Executive's Tax & Management Report articles from December 2006

Executive's Tax & Management Report archives from December 2006

Congress considers tweaking recent tax law changes.(Tax Technical Corrections Act of 2006)
December 1, 2006... House and Senate taxwriting leaders on September 29 introduced identical tax technical corrections bills that would tweak various provisions enacted by recent legislation, including the Tax Increase Prevention and Reconciliation Act of 2005...

Taxpayers can now apply for payment agreement online.(Internal Revenue Service launches new service)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... Taxpayers who can't pay their federal income taxes on time and in full have the option of asking for a payment agreement--now without talking directly to an IRS employee. That's because the IRS recently started accepting applications for...

'Tis the season for year-end tax planning.
December 1, 2006... With only one month to go before the end of the calendar year, you may think that there's not much you can do to lower your 2006 income tax burden. Ideally, planning takes place throughout the year, but there's still time to take a few simple...

FIN 48: the clock is ticking.(Financial Accounting Standards Board's Accounting for Uncertainty in Income Taxes)
December 1, 2006... Time is running out for companies to determine the impact of the recently issued Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) Interpretation No. 48, Accounting for Uncertainty in Income Taxes--an Interpretation of FASB Statement No. 109 ("FIN...

Criticism of private debt collection continues.(dealing with Internal Revenue Service)
December 1, 2006... Although the IRS has made strides forward in addressing critical success factors and many related subfactors for its private debt collection (PDC) program, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) says that the IRS also must set...

There's no place like (a tax) home.(business travel taxation, Internal Revenue Service)
December 1, 2006... Taxpayers who travel extensively may wish they had a pair of red ruby slippers to help them return home--much like Dorothy did in The Wizard of Oz. But, depending on how much traveling a taxpayer does, his or her definition of "home" may differ...

Appeals arbitration process officially adopted.(Internal Revenue Service formalizes new arbitration process)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... Certain taxpayers who are appealing an IRS determination can have their case settled by a third party in binding arbitration, under an Appeals arbitration process recently formalized by the IRS. Arbitration has been available under certain...

Continuous auditing techniques embraced.(survey)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... Half of the U.S. companies who participated in a recent survey are using "continuous auditing" techniques, compared to 35 percent last year. Another 31 percent have implemented plans to use such techniques, according to recent research by...

Proposed regs address exchanges for annuities.(Internal Revenue Service's regulations over annuity contract)(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... The Treasury and the IRS have issued proposed regulations regarding the tax treatment of an exchange of property for an annuity contract. "A decades-old IRS ruling generally postpones tax on the exchange of appreciated property for a...

Snowstorm, earthquake victims get tax relief.(Brief article)
December 1, 2006... Taxpayers in four New York counties affected by snowstorms beginning on October 12, 2006, and Hawaiian taxpayers impacted by the October 15, 2006, earthquake can claim disaster-related casualty losses on their 2005 or 2006 federal income tax...

Quality of sales reps' time beats quantity.(sales management)
December 1, 2006... Companies more concerned about how many hours their sales reps are working than how they're allocating their time may be missing a valuable opportunity to boost sales and the bottom line. Watson Wyatt Worldwide (www. watsonwyatt.com), a...