A new report from the government’s internal watchdog found that richer taxpayers are benefitting the most from a broader decline in audit rates by the IRS, adding impetus to criticism that the U.S. tax system favors the wealthy, and possibly bolstering a White House push to increase taxes on the wealthy.
The tax season that’s due to open when the Internal Revenue Service begins accepting tax returns next Monday is promising to bring a host of challenges. Tax professionals are largely ready to forge ahead to help their clients get through it, but now they may have trouble getting power of attorney forms processed.
Congress recently passed the CARES Act, which was immediately signed into law on March 27. The economic stimulus bill consists of a historic $2 trillion meant to help taxpayers, including individuals and businesses alike, weather the storm wrought by COVID-19.
alliantgroup is excited that Congressional leaders have reached a late tax deal that will extend a number of popular tax provisions, including the Section 179D deduction for Energy Efficient Commercial Buildings.
alliantgroup, a Houston-based nationwide tax-consulting services firm, made two big announcements last week. On March 22, the firm announced it had acquired ForrestBrown, the only chartered tax advisory firm specializing exclusively in research and development tax credits in the U.K. The value of the deal was not disclosed in alliantgroup’s press release.
On February 9th, Congress passed a budget agreement that included a number of tax energy extenders, including the Energy-Efficient Commercial Building Deduction (179D) through December 31, 2017. Since it was initially passed as part of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, Section 179D has proven not only to be sound energy policy, but a vital incentive in terms of promoting U.S. job creation and economic growth.
Today, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-TX) introduced the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act – bold legislation to overhaul America’s tax code for the first time in 31 years. With this bill, a typical middle-income family of four, earning $59,000 (the median household income), will receive a $1,182 tax cut.
On September 11, 2017, the LB & I Division of the IRS issued a new directive that allows IRS examiners to accept a taxpayer’s determination of its qualified research expenses (QREs) to the extent that the QREs are computed in accordance with ASC 730 Financial Statement R&D. The new directive is a step in the right direction and gives taxpayers who qualify a potential partial safe harbor in calculating the research credit. However, the new directive leaves many open questions.
