South Dakota’s new industry; a little clarity on contractors; the IRS and collections; and other highlights from our favorite tax bloggers.
Scary stuff
- Taxbuzz (
https://www.taxbuzz.com/blog ): All the back and forth so far on the new tax proposal that allows the IRS to track bank transactions of $600 or more. - AICPA Insights (
https://future.aicpa.org/blog ): Evolving from paper federal filing may seem natural, but e-filing creates limitations and serious issues. As the Form 990 Series is fairly new to this universe, the American Institute of CPAs’ Exempt Organizations Taxation Technical Resource Panel identified “some potential taxpayer challenges.” - Tax Foundation (
https://taxfoundation.org/blog ): How higher taxes under the House Ways and Means plan only emphasizes the need for corporate integration. - CPA Growth Trends (
https://www.cpagrowthtrends.com/ ): A recent marketing survey has revealed “many clear differentiators” between firms that grew and those that didn’t during the tilt-a-whirl marketplace that resulted from the pandemic. - Tax Vox (
https://www.taxpolicycenter.org/ ): South Dakota turned itself into a tax haven. The first question is, obviously, “South Dakota?” The second is, “Why?” - Canopy (
https://www.canopytax.com/blog ): “Halloween Costume Ideas for Accountants in 2021” include (and don’t shoot the messenger): a calculator; an IRS form (“…nothing scarier…”); Dracula (Count, that is); a “million bucks” (costume’s on Amazon); and a chef “cooking the books.”
Contract sports
- TaxMama (
http://taxmama.com ): Since the California Legislature passed Assembly Bill 5 two years ago, rules regarding who’s an employee and who’s an independent contractor in the state have gotten ever more stringent — and confusing. But here are 10 questions answered right by the source. - National Taxpayer Advocate (
https://www.taxpayeradvocate.irs.gov/taxnews-information/blogs-nta/ ): Four contracts lapsed and three new ones are in place between the IRS and private collection agencies. What does that mean for taxpayers? - Procedurally Taxing (
https://procedurallytaxing.com : This blogger understands why the IRS has to retrieve these taxpayer accounts from the discontinued private collection agencies — this is taxpayer and tax return information and with the discontinuation of the contract there is no exception to share this information with those PCAs. What the blogger doesn’t understand is why the IRS terminated previous streamlined installment agreements taxpayers have entered. Who’s getting paid by the IAs, anyway: the IRS or the collection agency? - Bloomberg Tax (
https://pro.bloombergtax.com/news-insights/ ): As with the latest World Cup qualifiers, there’s still a lot of time left to work out the details of the global minimum tax rate and how multinational companies are taxed. - Current Federal Tax Developments (
https://www.currentfederaltaxdevelopments.com/ ): A look at the recent memorandum that outlines what minimum information will be required for a research credit refund claim. - Federal Tax Crimes (
http://federaltaxcrimes.blogspot.com/ ): In United States v. Hughes, the court held in an FBAR-collection suit that a defendant was liable for the FBAR willful penalty for only half the number of years for which the government sought judgment. The court claimed that the government hadn’t met its burden of proof. The blogger disagrees. - Surgent Income Tax School (
http://www.theincometaxschool.com/blog/ ): A few basics on pricing your services. Biggest, at the end, involves what to think about when giving quotes, a process that so often winds up just being a swift kick in your rear tire.
The future is now
- Tax Pro Center (
https://proconnect.intuit.com/taxprocenter/ ): No offense, but do you still have a green eye shade, abacus and green ledger paper at work? Do you even know what these things are — and what you would use them for, other than decorations for your office? A look at some of the technology to handle today’s want-it-now clients — starting with big data and artificial intelligence. - Sikich (
https://www.sikich.com/insights/ ): Lessons old, new and still to come seem to point to a common theme across industries: Many organizations are underinvesting in their HR and payroll tech (think widely remote workforce). This, in turn, has a direct impact on the ability to attract and retain the best employees. It may be time to refresh your HR tech roadmap. - Palm Beach Accounting and Financial Services (
https://www.pbafs.com/blog ): Help them make the golden years golden responsibly with a smart withdrawal plan. - Sovos (
https://sovos.com/blog/?region=united-states ): How historic legislation — some of it going back more than a century — can complicate insurance premium tax compliance. - Avalara (
https://www.avalara.com/us/en/blog.html ): Your clients who are international vendors must evaluate their catalog of classified merchandise and verify that all products are updated correctly, ensuring compliance with all the government agencies with which they work. So everybody ready for the upcoming edition of the World Customs Organization’s “Harmonized Tariff Schedule?” - Wolters Kluwer (
https://www.wolterskluwer.com/en/solutions/tax-accounting-us/industry-news ): What to remind affected clients about expediting depreciation deductions through cost segregation of certain building components.
