text: The Hill « Roth & Company, P.C
  Posts Tagged 'The Hill'
  Tax Roundup, June 30, 2014: FBAR due date edition. And: links from all over.
  Monday, June 30th, 2014 by Joe Kristan
  Remember, today is the deadline for electronically-filing Form 114, the "FBAR" disclosure of foreign financial accounts totalling over $10,000 at any time during 2013. The penalties for failure to file are ferocious — up to 50% of the account balance.
  Roger McEowen, Valuing Minority Interests in Closely-Held Businesses – The Business Judgment Rule, Fiduciary Duties and Reasonable Expections. " Clearly, the decisions point out that a well-drafted buy-sell agreement can go far in protecting the rights of minority shareholders in closely-held corporations."
  Laura Saunders, The Hazards of Offshore-Account Disclosure: Here's What Taxpayers Need to Consider Before They Confess (Via the TaxProf).
  TaxProf, The IRS Scandal, Day 417
  Noah Rothman, 'Phony scandals' and an election year 'demon': Lois Lerner's unconvincing defenders (Hot Air).
  The Hill, IRS staredown not going away.
  Elaine Maag, Misguided Expansion of the Child Tax Credit (TaxVox). The Maag version, with phaseouts at higher incomes and their accompanying poverty-trap high marginal tax rates, would be worse.
  Kay Bell, Congress wants to consolidate the many education tax breaks
  Jack Townsend, Sentencing Tales Told in Spreadsheet. "I offer today three spreadsheets offered in two sentencing proceedings from prominent convictions of Beanie Babies founder, Ty Warner, and of lawyer/tax shelter promoter, Paul Daugerdas."
  Cara Griffith, Live Free and Be Censored: What's New Hampshire Hiding? ($link). A disturbing case of the New Hampshire Department of Revenue Administration trying to control the content of a blog covering New Hampshire taxes. From the article:
  The New Hampshire DRA has crossed the line into tyranny by attempting to suppress information regarding how it administers the state's tax system. The tax community shouldn't stand by while the DRA shrouds itself in secrecy and threatens to punish those who exercise their First Amendment rights.
  It looks like the Free State Project has some work to do.
  Jordan Yohiro, Business Tax Incentives in Nebraska: Is There a Better Way? (Tax Policy Blog) Hmm. How about a low-rate, simple system that is easy for everyone to understand and inexpensive to obey?
  Robert D. Flach takes to the pixels of Accounting Today to explain why There Are So Many Things Wrong with the Annual Filing Season Program. "The announcement of the "Annual Filing Season Program" is a clear indication that the IRS should not be the organization to offer and maintain a voluntary tax preparer designation."
  Well, that's a relief. Marion Barry Doesn't Want To Tax Your Yogurt (TaxGrrl) " The question posed to Barry was about a proposed tax on yoga."
  News from the Profession. Retire From EY, Receive a Free Scrapbook of Career Highlights (Adrienne Gonzalez, Going Concern)
  Tags: TaxProf, Kay Bell, Robert D Flach, TaxGrrrl, Jack Townsend, The Hill, Laura Saunders, News from the Profession, Adrienne Gonzalez, Noah Rothman, Jordan Yohiro Posted in Tax Roundup | No Comments »
  Tax Roundup, 1/7/2013: Economist says Iowa's problem is income tax, not property tax. And: thieves don't report all of their income?
  Monday, January 7th, 2013 by Joe Kristan
  O. Kay Henderson reports that maybe the Branstad focus on property taxes is misplaced in Economist: Iowa income taxes not competitive:
  A Midwestern economist says Iowa policymakers should focus on cutting income taxes rather than property taxes. Ernie Goss, an economist at Creighton University in Omaha, says Iowa's income tax rates are fifth highest in the country.
  "In terms of what Iowa needs to look at, in my judgement, given what's going on in Kansas, what's about to go on in Nebraska — Iowa's neighbors — you need to look at income taxes, in terms of being more competitive," Goss says.
  Iowa property taxes are too high, but income taxes matter more for many taxpayers. While property taxes are a big deal to companies that own real estate, like a manufacturer or a big insurance company, income taxes can mean a lot more to a start-up or a tech company. Fortunately the Tax Update's Quick and Dirty Iowa Tax Reform Plan is ready to go!
  Making a dent in the deficit! A chart shows how much the tax increases on "The Rich" will reduce the $1.2 trillion federal deficit (new taxes in green, deficit in red)
  Either the government spends a lot less, or taxes go up a lot for everyone. The rich guy isn't buying
  The IRS isn't buying, either. Tax Analysts reports Better IRS Enforcement Could Net $1 Billion More a Year, Says GAO ($link). $1 billion is less than 1/1000 of the deficit. They won't audit their way to solvency.
  Breaking tax news from the Eisenhower administration:
  Amity Shlaes, Think Obama's Tax Hikes Are Low Compared With Rates Of The 1950s? Think Again. (Via Instapundit)
  Andrew Biggs, Were taxes really higher in the 1950s?
  It's Monday. Do you know if your payroll taxes have been remitted? Another sad story of a payroll service provider who decided he needed taxes withheld from his clients more than the IRS did. Digtriad.com reports that Arthur Weiss of Winston-Salem, North Carolina is going away for 15 years:
  Case documents show Weiss operated professional employer organizations (PEOs), which provided payroll-related services to client companies. For his client companies, Weiss agreed to pay the employees, withhold and remit federal and state taxes, prepare and file the federal and state employment tax returns and provide workers compensation insurance (WCI).
  Weiss did pay the employees and withhold the employment taxes, but he failed to remit the employment taxes, keeping them for his personal use.
  PEOs that file taxes under their own names and ID numbers have a hidden danger: their clients can't verify that the IRS has received their payments via the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS). Employers can use EFTPS to monitor payments when they use a payroll service that reports employee taxes under the employer's own name and Tax ID number. This makes it necessary for taxpayers to investigate PEO-type providers very carefully before trusting them with payroll services. If your payroll taxes are stolen by your payroll provider, the IRS will come after you to collect. Not many employers can afford to pay payroll taxes twice.
  Russ Fox has more.
  Few thieves report their income honestly. From WHOTV.com:
  Disgraced former Peregrine Financial CEO Russell Wasendorf Sr. is in jail awaiting sentencing for embezzling over $200-million in customer funds, fraud, and lying to federal regulators.
  Now the state says he may have also cheated on his taxes.
  Records show the [Iowa Department of Revenue] filed an assessment in November against Russ and Connie seeking $14.1-million in unpaid taxes and penalties to Iowa.
  Good luck collecting anything.
  TaxProf, WSJ: The Stealth Tax Hike — Why the New $450,000 Income Threshold Is a Political Fiction
  Elected representatives at work. Tim Carney: Baucus rewards ex-staffers with tax breaks for their clients:
  Tax breaks for Hollywood, NASCAR, windmills, algae and multinational corporations ended up in the "fiscal cliff" bill thanks to President Obama, according to Senate Republican sources. But they were spawned by a web of lobbyists, donors and staffers surrounding Democratic Sen. Max Baucus of Montana.
  Baucus' Finance Committee passed a bill in August extending 50 expiring deductions and credits for favored industries. At Obama's insistence, the Baucus bill was cut and pasted word for word into the cliff legislation.
  But it's all for our own good, I'm sure.
  William Perez, President Signs the American Taxpayer Relief Act into Law
  The 'fiscal cliff' bill and Iowa entrepreneurs. My new post at IowaBiz.com, the Des Moines Business Record blog for entrepreneurs.
  Paul Neiffer, Up to Ten Capital Gains Tax Rates for 2013!
  Janet Novack, The Forbes Guide To The Fiscal Cliff Tax Deal
  TaxGrrrl, 10 Things You Should Know About The Fiscal Cliff Deal
  Kay Bell, Ravens, Redskins and tax revenue
  Brian Strahle, Minimize Restructuring Costs with State Tax Due Diligence
  Peter Reilly, War Tax Resisters – Don't Call Them Frivolous.
  Patrick Temple-West, Inquiry into tech giants' tax strategies nears end, and more (Tax Break)
  Kaye A. Thomas, American Taxpayer Relief Act
  Tax Trials, Senate Confirms Two New Tax Court Judges
  Robert D. Flach ponders whether he should rename his Buzz roundup of tax news. Don't do it, Robert!
  Tax Analysts, New Congress's Partisanship, Inexperience May Hurt Chances for Tax Reform The Hill: Tax reform more likely after 'fiscal cliff' agreement, say House Republicans. (Via Instapundit)
  Tags: iowa tax policy, tax crime, tax administration, TaxProf, Kay Bell, Russ Fox, Janet Novack, Robert D Flach, William Perez, O Kay Henderson, Tax Analysts, TaxGrrrl, Paul Neiffer, EFTPS, Amity Shlaes, IowaBiz, The Hill, Branstad tax policy, Brian Strahle, Peter Reilly, Kaye Thomas, Patrick Temple-West, Wasendorf, Tax Trials, Fiscal Cliff, Tim Carney, Eisenhower tax policy, Andrew Biggs Posted in Tax Roundup | 1 Comment »
  Mrs. Congresscritter gets 30 days for tax cheating
  Friday, January 14th, 2011 by Joe Kristan
  The wife of Rep. John Tierney (D-Mass.) was sentenced to 30 days in jail Thursday after pleading guilty to helping her brother engage in tax fraud.
  Patricia Tierney, 59, pleaded guilty in October to four counts of helping her brother, fugitive Robert Eremian, prepare false federal tax returns.
  The prosecutors seem to think her husband was ignorant. When you see the work they do in Congress, it's hard to argue with that.