Tax news August 2010

Tax

'Tax Lady' Roni Deutch: Charlatan or political target

You’ve probably seen the hard-hitting advertisements from Roni Deutch advising taxpayers who owe federal taxes to let her help them fight the Internal Revenue Service. Now, California Attorney General Jerry Brown is fighting her.
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Tax

'Who’s the IRS?' Spanish former day trader about to find out

When Marcos Esparza Bofill got a tax bill from the Internal Revenue Service for more than $172 million, he asked a friend, “Who’s the IRS?” He’d spent more than a year working as a day trader in New York. Yet, he never heard about a little ritual we call: paying income tax.
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Tax

Recession blues: 401(k) loans and hardship withdrawals on the rise

Fidelity Investments, one of the nation's providers of workplace retirement savings plans, has released its quarterly data on the state of the 401(k) that show positive, steady savings behavior by the majority of participants. However, it also cited an increase in the use of loans and hardship withdrawals by participants.
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Tax

One IRS attacker goes to prison, others under investigation

Frustration with the Internal Revenue Service is nothing new. But in recent months, acts of violence and inappropriate treatment of agents are escalating.
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Tax

Would you like your bagel with a side of extra tax?

Until recently, residents of Albany, New York, have not had to pay tax on the purchase of their morning bagels. At least for one major bagel chain – Bruegger’s – that’s all over. Why? Because the city of Albany needs cash and they are going to get it one bagel at a time.
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Tax

Detroit Pistons ownership says tax lien is a mistake

Detroit Pistons parent company Palace Sports & Entertainment was hit last month with a lien for unpaid state taxes that company officials said “fell through the cracks.” Combined with an earlier federal lien, it now appears to owe nearly $280,000.
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A&A

CPAs sponsor Webinar on BP oil spill reimbursement process

CPA societies from Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas, in cooperation with the Accounting CPE Network and BizVision, are sponsoring a Webinar designed for CPAs whose clients are filing claims through the BP reimbursement process.
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Tax

Supermodel Naomi Campbell making headlines again

Supermodel Naomi Campbell cannot keep her name out of the headlines – mostly for reasons that are far from enviable. The latest news is that she owes the Internal Revenue Service more than $63,000.
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A&A

Resolution seeks tax equity for same-sex married couples in California

California lawmakers earlier this month got one step closer to what Assemblyman Mike Feuer (D-Los Angeles) calls tax equity for same-sex married couples. Assembly Joint Resolution 29 (AJR 29) passed both houses in a vote of 52-9.
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Workplace Fitness

IRS releases Form 720 for tanning excise tax

The Internal Revenue Service recently released Form 720 for the excise tax on indoor tanning services imposed by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The 10 percent excise tax became effective July 1.
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Tax

Justice Department shuts down tax return preparer, seeks to shutter another

A federal district judge in Atlanta has permanently barred Saloum A. Njie and his company, MIAAS Associates LLC, from preparing federal tax returns for others.
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Tax

Basis, but no deduction? A look at partnership at-risk rules

When a tax practitioner reviews a client’s K-1 that passes through losses from a partnership, one of the primary considerations that comes (or should come) to the practitioner’s mind is, “Does the partner have enough basis to take this loss?”
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Tax

IRS to eliminate paper coupon deposits

The IRS has issued proposed regulations that will eliminate the rules for making federal tax deposits by paper coupon. Electronic deposits will be required effective January 1, 2011.
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Tax

Film tax credits: A hot topic for state budgets

You might have heard that many states use film tax credits as a way to attract production companies to make movies and TV shows within their borders, resulting in jobs for residents and publicity for the state. With budgets tightening, some states are suspending or reducing the incentives, while others are enhancing their existing programs and creating new ones.
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Tax

IRS announces plans for return preparer applications, user fees, and updates Circular 230 rules

The IRS has announced that its new online application system for compensated tax return preparers is expected to go live in mid-September. All preparers are to have a Preparer Tax Identification Number (PTIN).
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Tax

Congress asks the IRS to make changes to planned tax preparer regulations

In a letter addressed to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, 31 members of Congress from both parties expressed their concern with two aspects of the Internal Revenue Service's proposal to regulate paid tax preparers.
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Tax

Three arrested in IRS shooting incident

Three alleged criminals found this out the hard way when two of them ended up shot after trying to rob a woman unloading her car in the parking area of her San Francisco home.
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Tax

Wyly boys: Brothers with a golden touch, in trouble together

If the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is correct, billionaire brothers Samuel E. Wyly and Charles J. Wyly Jr. have more than savvy investing and brilliant business minds to thank for their wealth.
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Tax

Khloe Kardashian, Wyclef Jean, Lena Olin share tax authorities' spotlight

Khloe Kardashian is a star in Hollywood, but with tax authorities…not so much. On July 28th the California Franchise Tax Board filed a tax lien against Kardashian in the amount of nearly $18,500 relating to income from 2007.
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Tax

Rapper's home raided at gunpoint by IRS agents

Rapper Young Buck was visited by shotgun-wielding IRS agents who were attempting to recover approximately $300,000 in tax debt. The entertainer blames his accountants, attorneys, and managers.
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Pages

Voice of the Editor

What would you do if one of your clients won the lottery? We asked several accountants to weigh in with their advice for the lucky Powerball winner, and the tips we received are useful for anyone who receives a windfall, whether it's a lottery win, an inheritance, a big bonus on the job, or a killing in the stock market.
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Gail Perry, CPA
Publisher/Editor-in-Chief, AccountingWEB
editor@accountingweb.com
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