by Leif Jensen | Oct 16, 2011 | General |
Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to $100. If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this: The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing. The fifth would pay $1. The sixth would pay...
by Leif Jensen | Oct 11, 2011 | General |
This holiday season there will be a new mouse on the market, the Penclic Mouse. This is a Swedish design and is now in use in Europe. It is a cross between a pen and a joystick. It moves like a pen, which makers say is more natural than rolling a regular mouse. Now...
by Leif Jensen | Oct 11, 2011 | General |
Thinks are looking up??? Private sector hiring is picking up. Things are projected to have slightly better growth ahead. It is expected businesses to add 100,000-150,000 jobs a month during 2012, then subtract 20,000 or so a month as government agencies continue to...
by Leif Jensen | Oct 10, 2011 | General |
A funny thing happened in WASHINGTON —The Internal Revenue Service announced that it is issuing proposed regulations that would require paid tax return preparers, beginning in 2012, to file a due diligence checklist, Form 8867, with any federal return claiming the...
by Leif Jensen | Oct 10, 2011 | General |
Does your business have a corporate book? Does it have updated information? Do you have at least an annual meeting? What should be in your corporate books and records? It should include the following: • Article of Incorporation • Bylaws • Minutes of first...
by Leif Jensen | Oct 3, 2011 | General |
A win for the states is in the works. A bill limiting states’ power to chase tax revenue from out-of-state firms is not likely to pass. The legislation has been approved by a House committee, but is not expected to get much farther. The planned measure would bar...
by Leif Jensen | Oct 3, 2011 | General |
IRS has never been comfortable with how some firms classify some workers and independent contractor. To assist with turning this issue towards the direction they wish they have issued a carrot and a stick for firms that misclassify workers as contractors. Firms not...
by Leif Jensen | Oct 3, 2011 | General |
The costs are in for the unenrolled return preparers. They will have to stick their hands in their pockets for two new user fees to the IRS; $33 for fingerprinting and $27 to take the competency exam. These levies cover only the Service’s costs and don’t include what...
by Leif Jensen | Oct 3, 2011 | General |
It seems it’s never over until it’s over with the IRS. You must ask IRS in writing to withdraw a tax lien once the tax liability is fully paid. A withdrawal of a federal tax lien is more beneficial than a release because a withdrawal expunges the lien immediately from...
by Leif Jensen | Oct 3, 2011 | General |
The IRS has broad discretion to allocate partial payments of back taxes. They will do so to its own advantage unless you state how to apply the payment. Shocking that they look at their best intrests and not yours. This court case, a firm owed income and payroll...
by Leif Jensen | Oct 3, 2011 | General |
According to the Tax Court, an asset must be ready for business use by year-end to qualify for expensing. In the court case the owner of an S corporation put the cart before the horse, buying a plane for her cargo delivery business without having anyone who could fly...
by Leif Jensen | Sep 26, 2011 | General |
As we all are aware of the people in Chicago typically pay the most for gas than everyone else in the country. Now these may not be the most recent numbers (they are probably higher today), but they are from March 2011. Besides the base price of gasoline, this now...
by Leif Jensen | Sep 24, 2011 | General |
The IRS has made a pronouncement to clarify the tax treatment of employer-provided cell phones. Cell phones have been officially removed from the definition of listed property, a category under tax law that normally requires additional recordkeeping by taxpayers. We...
by Leif Jensen | Sep 24, 2011 | General |
One of the things that seems to be a recurring issue is the need for Corporate minutes. Apparently this is something that even the IRS will be looking at/for this in certain types of audits. Basis audits being the main type. How many of you have your corporate...
by Leif Jensen | Sep 24, 2011 | General |
The IRS does not seem to like the USPS, at least all of the time. But it does seem to like DHL and FedEx a little more lately, now it says that the timely use of private services will be evidence of timely delivery of returns. This while Express Mail and Priority...
by Leif Jensen | Sep 23, 2011 | General |
The IRS has made it easier for real estate pros with rental losses to get a tax break (tough luck for the rest of us). They can now make a key tax election on an amended return without asking IRS for a private letter ruling. Individuals who spend more than one-half of...
by Leif Jensen | Sep 17, 2011 | General |
Math errors are a two-way street, according to the latest IRS statistics. The Service refunded over $6 billion to filers who made mistakes in 2010. That compares to $9.5 billion that IRS took from those who erred in their own favor, including arithmetic flubs, using...
by Leif Jensen | Sep 17, 2011 | General |
Nothing but the best and brightest! The IRS has finally given details on the registered tax preparer test, and I was correct! It is designed to test minimum standards only. The examination will be open book and three hours long. Test takers will be given copies of...
by Leif Jensen | Sep 17, 2011 | General |
The Illinois Tax Amnesty for internet sales can be considered a failure for Springfield. Apparently tax compliance had doubled, but this can be measured as 4.6% of Illinois taxpayers whom paid $10.2 million. With the honor system failing, we can look for Springfield...
by Leif Jensen | Sep 10, 2011 | General |
According to the Tax Court, IRS agents cannot abate interest on overdue taxes. This comes from a case involving an executor of an estate in Croatia who could not tap bank accounts here to pay U.S. income tax because of long delays encountered in Croatia’s probate...
