Judy Chu Announces No More Paper Returns for Most BOE Taxpayers
Sales Tax Audit? Sales Tax Problem? BOE or SBE Issues? Get Sales Tax Resolution TODAY!
Business Editors/Government Writers
SACRAMENTO, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–June 27, 2008–Judy Chu, Ph.D., Chair of the State Board of Equalization (BOE), today announced that the BOE will begin transitioning existing sales and [...]

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Gain from selling carbon dioxide allowances didn’t generate foreign personal holding company income PLR 200825009
Mike Habib, EA
IRS has privately ruled that gain from the sale of surplus carbon dioxide allowances didn’t constitute foreign personal holding company income (FPHCI) under Code Sec. 954(c). It concluded that the emissions allowances were excepted because [...]

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House Subcommittee Passes IRS Funding Bill

The House Appropriations Financial Services Subcommittee this week passed a bill that would appropriate $11.4 billion to IRS for FY 2009.

The bill would grant IRS budget authority to spend $5.1 billion on enforcement, $2.2 on taxpayer services, and $3.8 billion on operations.

The total is about $40 million more than the [...]

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Business Provisions of the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008
Mike Habib, EA
The Economic Stimulus Act of 2008 contains two provisions that provide tax benefits for businesses. The first provision increases the limit up to which a business can expense property purchased and placed in service during its 2008 tax year. The second provision provides an additional [...]

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More disaster victims in Indiana, Iowa and Wisconsin qualify for tax relief IRS website [http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=108362,00.html]
Mike Habib, EA
IRS has announced on its website that additional counties in Indiana, Iowa and Wisconsin have been declared disaster areas on account of recent severe storms, tornadoes and flooding. As a result, more victims of the disaster [...]

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Regs crack down on tax avoidance repatriations of CFC earnings Preamble to TD 9402, 06/23/2008; Reg. § 1.956-1T; Preamble to Prop Reg 06/23/2008; Prop Reg § 1.956-1
Mike Habib, EA
IRS has issued temporary and proposed regs to determine the basis of certain U.S. property acquired by a controlled foreign corporation (CFC) in certain nonrecognition transactions that [...]

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Business standard mileage rate increases for last half of 2008 - other rates also rise Mike Habib, EA
IRS has announced that the optional mileage allowance for owned or leased autos (including vans, pickups or panel trucks) will increase 8¢ from 50.5¢ to 58.5¢ per mile for business travel from July 1, 2008 to Dec. [...]

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TV ads and TV Tax Relief Commercials claiming “Pennies On The Dollar” Tax Settlements - As Seen On TV
Mike Habib, EA
Many Tax Relief and Tax Negotiation firms advertise on TV claiming that they can settle your tax debt for “pennies on the dollar”. Now, you, as a taxpayer must be informed of what options you [...]

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Recap of recent state employment tax laws, developments, and changes taking effect in July
Several states and localities are making employment tax changes that take effect in July. In addition, several new employment tax laws and developments have occurred recently. Here are some of the highlights from the following states:
AlabamaUnemployment. Effective for benefit years [...]

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Choosing a Business Structure

FS-2008-22
Of all the choices you make when starting a business, one of the most important is the type of legal organization you select for your company. This decision can affect how much you pay in taxes, the amount of paperwork your business is required to do, the personal liability you face [...]

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IRS urged to increase standard mileage reimbursement rates
Several requests have been made to the IRS in recent days to increase its standard mileage rates. The standard mileage rate for use of a car (including vans, pickups, and panel trucks) is currently 50.5 cents per mile for business-related travel, and 19 cents per mile [...]

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Appeals Court overturns oil company’s large claim of right refund Texaco v. U.S. (CA 9 6/13/2008) 101 AFTR 2d ¶ 2008–889 The Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has reversed a district court award of an over $100 million refund claim to a large oil company, which had sought claim of right relief [...]

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Why the company car is still a valued fringe benefit for company owners and key employeesA company car has long been an extremely popular “perk” or fringe benefit for company owners and key employees of medium sized or small enterprises. As this article demonstrates, this benefit yields substantial nontax as well as tax benefits for [...]

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IRS may prepare substitute returns in worker classification cases Chief Counsel Advice 200822026
A Chief Counsel Advice (CCA) has concluded that, in employment tax cases where worker classification issues are present, revenue officers have authority under Code Sec. 6020(b) to prepare employment tax returns, but the requirements of Code Sec. 7436 must be [...]

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IRS Announces ‘Dirty Dozen’
Tax Scams for 2008
Phishing Scams, Fuel Tax Credits, Frivolous Arguments, Hiding Income Offshore Top the 2008 Tax Scams

WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service today issued its 2008 list of the 12 most egregious tax schemes and scams, highlighted by Internet phishing scams and several frivolous tax arguments.
Topping this year’s list [...]

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Tax Problem Resolution Services
I specialize in resolving tax problems for individuals, small-size companies, mid-size companies, and fortune 1,000 companies. I represent individuals and businesses before the IRS and any taxing authority, therefore the taxpayer does not have to deal with the IRS directly.
Mike Habib, EA
IRS strengthened enforcement policies, along with their new and complex tax [...]

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Tax provisions directly affecting farmers in the Heartland, Habitat, Harvest, and Horticulture Act of 2008 The recently enacted “Heartland, Habitat, Harvest, and Horticulture Act of 2008” (the 2008 Farm Act) contains a package of tax changes including specialized tax breaks for the farming industry (along with a crackdown on farm losses) and new and modified [...]

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Overview of the tax changes in the Heartland, Habitat, Harvest, and Horticulture Act of 2008
The recently enacted “Heartland, Habitat, Harvest, and Horticulture Act of 2008” (the 2008 Farm Act) contains a package of tax changes including specialized tax breaks for the farming industry (along with a crackdown on farm losses) and new and modified credits [...]

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Tax relief for Peace Corps volunteers and employees in the Heroes Earnings Assistance and Relief Tax Act of 2008
The recently enacted “Heroes Earnings Assistance and Relief Tax Act of 2008” (the 2008 Heroes Act) contains a wide-ranging package of tax cuts for military personnel and veterans. In addition, a provision in the 2008 Heroes Act [...]

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Pension plan benefits for military personnel in the Heroes Earnings Assistance and Relief Tax Act of 2008
The recently enacted “Heroes Earnings Assistance and Relief Tax Act of 2008” (the 2008 Heroes Act) provides several important pension plan benefits for military personnel. Specifically, the Act makes the following pension plan liberalizations for members of the military [...]

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Overview of tax changes in the Heroes Earnings Assistance and Relief Tax Act of 2008
The recently enacted “Heroes Earnings Assistance and Relief Tax Act of 2008” (the 2008 Heroes Act) provides targeted tax relief for military members and their families, fully offset with tightened expatriation rules, a new rule requiring U.S. companies working under federal [...]

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Temporary regs curb abuses in triangular reorganizations involving foreign corporations T.D. 9400, 05/23/2008, Reg. § 1.367(a)-3T, Reg. § 1.367(b)-14T, Preamble to Prop Reg 05/23/2008 IRS has issued temporary (along with final and proposed regs) under Code Sec. 367(b) to curb abusive triangular reorganizations involving foreign corporations—sometimes referred to as “Killer B” transactions. The [...]

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IRS expands advance pricing agreement procedures to include other issues relevant to transfer pricing Rev Proc 2008-31, 2008-23 IRB In a Revenue Procedure, IRS has expanded the procedures under which taxpayers secure an advance pricing agreement (APA) to include additional types of issues that may be resolved in the APA process.
Background. An APA [...]

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House-passed Heroes Act would provide tax relief to military members & their families On May 20, by a vote of 403-0 the House of Representatives unanimously approved H.R. 6081, the “Heroes Earnings Assistance and Relief Tax Act of 2008.” The bill, dubbed the HEART Act by its sponsors, is very similar to the version of [...]

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IRS focusing efforts on four employment tax initiatives

American Payroll Association 26th Annual Congress May 13-17 (Austin, TX)

John Tuzynski, IRS Chief, Employment Tax Operations, told attendees at APA’s 26th Annual Congress that the IRS is focusing its efforts on the following four key employment tax initiatives: (1) worker classification, (2) tip reporting compensation, (3) officer compensation, [...]

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