Integrating Modern World Tax Issues into the Classroom

Article:  This column reviews the benefits of interdisciplinary and integrated coursework, suggests three aspects of the modern world that should engage students and draw on their knowledge gained outside the classroom, and suggests ways to incorporate the topics into a tax course.
Published on January 28, 2011

New Tax Preparer Rules for Disclosure and Use of Return Information

Article:  The IRS released final regulations under Sec. 7216, providing guidance for tax return preparers about the disclosure or use of tax return information.
Published on January 28, 2011

Economic Outlay Revisited

Article:  Under the economic outlay doctrine, to obtain basis in an S corporation with respect to debt, a shareholder must make an actual economic outlay, the outlay must somehow leave the shareholder poorer in a material sense, and the debt created must run directly between the shareholder and the S corporation.
Published on January 28, 2011

Preview and Analysis of Proposed Statements on Standards for Tax Services

Article:  The AICPA's Tax Executive Committee released an exposure draft of proposed Statements for Tax Services (SSTS Nos. 1-7) on November 26, 2008.
Published on January 28, 2011

IFRS and Your Tax Practice

Article:  International financial reporting standards (IFRS) are coming, and tax advisers need to understand the implications for their clients.
Published on January 28, 2011

IRS Issues Guidance on Losses from Ponzi Schemes

Article:  The IRS has released guidance on how investors who have fraud losses from a Ponzi scheme should treat their losses for tax purposes and has provided a safe harbor for taxpayers to use in determining the amount and the timing of their losses from a Ponzi scheme.
Published on January 28, 2011

Securities Transfer Is Not a Securities Lending Arrangement

Article:  The Tax Court held that a billion dollar–plus securities transaction was not a securities lending arrangement under Sec. 1058 because its terms reduced the opportunity for gain to the transferor of the securities in the transaction for almost the entire transaction period.
Published on January 28, 2011

Financial Planning Using a Clients Form 1040

Article:  CPAs can provide valuable assistance to their clients by taking some time after busy season to use the tax return as a guide to helping their clients deal with the current economic difficulties.
Published on January 28, 2011

IRS Issues Final Regs. on Automatic Contribution Arrangements

Article:  The IRS has issued final regulations on automatic contribution arrangements for 401(k) and other eligible plans.
Published on January 28, 2011

Seventh Circuit Finds $20 Million Bonus Reasonable

Article:  The Seventh Circuit has reversed a Tax Court decision holding that most of an executive’s $20 million compensation was unreasonable and therefore a nondeductible dividend.
Published on January 28, 2011

IRS Releases Guidance on New Five-Year NOL Carryback

Article:  The IRS has issued guidance on how eligible small businesses can take advantage of the increased net operating loss (NOL) carryback provisions enacted in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
Published on January 28, 2011

Depreciation Options for Avoiding Corporate AMT Adjustments and Preferences

Article:  An election of a particular depreciation system affects both taxable income and the taxpayer’s administrative burden.
Published on January 28, 2011

IRS Announces an End to Private Debt Collection Services

Article:  The IRS confirmed that it will not renew expiring contracts with private debt collection agencies, effectively ending its private debt collection program.
Published on January 28, 2011

Navigating Secs. 743 and 734 in the Current Economy

Article:  Given the current economy and the resulting decline in the value of investment partnership portfolios, tax practitioners must be familiar with the mandatory basis adjustments under Secs. 743 and 734 and the alternative rules for electing investment partnerships.
Published on January 28, 2011

Sales Tax Collection by Online Vendors

Article:  Amazon.com, a retail online vendor, recently suffered a setback in a New York court, where it was contesting a newly enacted New York statute requiring online vendors with no direct physical presence in New York to collect sales tax on goods sold into the state.
Published on January 28, 2011