IRS Consolidates the Mainframes
Form 8873 is used to figure out the total gross income exclusion for transactions that result in foreign trading gross receipts. This exclusion will be in effect for most transactions that take place after September 30, 2000.
IRS Issues Tax Scam Warnings for this Season
It's common fact that everyone hates to pay taxes. But we all do for one reason or another. We either want to strengthen our government or build better school systems for future generations....more
Bush Submits Tax Cuts to Congress
On Feb 8th, President Bush submitted his tax cuts to Congress. Fearing an Economic slowdown creeping up on the American economy, he believes the only solution before him is to put money in the hands of consumers and entrepreneurs....more
IRS Develops a Blueprint for the Future
IRS has developed a blueprint for the agency's future. It will help them guide and develop their tax systems to better serve the taxpayers. The blueprint a.k.a IRS enterprise architecture was first created in 1997.
Additional Authority Allocated to National Taxpayer Advocate
Small businesses with less than $2500 in employment taxes in a three-month period no longer have to make monthly deposits of those taxes. They can make them quarterly with form 941. Previously the threshold for employment taxes in a quarter was $1000...more
New IRS Regulations for IRA Withdrawals
IRS has finally decided to put forth a life expectancy table that makes sense for IRA withdrawals. No longer will there be various calculations to figure out the minimum payouts using the joint life expectancy of the IRA owner and the beneficiary...more
Chairman Greenspan in Favor of Tax Cuts
On January 25th, 2001 Mr. Greenspan speaking for himself and not as the chairman of the Federal Reserve, chose his words carefully addressing the senate’s committee on the budget never mentioning President Bush’s name or endorsing his tax plan but instead focusing on the recent revisions of the "on-budget surpluses" for the coming decade and how that surplus should be dealt with?...more
$2.4 Billion in Refunds for 1997 Non-Filers
$2.4 billion are waiting in refunds for the individuals who did not file their 1997 tax returns. Taxpayers have up to three years to file a return. If they don’t, the refund they would have received is lost. The deadline for filing a return for 1997 is April 16th, 2001. The penalty for filing a late return is waived when there is a refund due...more
Quakers Unsuccessfully Fight the Government Citing "Religious Hardship"
Many Quakers have repeatedly refused to pay a certain portion of the federal income taxes that is used to fund the military. Their argument is that it violates their religious beliefs. Yet when two Quaker families were recently faced with back taxes, they agreed to pay them but not the late fees and penalties that IRS is charging them with....more
$6 Million Granted to Low-Income Taxpayer Clinics
102 low-income taxpayer clinics are going to be funded by IRS this year. Last year it was 88 clinics that received this grant to provide legal assistance for taxpayers. Low-income taxpayer clinics exist to help out taxpayers who are in legal trouble with the IRS or owe taxes but don’t have the funds to properly represent themselves and their case to the agency...more
IRS Announces New Director of Electronic Tax Administration
Terry Lutes is the new Director of Electronic Tax Administration. He had been the acting director of ETA since October 2000, when Robert E. Barr had vacated the position. Mr. Lutes has been with the agency for the last 24 years...more
IRS Makes Improvements for 2001 filing season
HWith the introduction of self-select PIN (Personal Identification Number) to electronically sign your returns hence eliminating the need for a paper signature, IRS will be able to offer paperless filing for the first time. Taxpayer’s self-select PIN will be accompanied by their 2000 adjusted gross income and tax amounts...more
New National Taxpayer Advocate Named
Nina E. Olson founder of the Richmond, Virginia based community tax law project the first independent low-income taxpayer’s clinic in the United States, has been named as the next National Taxpayer Advocate. Charles O. Rossotti, IRS commissioner, shows a lot of faith in Ms. Olson calling her an "advocate for taxpayer rights."...more
Pre-Filing Agreements Made Permanent by IRS
The pilot program, pre-filing agreement, for large and mid-size businesses started last year will be made permanent beginning in 2001. The PFA presents issues to the IRS before the businesses file their tax returns. This not only helps the businesses file a proper tax return but also saves a lot of paperwork at IRS that would result if the issues facing the businesses were not addressed and resolved...more
National Taxpayer Advocate Submits Annual Report to CongressThe Annual report recently submitted by the National Taxpayer Advocate contains the top issues plaguing the American taxpayer. It also makes recommendations on amending the tax codes to better serve the taxpayers. The report will be available for the general public to review in a week. The acting national taxpayer advocate Henry Lamar calls this report their vision of how the IRS can provide better service to taxpayers...more
