News, practice tips, and industry updates for CPAs, enrolled agents, attorneys, and everyone else working in tax professionally.
The Internal Revenue Service has announced that it has now passed the one billion mark for individual tax returns processed through its electronic filing (or e-filing) program. Despite the fact that we tend to throw around the “b” word left and right these days when talking about taxes, the deficit and the budget, a billion…
Josephine Robinson, a former tax attorney for the Italian luxury fashion house Gucci has filed a lawsuit accusing the company of racial discrimination. The lawsuit, Robinson v. Gucci America (U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 11 CV 3742) which was filed on June 2, specifically names top executives in the company, including…
Apparently we do have antitrust laws left in this country – when the mood strikes us, that is. The Department of Justice announced today that it has filed an antitrust lawsuit to stop H&R Block from buying 2nd Story Software, the company that makes TaxACT. Last year, H&R Block had annual revenues of $3.9 billion…
Tomorrow (May 18) marks exactly one month after Tax Day 2011. I know, just a month, right? It feels a lot longer to those of us in the tax profession. This is about the time that many folks start peering at their bank balances and wondering where the heck their refund checks are. If you’re…
With just a few weeks to go before Tax Day, it seems that tax scams aren’t slowing down. A Jacksonville, FL, news station has reported the arrest of George Graycochea on a charge of organized fraud. Graycochea allegedly advertised on Craigslist for tax preparation services. Since I’ve never seen any ads on Craigslist for tax…
The Third Party Designee box is a relatively new feature on tax returns (I said “relatively” – clearly, I’m dating myself on this one). It’s also one of the most confusing because so many taxpayers don’t know exactly what they’re designating a third party for… In fact, many of my clients are in a mild…
Right off the bat, let me say that I believe that there is real value in finding a competent, reliable tax professional. Like many taxpayers, I use an accountant to prepare my taxes, not because I enjoy paying for it but because I want to stay married… Let’s face it. Taxes can be stressful for…
What if, as a tax professional, I came up with an idea to reduce your taxes that was so amazing, I wanted to patent it so that nobody else could use it without my approval? Fair? Some members of Congress say no. Just last week, Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT) and Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) introduced…
The ABA Section of Taxation has announced the winners of its 10th Annual Law Student Tax Challenge: Wes Hill and Sims Rhyne III of Samford University School of Law were awarded first place in the J.D. Division. Judson Bryant and John Goodell of Northwestern University School of Law were awarded first place in the LL.M….
It’s trash talk season. The insults are flying. And nooo, I’m not talking about the Super Bowl. I’m talking about tax season. Jackson Hewitt, the nation’s #2 retail tax preparer service, has filed a lawsuit against H&R Block, the nation’s #1 retail tax preparer service, for making what it called “false, misleading and highly disparaging…