A report issued by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) indicates that the IRS receives millions of income and wage statements each year that contain mismatched names and identification numbers.

A consortium of minority and women business leaders in the private equity, real estate, and investment management industries has announced the formation of the Access to Capital Coalition (ACC) to oppose efforts in Congress to change tax laws in a way that would adversely affect minority and women entrepreneurs.

IBM Corporation and PricewaterhouseCoopers have together agreed to pay the United States more than $5.2 million to settle allegations that the companies solicited and provided improper payments and other things of value on technology contracts with government agencies, the Justice Department announced last week.

The debate now taking place in Congress on the tax paid on "carried interest," by private equity and hedge fund managers was not triggered by the initial public offering of The Blackstone Group, the private equity firm headed by Steve Schwarztman, but details of Schwarztman's total earnings that were revealed in the filing brought increased media attention to the issues being debated.Much of the discussion in Congress and the media centers on whether the "carried interest," which is a major component of the managers' total compensation, should be taxed, as it now is, as a capital gain at 15

The Treasury Department and the IRS have released final regulations related to retirement savings arrangements sponsored by public schools and charitable organizations, often referred to as "section 403(b) plans." These regulations are the first comprehensive section 403(b) regulations since 1964.

It was only a couple of weeks ago that we reported the U.S. Supreme Court had refused to hear two cases that would have addressed the issue of substantial economic presence in a state being enough to constitute nexus. In Lanco, Inc. v. Director U.S. and FIA Card Services N.A. f/k/a MBNA America Bank, N.A. v. Commissioner, U.S., NJ and West Virginia chose to apply income taxes on corporations that had no physical presence in the state. In Lanco, A Delaware-based company licenses trademarks to women's apparel stores in New Jersey.

The Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government has approved the IRS budget of $11.1 billion for fiscal year 2008 after the budget was approved by the House. The amount is slightly ($112.5 million) above President Bush's suggested budget and $544.5 higher than the fiscal year 2007 budget.Included in the IRS budget is $6.8 billion slated for enforcement activities, $2.1 billion for taxpayer services, and $282 million for modernization.

The House and Senate have introduced bills that would dramatically change the income tax treatment of "carried interest" profits earned by fund managers in their capacity as general partners of investment partnerships. Hedge fund managers, private equity fund managers, and real estate operators are the targets for legislation that would eliminate the perceived benefits derived from doing business through partnerships.House of Representatives ProposalH.R.

On Wednesday, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to cut $19 billion in federal subsidies to student lenders over five years, and increase grants for needy students and cut interest rates in half on federally backed loans with the savings. The bill passed, 273-149, with 47 Republicans joining Democrats. While it appears that President George W. Bush opposes some elements of this bill, it is likely that some overhaul of student aid will become law before the end of the year.