In the blogs: Bruins 2, IRS 0 – 1040 Tax Plus Services

By Admin

June 28, 2017

“Nobody likes lawyers;” attacks on the CBO; so you want to be a tax preparer?; and other highlights from our favorite tax bloggers.

Procedurally Taxing (http://www.procedurallytaxing.com/): A look at three intriguing recent designated orders: the tax liability of Michael Jackson’s estate; “computational errors” resulting in a $134,000 overstatement of taxable income, deficiency and penalties; and an innocent, yet dead, spouse.
Rubin on Tax (http://rubinontax.floridatax.com): No, taxpayers generally don’t fare well in court by saying one thing one day and another thing the next – a.k.a., violating the duty of consistency.
Due Diligence (http://www.mahanyertl.com/mahanyertl/): In this week’s collection: “Appeals Court Says Workers Can Sue Company Lawyers” (“…Nobody likes lawyers. We hear that frequently and with good reason …”) and “Takata Airbag VW – Audi Class Action Whistleblower Investigation.”
Taxable Talk (http://www.taxabletalk.com/): How the U.S. Tax Court took to the goal of determining whether pregame road meals for a National Hockey League team constitute “meals and entertainment” expenses. So far, it’s Bruins 2, IRS 0.
Federal Tax Crimes (http://federaltaxcrimes.blogspot.com/): Even a “king of b***shit tax shelters” can file a petition for writ of certiorari, complete with a summary of facts apparently believed necessary to understand the issue. “The government does not agree with some of the nuances in the facts, so just keep that in mind…”
Musings of a Burbank CPA (http://briantstonercpa.com/blog/#sthash.OkfGp9NM.dpbs): Especially susceptible to the latest scams involving payments supposedly tied into the IRS EFTPS system? Taxpayers who are on extension and think they may owe money, and the elderly.

Stated plainly

Tax Policy (http://taxfoundation.org/blog)): Hikes in cigarette taxes have always been popular prospects to close budget gaps, but in Oklahoma a pending lawsuit against the state constitutionality of such a law pivots on terminology.
Taxjar (http://blog.taxjar.com/): July’s sales tax filing due dates by state.
Summing It Up (http://blog.freedmaxick.com/summing-it-up): Advise business clients to use care when answering one of those tax nexus questionnaires that many states send. Among other landmines, the questionnaires can trigger inquiries into income or sales tax filing requirements.
Bloomberg BNA (http://www.bna.com/news/#!topic=istaxtype=isblogpost): Most states that levy a net income-based tax impose the tax on the income received or deemed received by the owners of pass-through entities, rather than on the entity itself. Many of those states then whip on a composite return tax or nonresident owner withholding requirement on the pass-through entity. A look at the main types of entity level taxes states impose, with some examples.
Tax Vox (http://taxvox.taxpolicycenter.org): “The Congressional Budget Office is under unprecedented political attack” – and that’s wrong and potentially counterproductive even to those doing the attacking. A perspective of a former CBO director in these insanely partisan times.

Motivations

The Wandering Tax Pro (http://wanderingtaxpro.blogspot.com/): Blogger Robert Flach has a new book that might be part how-to, part sci-fi and part comedy: So You Want To Be A Tax Preparer, “some advice for graduates who are considering becoming a paid tax preparer, either full-time or part-time.” Also potentially useful for practitioners looking to expand their practice.
Solutions for CPA Firm Leaders (http://ritakeller.com/blog/): Despite your new business from social media, your Web site and the dynamite blog you write, personal networking likely remains key to building your practice. A look at guru Jeffrey Gitomer’s tips of networking.
The Income Tax School (http://www.theincometaxschool.com/blog/): To maybe help drive your longtime intentions into 2017’s action, some solid reasons at last to attend this year’s IRS Tax Forums (July through September in Orlando, Fla.; Dallas; National Harbor, Md.; Las Vegas; and San Diego).
Mauled Again (http://mauledagain.blogspot.com/): You and many of your colleagues and contemporaries may have entered tax because of the numbers, but sometimes there’s more to the field than that. The European Court of Justice, for instance, must currently figure out “What is a sport?” for applying the value-added tax on competition entry fees.

Go With the Flow

Sageworks (https://www.sageworks.com/blog/default.aspx): “5 Cash Flow Management Best Practices for Business Owners,” from metrics of monitoring to patterns and trends forecasting.
Philadelphia Estate and Tax Attorney Blog (http://frommtaxes.wordpress.com/): This year’s IRS optional standard mileage rates.
Dinesen Tax (http://dinesentax.com/blog): Two of your business clients’ most pressing needs: managing cash flow and working with banks. This entry, part two of an adaption from a presentation of the blogger, addresses both. First points? “Creating a budget is not hard. Creating a budget that is actually useful is …”
Intuit Proconnect (http://taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com/): What your clients (and maybe you too) need to know about “the somewhat complicated” area of tangible property or repair regulations.
HR Block (http://blogs.hrblock.com/): What to tell them (“…come in off that ledge and we can talk about it…”) after the IRS CP14 Balance Due arrives. Solid advice, seriously, about double-checking amounts and negotiating for more time.
IRS Problem Solver Blog (http://www.getirshelp.com/irsblog/): They’ll huff and they’ll puff, but what can an IRS audit actually blow down? What to tell clients about the process and what to do and think along the way.
Liberty Tax Blog (http://www.libertytax.com/tax-lounge): Everything to tell them about making federal tax payments. Nothing left to do now but make sure they listen.