May 2014

May 27, 2014

Practitioners Suspended or Disbarred from Practice Before the IRS Can Prepare Tax Returns

The IRS has decided that, as a result of the recent decision preventing it from regulating unenrolled tax return preparers, disbarment or suspension from practice before the IRS cannot include a ban on tax return preparation or blocking an individual’s PTIN.

May 23, 2014

Sec. 501(c)(4) Regulations Will Be Reproposed Following Outpouring of Public Comments

The IRS received a flood of comments in response to proposed regulations it issued on the rules governing the political activities of Sec. 501(c)(4) social welfare organizations. As a result, the IRS announced that it will repropose the regulations.

May 21, 2014

AICPA Has “Deep Concerns” About IRS Voluntary Certification of Return Preparers

The AICPA sent the IRS commissioner a letter expressing its “deep concerns” about a program for voluntary certification of tax return preparers.

May 20, 2014

Tax Lawyer: Code Reform Stymied by Dysfunctional Congress

Passage of major tax reform legislation appears unlikely soon, partly because of partisan gridlock in Congress as bad as any in the past century and a half, a noted tax lawyer told the AICPA Council.

May 15, 2014

Notice Clarifies Midyear Amendment of Certain Retirement Plans Post-Windsor

The IRS clarified that a qualified retirement plan will continue to be a qualified 401(k) or 401(m) safe-harbor plan if it adopts a midyear amendment to its plan to comply with the rules in Notice 2014-19 requiring qualified plans to conform to the Windsor decision.

May 15, 2014

TIGTA Finds $2.3 Billion Alimony Tax Gap

The discrepancies between alimony income reported by taxpayers and alimony deductions claimed resulted in $2.3 billion in excess deductions in 2010, TIGTA reported.

May 12, 2014

Commissioner Calls for Greater IRS Funding

The IRS needs more money to effectively do its job, especially with its added responsibilities under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. That was the message IRS Commissioner John Koskinen delivered to attendees at the American Bar Association Tax Section’s spring meeting in Washington on Friday.

May 9, 2014