With previous efforts to aid homeowners who are facing foreclosure or whose home values are "underwater" making only a slight dent in foreclosure projections, Congress has passed carrot-and-stick legislation called the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act to encourage both homeowners and lenders to take advantage of government mortgage programs. What has changed in this new bill since the U.S. Treasury announced its foreclosure prevention plan in March is that lender participation in government plans is now required as long as consumers meet eligibility requirements.

Several of our subscribers have asked us about the tax incentives for energy savings contained in the new economic stimulus law (the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009). Strategy: Learn the new rules inside and out. Then spread the word to your clients. If they make energy-saving improvements this year, they can cut taxes in addition to utility bills. The new law changes may benefit both individual and business taxpayers.What's new for individuals?The new law triples the residential energy credit to 30% of qualified expenditures (up from 10%).

A recent KPMG Global Indirect Tax Brief provides the latest information on how governments worldwide are striving to raise additional revenues by broadening their indirect tax base. This does not necessarily mean across-the-board tax increases.

The IRS is in the process of cracking down on offshore activities and, as part of this process, is encouraging voluntary disclosures from taxpayers who have offshore accounts.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has obtained an emergency court order to freeze the assets of an Appleton, WI-based investment adviser charged with engaging in a kickback scheme and other fraudulent conduct involving six unregistered investment pools it managed.The SEC alleges that James Putman, who is the founder, majority owner, and CEO of Wealth Management LLC, and Simone Fevola, who is the firm's former President and Chief Investment Officer, each accepted $1.24 million in undisclosed payments derived from investments made by the unregistered investment pools.

Even with government agencies that include the Secret Service and the Tax Division of the Justice Department working with the Internal Revenue Service to identify offenders, there is no shortage in the number of tax preparers accused of engaging in fraud.

As part of a wider outreach effort to educate taxpayers about the benefits they will receive under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the Internal Revenue Service has released new withholding adjustment procedures for pension plans.In February, the IRS issued revised withholding tables incorporating the Making Work Pay Tax Credit, one of the key provisions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. That change resulted in more take home pay for more than 120 million American households and provided an immediate economic stimulus.

California has more than its share of tax cheats, and since so many TV and movie actors call southern California home, a few of them made the rolls of scofflaws this year, and last year, and the year before... some of them have been haunting the tax cheat rolls for a decade. Given the sorry state of California's economy, it would be hard to blame Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger for rattling the saber a little bit at his fellow entertainers who owe back taxes.

Andy Rooney recently brought up the issue of public disclosure of taxes on 60 Minutes after paying the highest taxes of his life. He championed the cause, saying he would show his if everyone else showed theirs in an attempt to expose tax cheaters.The IRS cannot release any of the personal data contained in a tax return or share the information with most other federal agencies, according to an article on taxanalysts.com. But this secrecy about who pays what has not always been the American way.