an attractively large cash payout and eligibility requirements that do not require extensive documentation. As a result, there may be an unusually high risk of fraud in the program despite the best IRS enforcement efforts, according to Tax Analysts interviews with specialists and anecdotal evidence offered by preparers. [Read More]

August 18, 2009
Kansas House GOP Says No to New Taxes
Kansas House GOP leaders on August 14 gave a definite "no" to any new taxes to address the state's budget shortfall. [Read More]

August 14, 2009
IRS May Get Company's Tax Workpapers
An en banc First Circuit has reversed an earlier panel decision in United States v. Textron Inc., holding 3 to 2 that tax accrual workpapers are not subject to work product protection. [Read More]

August 13, 2009
Shift in Top Rates Could Encourage Passthroughs to Incorporate.
Some passthrough entities could be encouraged to reorganize as corporations if Congress either follows President Obama's plan to allow the top individual income tax rate to revert to its pre-2001 level or enacts a proposal by a top congressional taxwriter to lower the top corporate rate, the Congressional Research Service said in a recently released report. [Read More]

August 11, 2009
Taxpayers to get 'Simpler' IRS Notices
The IRS's correspondence review task force is set to unveil the first nine revised notices to emerge from its large-scale design overhaul of the IRS notice program, the task force director announced August 10. [Read More]

August 11, 2009
Will VAT Add Needed Fat to Government Coffers?
Instituting a VAT in the United States has historically been as popular among tax policy specialists as it has been unpopular among members of Congress. [Read More]

August 10, 2009
'Cash for Clunkers' Program: Clunking Along?
An additional $2 billion is flowing into the “cash for clunkers” program. That's enough money to keep the program going until about Labor Day, if the initial pace of clunker trade-ins continues. So, if you have a “clunker” that is worth less than a few thousand dollars, this deal is too good to pass up, provided you can afford to pay the balance on the price of your new car. [Read More]

August 6, 2009
Tarheels to Pay More Taxes
Five weeks late and voting along party lines, the North Carolina General Assembly on August 4 approved a new biennial budget that would raise roughly $1 billion annually in new revenue from a series of changes to the state's tax laws (SB 202). [Read More]

August 5, 2009
Demands Are Only Growing Bigger For A Shrinking Base Of Taxpayers
The old-fashioned term "taxpayers' money" has recently resurfaced in Washington — but only to describe some of the TARP funds used in the government takeover of auto companies and financial institutions. [Read More]

August 4, 2009
Car Dealers Hit with Tax on Clunker Cash
Responding to apparent confusion over whether credits provided through the popular "cash for clunkers" vehicle trade-in program should count in automobile dealers' taxable income, the IRS issued an alert on July 31 saying that the law establishing the program does not address the taxability of the credit amount to the dealership. [Read More]

August 4, 2009
R.I.P. PA Tax Hike
Democratic leaders of the Pennsylvania House acknowledged late August 3 that Democratic Gov. Edward Rendell's proposal to raise the income tax rate by 16 percent for three years is dead, killed in part by the reluctance of members of their own caucus to vote for it. [Read More]

August 4, 2009
White House Denies Change in Middle-Income Tax Policy
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs on August 3 attempted to quell doubts about President Obama's promise that he will not raise taxes on middle-income Americans after two administration officials seemed to back away from the pledge. [Read More]

July 22, 2009
District of Columbia Cancels August Sales Tax Holiday
The District of Columbia has enacted legislation repealing its nine-day August sales tax holiday on clothing, footwear, and school supplies, saying the district cannot afford to lose the tax revenue this year. [Read More]

July 22, 2009
California Budget Deal Includes No Tax Increases
The budget deal announced July 20 by California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) and top lawmakers includes spending cuts, borrowing from local governments, even new offshore oil drilling -- but no tax increases. [Read More]

July 16, 2009
California Groups Try to Put Elimination of New Tax Breaks on Ballot
The California corporate tax changes that critics say never got debated in public may now get vetted at the ballot box. [Read More]

July 15, 2009
Oklahoma Enacts Requirement to Post Delinquent Taxpayer List on Internet
A new state law requires the Oklahoma Tax Commission (OTC) to prepare and maintain a list of all persons who have delinquent tax liabilities (including interest, penalties, fees, and costs) in excess of $25,000 that are unpaid for more than 90 days after all appeal rights have expired and for which a tax warrant has been filed (SB 318). [Read More]

July 13, 2009
Ways and Means Wants Graduated Surtax to Fund Healthcare Bill
The House Ways and Means Committee is embracing a graduated surtax -- starting with those who earn $350,000 -- to help pay for an overhaul of the healthcare system, panel Chair Charles B. Rangel, D-N.Y., told reporters July 10. [Read More]

July 8, 2009
House Appropriators Pass Bill to Boost IRS Enforcement
The House Appropriations Committee late July 7 passed legislation that would fully fund President Obama's request to increase IRS funding for fiscal 2010 for enforcement initiatives focusing on tax havens, corporate offshore tax avoidance, small-business reporting compliance, and document matching for businesses. [Read More]

July 7, 2009
Borrowing Beyond the Economy’s Tax-Paying Capacity
New research at Berkeley suggests that laboratory animals may be smarter and more frugal than the government in Washington. According to the California scientists, the tested rodents quickly learned from their mistakes. Washington, however, seems unable to learn from its. [Read More]

July 7, 2009
Promiscuous Use of a Scare Word
Perhaps you've seen or heard about the ads recently plastered around Washington’s Capitol South Metro station, or the animated television ads and radio spots, all expensively protesting a pending “performance tax.” Judging by the slogans, ad audiences may envision a cabal of congressional taxwriters who are conspiring to rain on the parade of America’s free community of radio listeners. But closer inspection reveals a more complex tale. [Read More]

July 1, 2009
"Sticks" or Mandates to Buy Health Insurance: Is Health Reform Possible Without Them?
In a letter to top Senate Democrats, President Obama recently stated that he was open to the "principle of shared responsibility - making every American responsible for having health insurance coverage, and asking that employers share in the costs." This sounds very much like support for what are sometimes labeled individual and employer "mandates," though in the Presidential campaign he opposed requiring adults to buy insurance, except for their children. Done the right way, "mandates" could increase dramatically the numbers of those insured, while helping drive down the rate of increase in health care costs. Done the wrong way, they can be unenforceable or drive up the number of unemployed. [Read More]

June 30, 2009
Administration Prefers Capping Deductions to Taxing Health Benefits, Sebelius Says
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius on June 29 said the Obama administration believes that capping itemized deductions for upper-income taxpayers to help pay for healthcare reform is preferable to taxing employer-provided health benefits. [Read More]

June 30, 2009
Grassley Bill Proposes to Lower Tax Burden for More Businesses
Senate Finance Committee ranking minority member Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, has introduced legislation (S. 1381), the Small Business Tax Relief Act of 2009, to lower the tax burden on what the bill would describe as small businesses. [Read More]

June 24, 2009
IRS Can't Forward Refunds on Home Buyer Credits to Housing Agencies, Geithner Says
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has advised Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., that the IRS isn't authorized to establish a program to forward refunds on taxpayers' first-time home buyer credits to state housing agencies as payment for bridge loans that the agencies provide eligible home buyers for down payment and closing costs. [Read More]

June 22, 2009
Proposal Would Give Persons Under IRS Investigation Notice of Potential Identity Theft
Senate Finance Committee member Blanche L. Lincoln, D-Ark., introduced legislation (S. 1119) on May 21 that would require the Treasury Department to notify a taxpayer who is under IRS investigation if the department finds evidence during its investigation, suggesting that the taxpayer may be the victim of identity theft. [Read More]

June 22, 2009
CBO Study Shows Cap and Trade Would Increase Energy Costs, Says Camp
Recent analysis by the Congressional Budget Office shows that national energy taxes that would be imposed under a cap-and-trade proposal sponsored by Rep. Henry A. Waxman, D-Calif., would increase energy costs for the average U.S. household by $770 annually, House Ways and Means Committee member Dave Camp, R-Mich., announced June 22. [Read More]

June 16, 2009
Cellphone Tax Guidance Should Simplify Reporting
Employer tax experts agree that reporting requirements for the federal tax on personal calls made from employer-provided cellphones should be made simpler to accommodate the ubiquity of cellphones and similar telecommunications devices in today's business world. [Read More]

June 16, 2009
Pennsylvania Governor Proposes Temporary Income Tax Increase
Pennsylvania Gov. Edward Rendell (D) on June 16 proposed a temporary 0.5 percentage point increase in the state's personal income tax rate to close a budget deficit while sparing education and economic development programs from what he called even more extreme cuts. [Read More]

June 12, 2009
New Car Tax Break Available in States With No Sales Tax
A tax deduction that is available to taxpayers who buy a new car in states that apply excise state or local sales taxes to those purchases is now available to individuals who buy a new car in states that don't have a sales tax. [Read More]

June 9, 2009
U.S. Must Increase Gas Tax to Fund Transportation Projects, Says Official
Unless the gas tax is increased, the United States will have to find other ways to finance its surface transportation projects, an official with the Department of Transportation said at a municipal conference in New York on June 8. [Read More]

June 5, 2009
Plain Tax Talk: The Yellow Brick Road to Tax Simplification
Tax simplification. Politicians talk about it, but don't do it. The IRS doesn't talk about it, but can do it. In a viewpoint examining the principles of plain language and how their application can transform the information that flows from the IRS to the public, John Klotsche, a partner at Caplin & Drysdale, Washington, says plain language can be used to achieve tax simplification. [Read More]

June 4, 2009
IRS to Recommend Rules for Regulating Tax Return Preparers by Year's End
IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman announced June 4 that the Service intends to begin a review process of tax return preparers that will conclude with recommendations being given to the White House and Treasury Department by year's end concerning possible industry regulation. [Read More]

June 1, 2009
Employers, Retailers Struggle to Define Eligible Expenses Under Flexible Spending Accounts
The expanded use of tax-advantaged accounts to pay for medical expenses under employer-sponsored cafeteria plans drew the attention of the Senate Finance Committee in mid-May when it announced proposals for financing comprehensive healthcare reform. But rather than hold out flexible spending accounts (FSAs) as a model for controlling rising healthcare costs, the committee proposed eliminating the accounts to help pay for a healthcare overhaul. [Read More]

May 27, 2009
Obama's Choice for Supreme Court Wrote Opinion in Trust Investment Fees Case
President Obama's nominee for the Supreme Court wrote a decision criticized but upheld by the Court that held that under section 67(a) a trust can deduct fees paid for investment management advice only to the extent that the fees exceed 2 percent of the trust's adjusted gross income. [Read More]

May 22, 2009
Louisiana Lawmakers Considering Sales Tax Holiday for Guns
Two bills have been introduced in the Louisiana Legislature that would create a sales tax holiday for firearms; one would also expand the holiday to include hunting supplies like off-road vehicles, binoculars, and animal feed. [Read More]

May 20, 2009
Washington Governor Approves Sales Tax on Digital Goods and Services
Online gaming and several other forms of Internet-based commerce soon will be subject to Washington's sales and use tax. [Read More]

May 20, 2009
Refundable Tax Credits Saddle IRS With Implementing Social Policy, Say Panelists
The proliferation of refundable tax credits designed to encourage desirable social behavior imposes significant responsibility on the IRS, tax experts at a May 19 conference agreed. [Read More]

May 19, 2009
Three Practical Tax Increases to Fund Healthcare Reform
Marty Sullivan proposes three tax increases to help fund President Obama's $635 billion down payment on healthcare reform: an increase in the alcohol excise tax, a limit on deductions, and a cap on the employer-provided healthcare exclusion. [Read More]

May 18, 2009
IRS Allows Employers to Reduce Retirement Plan Contributions
To prevent cash-strapped employers from terminating their employees' 401(k) plans, the IRS issued guidance May 15 that allows employers to reduce or suspend certain nonelective contributions they make to their employees' individual plan accounts as long as the employers follow certain notice and timing procedures. [Read More]

May 15, 2009
Past Efforts to Tax Soda Pop Have Fizzled
Before federal lawmakers consider taxing soda or sugary drinks to help pay for healthcare reform, they may want to look at the idea's checkered history at the state level. [Read More]

May 13, 2009
Upper Income Tax Cut Hidden in Obama Budget
President Obama may want to raise income taxes on individuals earning more than $200,000 ($250,000 for joint filers), but budget materials released May 11 reveal that, thanks to shifting tax brackets, some upper-income earners would also get a tax cut in the process. [Read More]

May 8, 2009
Obama's International Tax Reforms Won't Create U.S. Jobs, Analysts Say
The international tax reform plan President Obama announced May 4 is unlikely to deliver on its promise of creating more U.S. jobs, according to policy specialists interviewed by Tax Analysts. [Read More]

May 8, 2009
Florida Budget Agreement Would Allow School Districts to Raise Taxes
The budget likely to be approved by Florida lawmakers on May 8 would give Florida's 67 school districts the option to raise taxes for construction, a move both welcomed and criticized by districts. [Read More]

May 8, 2009
IRS to Revamp Innocent Spouse Guidance
The IRS plans to revise the regulations governing innocent spouse relief provisions after a number of Tax Court rulings altered the landscape for section 6015(f) claims. [Read More]

May 7, 2009
Sebelius Reiterates White House Stance on Healthcare Tax Exclusion
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius on May 6 cautioned that changes to the tax exclusion for employer-provided health insurance could compromise employer-based coverage, but added that the White House remains open to discussing reform of the exclusion. [Read More]

May 7, 2009
Hoyer Says Social Security Reform Could Begin This Fall
House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer, D-Md., said May 6 that a bipartisan effort to reform the Social Security system could begin as early as the fall, with "raising revenues" one option to keep the popular entitlement program solvent. [Read More]

May 7, 2009
Schwarzenegger Open to Debate on Legalizing, Taxing Marijuana
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) on May 5 suggested that he would be open to a debate about legalizing marijuana, particularly as a new source of revenue for the state. "I think it's time for debate," he said, "I think of all those ideas creating extra revenues." He said that he wanted to study what European countries that have legalized marijuana have done. [Read More]

May 6, 2009
Voinovich, Lieberman Announce Bill to Establish Commission to Examine Tax System
U.S. Senators George V. Voinovich (R-OH) and Joseph Lieberman (ID-CT) today introduced landmark legislation aimed at comprehensive reform of our nation's tax and entitlement systems. [Read More]

May 5, 2009
Obama Unveils Proposed Overhaul of International Corporate Taxation
Ending more than two months of speculation, President Obama on May 4 finally laid out his plan to raise almost $200 billion by overhauling international tax policy, generating immediate protest from affected multinational corporations. [Read More]

May 1, 2009
IRS Can't Use Statutory Safe Harbor to Assess Unpaid FICA Taxes
A legal memorandum sent to IRS agents from the agency's attorneys has advised them that a safe harbor typically used to allow the Service to assess FICA taxes after the expiration of the statute of limitations for assessments may not be used if the statute expired without the taxes being paid by either the employees or the employers in question. [Read More]

May 1, 2009
Massachusetts Couples May Change Filing Status Before Tax Returns Due
The Massachusetts Department of Revenue has issued a directive to explain that under G.L.c. 62C section 6(a), spouses who file a valid joint income tax return may change their filing status to married filing separately before the due date of the original return. [Read More]

April 30, 2009
Passage of Estate Tax Legislation Likely in 2009, but Form Unknown
Ahead of a scheduled temporary zero rate for estate taxes in 2010, a Treasury official and tax practitioners April 30 speculated about how Congress might approach making changes to estate and gift taxes in 2009. [Read More]

April 30, 2009
IRS Says Home Computers Pushed E-Filings Up to Record Level This Year
The IRS has announced that a record 90 million tax returns were filed electronically this year, marking a nearly 6 percent increase that is attributable to more individuals using home computers than they did last year. According to the IRS, 31.2 million individual income tax returns were filed from home computers as of April 24, up 19.3 percent from the same time last year. [Read More]

April 28, 2009
Senate Democrats Say Budget Accord Offers Middle-Income Tax Relief
An overview of the fiscal 2010 budget conference agreement released by the Senate Budget Committee Democratic staff says the budget would halve the deficit by 2012 and provide middle-income tax relief through provisions such as an extension of tax credits and alternative minimum tax reform. [Read More]

April 23, 2009
Energy Saving Steps This Year May Result in Tax Savings Next Year
The Internal Revenue Service today reminded individual and business taxpayers that many energy-saving steps taken this year may result in bigger tax savings next year. [Read More]

April 23, 2009
S.C. Lawmaker Wants to Bar Tax Evaders From Public Office
A South Carolina senator says he is disgusted with lawmakers who fail to pay their taxes and on April 21 introduced three bills to prevent such evaders from seeking public office. [Read More]

April 21, 2009
Washington Lawmakers Push Sales Tax Increase Despite Voter Opposition
Washington's legislative leaders are continuing to push a plan that would seek voter approval to increase the state's sales tax by 0.3 percent, even though they acknowledge it could face a tough time at the ballot box. [Read More]

April 20, 2009
High Court Won't Review Tax Protester's IRS Challenge
The U.S. Supreme Court on April 20 denied certiorari to an individual who challenged a decision affirming the Tax Court's dismissal of her petition for review of an IRS tax deficiency notice. [Read More]

April 20, 2009
Provision in House Budget Could Influence Decision on Estate Tax
When lawmakers meet to begin working out differences between the House- and Senate-passed budget resolutions, one issue up for discussion will be a little-noticed provision in the House budget that could have consequences for how Congress addresses the estate tax later in the year. [Read More]

April 20, 2009
Policy Study Says States Could Reduce Budget Gaps By Taxing the Wealthy
States could raise a substantial amount of revenue to help address their budget shortfalls by enacting small income tax rate increases for wealthy earners, according to a Center on Budget and Policy Priorities study released April 20. [Read More]

April 17, 2009
Alabama Tire Store Owner Pleads Guilty to Tax Evasion
Timothy Smith of Cullman, Ala., owner of College Tire in Hanceville, Ala., pleaded guilty to one count of tax evasion and agreed to a binding sentence of 30 months in prison, the Justice Department announced in an April 17 release. [Read More]

April 17, 2009
IRS Releases Guide Used by Agents to Audit Child Care Providers
The IRS has released the training guide it gives to IRS employees who audit child care providers. [Read More]

April 16, 2009
Obama Reaffirms Tax Reform Goals in Tax Day Speech
President Obama on Tax Day, April 15, reiterated his intent to simplify what he called a "monstrous" tax code, while demonstrators protested his economic policies at sites around the country. [Read More]

April 16, 2009
Obama, Biden Release 2008 Tax Returns
President Obama released his 2008 tax return on April 15, reporting a household income of $2.7 million, drawn mostly from sales from his two autobiographies. [Read More]

April 16, 2009
Efforts to Simplify Family Tax Credits Raise Fairness Issues, Panelists Say
Attempting to simplify the code's many provisions aimed at helping families and children could be problematic, particularly during the economic crunch, said speakers at an April 16 forum. [Read More]

April 15, 2009
Evaluations Find Flaws in IRS-Sponsored Free Return Preparation Products
Doubts about the accuracy of software offered to consumers by the IRS-sponsored Free File Alliance (FFA), combined with a flood of alternative low-priced or free products in the tax return preparation marketplace, have tarnished the popularity of the industry-based alliance set up to offer no-cost tax services. [Read More]

April 15, 2009
Obama Says Recovery Bill Has Reduced Tax Burden for Families
Today, on Tax Day, President Obama will meet with several working families, just like the ones all across America, who are facing tough choices during this economic crisis. [Read More]

April 14, 2009
IRS Issues Scam Alert, Updates 'Dirty Dozen' List
The Internal Revenue Service today issued its 2009 "dirty dozen" list of tax scams, including schemes involving phishing, hiding income offshore and false claims for refunds. [Read More]

April 14, 2009
States Losing Billions in Uncollected Online Sales Tax Revenue
Uncollected taxes on online purchases could costs states an estimated $6.95 billion in sales tax revenue in 2009, and that figure could grow to $11.39 billion in 2012, according to an updated study on sales tax revenue losses from electronic commerce. [Read More]

April 13, 2009
IRS Offers Reminders as Tax Filing Deadline Nears
The Internal Revenue Service offers last minute reminders to taxpayers who have not yet filed a tax return, paid what they owe or requested an extension of time to file as the April 15 tax filing and payment deadline approaches. [Read More]

April 13, 2009
Show Us the Money
In news analysis, Joseph J. Thorndike considers the possibility of public disclosure of all filed tax returns. [Read More]

April 10, 2009
Several States Considering Tax Increases on the Wealthy
As states look under every couch cushion for extra pennies, an increasing number are considering so-called millionaire's taxes, or personal income tax increases on a state's wealthiest residents. [Read More]

April 10, 2009
Obama's Coming Detailed Budget Will Set Record for Tardiness
If it seems as if President Obama is late in releasing his detailed fiscal 2010 budget request, it's because he is. [Read More]

April 10, 2009
Economic Analysis: The Democratic Budgets Are Fiscally Irresponsible, Part 2
We've cranked all the numbers underlying the three Democratic budget proposals, and they don't make a pretty picture. [Read More]

April 9, 2009
States Respond to 'Tax Haven' Label
The three states accused of being tax havens by an EU head of state responded very differently to the label, from indifference, to calling it mistaken, to a detailed explanation of how they have changed. [Read More]

April 8, 2009
Credit and Debit Card Fees for Tax Payments are Deductible, Says IRS
Credit or debit card convenience fees charged for paying federal individual indomce taxes electronically are deductible for some taxpayers who itemize, the Internal Revenue Service announced today. [Read More]

April 8, 2009
IRS Encourages Electronic Filing of Extension Requests
Taxpayers who need more time to complete their returns should submit their requests for an automatic extension electronically by April 15, the Internal Revenue Service urged today. [Read More]

April 7, 2009
Legislation to Allow Newspapers to Elect Tax-Exempt Status Raises First Amendment Concerns
Legislation recently introduced in the Senate that would allow newspapers to elect tax-exempt status provided they do not endorse candidates for public office has raised some First Amendment concerns. [Read More]

April 7, 2009
News Analysis: The Democratic Budgets Are Fiscally Irresponsible
President Obama's budget blueprint has the title "A New Era of Fiscal Responsibility." He may come to regret that expression the way George W. Bush regrets the words "Mission Accomplished." [Read More]

April 6, 2009
Obama's Tax Plan Falls Short, Say Panelists at Tax Analysts Forum
A diverse panel of economists and tax specialists largely agreed April 3 that President Obama's tax and budget plans at best would fail to forestall a long-term fiscal ruin and could even hasten its arrival. [Read More]

April 3, 2009
McConnell Says Taxpayers 'Can't Afford New Taxes'
In an April 2 floor statement, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said the Obama administration's fiscal 2010 budget "simply taxes too much, spends too much, and borrows too much" during a difficult economic time, and added that "the American people can't afford new taxes." [Read More]

April 3, 2009
U.S. Files First Charges Against U.S. Account Holder in UBS Case
The Justice Department and the IRS on April 2 announced charges against Steven Michael Rubinstein, an accountant in Boca Raton, Fla., for hiding taxable income in accounts at Union Bank of Switzerland (UBS). [Read More]

April 3, 2009
IRS Increasing Its Manpower at a Critical Time, Says Official
While many sectors of the economy face the prospect of more layoffs, the IRS is growing, Acting IRS Chief Counsel Clarissa Potter said April 2. [Read More]

April 2, 2009
Luxembourg Official Says Three U.S. States Qualify as Tax Havens
Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker on March 31 asked leaders of other EU member states to challenge the United States for tolerating tax havens at home in the states of Delaware, Nevada, and Wyoming. [Read More]

April 2, 2009
DOJ Sues to Bar Iowa Woman, Firm From Preparing Returns
The Justice Department has sued to bar Gayle Lemmon of Humboldt, Iowa, and her firm, Gayle's Bookkeeping and Tax Service Inc., from preparing returns for others because she allegedly claimed false deductions for customers. [Read More]

April 2, 2009
IRS Commissioner Pledges Help for Small Businesses During Recession
IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman on April 1, assured lawmakers that the IRS will work with small businesses that are in financial distress during the recession, but he reiterated the agency's duty to enforce the tax code. [Read More]

April 2, 2009
Senate Rejects Obama Proposal on Charitable Deduction
The Senate on April 2 rejected a proposal by President Obama to fund his healthcare reform initiatives by limiting the deductibility of charitable contributions of high-income taxpayers. [Read More]

April 1, 2009
HHS Nominee Sebelius Reveals She Owed Back Taxes
Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius (D), President Obama's nominee for health and human services secretary, acknowledged March 31 that she had failed to pay $7,000 in taxes, marking the latest in a string of Obama appointments marred by tax troubles. [Read More]

April 1, 2009
Lawmakers Hunt for Revenue as White House Report Reveals Doubts on Closing Tax Gap
Key lawmakers recognize the difficulty of shrinking the estimated $300 billion "tax gap," according to a newly released White House report on February's fiscal responsibility summit. [Read More]

April 1, 2009
Details of New York Budget Emerge; Few Groups Go Unscathed
No one seems to escape unscathed from New York's $132 billion budget, a spending plan that includes income tax increases for the wealthiest but also scores of fee and sales tax increases that critics say hit the middle and working classes hardest. [Read More]

March 30, 2009
IRS, Tax Analysts Resolve Suit Over Two Hour Legal Advice
The IRS and Tax Analysts have reached an agreement over the treatment of e-mailed legal advice that had been sought since a 2005 lawsuit. The agreement was made public in a court order filed March 26. [Read More]

March 30, 2009
House Republicans Set to Unveil Budget with Two-Rate Income Tax Proposal
Following weeks of hearing majority Democrats blast the GOP as the "party of no," House Republicans plan to offer a detailed version of their own budget plan the first week of April, with tax policy as a likely highlight. [Read More]

March 27, 2009
First $2,400 of Unemployment Benefits Tax Free for 2009, IRS Says
All or part of unemployment benefits received in 2009 will be tax free for many unemployed workers, according to the Internal Revenue Service. [Read More]

March 27, 2009
Baucus Proposes Package of Middle-Income Tax Cuts, Including Permanent AMT Patch
Debate over 2009's big tax bill began in earnest on March 26, as Senate Finance Committee Chair Max Baucus, D-Mont., introduced an estimated $2.3 trillion tax cut package that would make permanent the 2009 alternative minimum tax patch along with the 10, 25, and 28 percent tax brackets. [Read More]

March 26, 2009
Permanent Tax Exemption for Internet Access Seems Unlikely
Federal lawmakers have once again introduced legislation (H.R. 1560, S. 43) to make permanent the moratorium on Internet access taxes and "multiple and discriminatory" taxes on electronic commerce, despite approving a seven-year extension just over one year earlier. [Read More]

March 25, 2009
Bonus Tax Works Even Without Enactment, Democrats Say
Maybe we don't really need to enact that "bonus tax" after all. [Read More]

March 23, 2009
IRS to End 'Tax Talk Today'; Tax Reps Wary of Alternatives
The IRS's recent announcement that it will end its Tax Talk Today television series and substitute alternative video, audio, and online tax education services has displeased some practitioners. [Read More]

March 23, 2009
Nine States Would Boost Revenues by Repealing Tax Breaks on Capital Gains, Says Study
The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) has an idea for nine states to make taxation fairer and to find extra revenue: Repeal capital gains tax breaks. [Read More]

March 20, 2009
Many Firms Receiving the Most Bailout Owe Back Taxes, House Panel Reveals
More than $221 million in taxes have not been paid by 13 of the 23 largest recipients of Troubled Asset Relief Program funds, according to infomration released on March 19 by the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Oversight during a hearing on "Oversight of Federal Borrowing and the Use of Federal Monies." [Read More]

March 19, 2009
Surprise Guidance on Losses for Madoff Victims Draws Mixed Review From Practitioners
New IRS guidance on theft losses from Ponzi schemes, dramatically released by IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman at a March 17 Senate Finance Committee hearing, would produce good results for many taxpayers but leave several issues unaddressed, practitioners told Tax Analysts. [Read More]

March 19, 2009
States Offering Amnesties in Wake of Fiscal Crisis, but at What Price?
In what may be an indication of the depths of state revenue distress, 11 states are conducting or considering a general tax amnesty, including three states that have never done one before: Delaware, Hawaii, and Oregon; critics, however, question their efficacy. [Read More]

March 19, 2009
Baucus, Grassley Propose Excise Tax Clawback for TARP Bonuses
Senate taxwriters on March 17 announced a broad plan to impose punitive taxes on bonuses paid by companies that have received bailouts from the federal government. [Read More]

March 16, 2009
The National Credit Card
Dear Valued Customer: Congratulations! [Read More]

March 16, 2009
AIG Sues IRS for Refund While Accepting New Federal Bailout Funds
Just days after struggling insurance giant American International Group. Inc. sued the government for more than $306 million over a tax dispute, the Treasury Department announced that it would make another $30 billion available to AIG. [Read More]

March 13, 2009
No Need to Rush Those Home Energy Improvements
If you were one of those rushing to get your home rigged out in the latest alternative energy systems last year but missed the 2008 deadline, you can breathe easier now--you have eight more years to act. [Read More]

March 13, 2009
Tax Trap Lurks in Foreclosures and Short Sales
Currently, about 10 percent of all homeowners in the U.S. are facing foreclosure or are one or more months behind on their mortgage payments. [Read More]

January 8, 2009
Simple Stimulus--Don't Hold Your Breath
As the new stimulus package is hammered out by the new White House and new 111th Congress, one thing is certain--whatever they come up with, it won't be simple. [Read More]