Executive's Tax & Management Report articles from November 2006

Executive's Tax & Management Report archives from November 2006

Implications of backdated stock options.(Internal Revenue Service and Securities and Exchange Commission)
November 1, 2006... The IRS and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have both announced investigations recently into backdated stock options--stock options issued retroactively to coincide with low points in a company's share price. Backdating stock...

Use of variable pay is on the rise.(survey of Hewitt Associates L.L.C.)
November 1, 2006... Eighty percent of companies participating in a recent survey offer at least one type of broad-based variable pay plan--up from 51 percent in 1991, according to Hewitt Associates (www.hewitt. com), a global human resources services company....

A look ahead at 2007 benefits trends.(study by Watson Wyatt Worldwide)
November 1, 2006... With open enrollment season upon us, many companies and employees are looking ahead to benefit offerings for 2007. What will they see? More financial incentives, new benefit choices and greater scrutiny of dependent coverage, says Watson...

FIN 48: interpreting the interpretation.(Accounting for Uncertainty in Income Taxes by Financial Accounting Standards Board)
November 1, 2006... In July of this year, the Financial Accounting Standards Board released Interpretation No. 48, Accounting for Uncertainty in Income Taxes--an Interpretation of FASB Statement No. 109 ("FIN 48" or "the Interpretation"). Effective for fiscal...

Profits climb for sole proprietors.(Summer 2006 issue of the Statistics of Income Bulletin)
November 1, 2006... About 20.6 million individual income tax returns reported nonfarm sole proprietorship activity for Tax Year 2004, according to the IRS's Summer 2006 issue of the Statistics of Income Bulletin, which was released this fall. According to...

Safeguards outlined for private debt collection.(Internal Revenue Service guidance on the role of the private collection agencies )
November 1, 2006... Several months ago, the IRS announced that it will follow in the footsteps of many states that hire private firms to collect tax debts. The 2004 American Jobs Creation Act [P.L. 108-357] authorized the federal agency to outsource certain...

Be on the lookout for private debt collection scams.(Internal Revenue Service)
November 1, 2006... Shortly before the IRS launched its private debt collection program, it issued a statement cautioning taxpayers to be wary of related scams that might surface. In the past, the IRS has issued warnings about scams in which unscrupulous...

Bill would halt use of private collectors.(Byron Dorgan and Patty Murray introduced a bill to stop private debt collection)
November 1, 2006... Despite reassurance from the IRS that taxpayers' privacy and rights will be protected in the IRS's private debt collection program, federal lawmakers are not convinced. In fact, they are trying to pass legislation that would bar the IRS from...

Reminders issued about filing requirements.(Internal Revenue Service)(tax deductions)
November 1, 2006... In its ongoing efforts to reduce the tax gap--the difference between what taxpayers should pay and what they actually do pay--the IRS has released a series of fact sheets aimed at increasing compliance with the tax laws. The IRS...

Credit phase-out underway for certain hybrids.(Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. Inc. got license for hybrid tax credts)(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... Over the past year, certain hybrid vehicles have been certified by the IRS as qualifying for the hybrid tax credit enacted by the Energy Policy Act of 2005. The credit, which replaced the previous $2,000 clean-burning fuel deduction, begins...

Skills gap creates a challenge for manufacturers.(survey by National Association of Manufacturers)(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... A lack of qualified workers to fill highly skilled positions is a "glaring problem" for manufacturers, according to the National Association of Manufacturers' (NAM's) annual Small Manufacturers Operating Survey. "This skills gap reflects...

Recent laws impact soldiers' retirement plans.(Heroes Earned Retirement Opportunities Act)(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... If members of your family or your workforce are serving in the military in Iraq, Afghanistan or other combat zones, you might be interested to know that they now have the option of contributing toward an individual retirement account...

Largest transfer pricing dispute settled.(Internal Revenue Service, GlaxoSmithKline Inc.)(Brief article)
November 1, 2006... The IRS and GlaxoSmithKline Holdings (Americas) Inc. & Subsidiaries (GSK) have reached a settlement agreement in a transfer pricing dispute that the IRS described as "the largest tax dispute in the history of the Internal Revenue Service."...

What's your ROI on employee rewards?(Deloitte Consulting LLP's survey on return on investments)
November 1, 2006... About 70 percent of employee benefit specialists report that their organization's current tools and methodologies for determining the business value of investments in employee rewards are "ineffective" or "minimally effective," according to...