they’ll take some time, but not much money or technowizardry.
by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间
when national tax advocate erin m. collins sat down before the house subcommittee on government operations this april for hearings titled “irs: is it ready?” she spoke truth to power.
she told power that the irs is truly in big trouble.
its backlog of unprocessed returns and unanswered mail is unprecedented in the history of the united states.
last year its agents answered only 11% of incoming phone calls.
its “where’s my refund?” and “where’s my amended return?” online tools often failed to answer either question.
julio gonzalez, founder and ceo of engineered tax services, has been named among the accounting today top 100 most influential people. gonzalez has been a pioneer in bringing specialized engineering tax studies to local cpa firms and mainstream america, which historically had only been available to fortune 500 through national accounting firms. engineered tax services also owns the growth partnership, able: crm for accountants, and inside public accounting.
alas, the 100 percent bonus depreciation rule—the federal tax law under the tax cuts and jobs act (tcja) of 2017 that made it possible for taxpayers to write off a property’s reallocation in the year of acquisition—will begin to sunset at the end of this year.
in its place in 2023, an 80 percent bonus depreciation will be allowed for properties acquired in 2023, scaling down to 60 percent in 2024 (for properties acquired in 2024), 40 percent in 2025 (for properties acquired in 2025), 20 percent in 2026 (for properties acquired in 2026), and then zero percent in 2027 and later years for properties acquired in 2027 and afterward.
it’s important to note for your clients in real estate that bonus depreciation is applied to a property based on the year it was purchased (although there are some exceptions to this rule). and taxpayers can only claim bonus depreciation retroactively within two tax years of the original placed-in-service date. read more →
editor’s note: this is part i of a series on fixing the irs. part ii will explore medium-term and longer-term solutions. part iii will look at legislative solutions.
everybody gripes about the irs, but nobody does anything about it.
well, almost nobody. on april 21, america’s national tax advocate, erin m. collins, marched into the house of representatives, sat down before the subcommittee on government operations and told them two things:
we’re getting a lot of comments, many of them scorchingly hot. accountants and tax preparers are not happy with the government agency that their profession depends on more than any other.
by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research why accountants expect tougher times ahead for the nation’s economy and for small businesses. they are considerably more confident about the outlook for their firms. read more > > >
or, to use other words, proven competence. the tax preparation industry is a mixed bag of highly skilled and credentialed professionals, less skilled newbies trying to learn the trade on the job, and charlatans skilled in not much more than ripping off the unsuspecting or, at best, doing a slapdash job. read more →
well, “quick” and “easy” on paper. in real life at the irs, it’s different. by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间
there’s always room for improvement—even (or, especially?) at the internal revenue service.
for one thing—or really eight things—the process of filing returns could stand a little fine-tuning.
the only problem is, changing some parts of the process require changing the tax code, and that requires congressional legislation, and that requires…well, no one really knows.
irs buried in paper: even with 91 percent of returns e-filed, that leaves more than 33 million paper returns pouring into the irs annually.
what to do with clients who insist on paper?
by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间
e-filing may be the best thing to happen to the irs—and tax preparers—since the invention of paper and red tape.
it beats paper on cost—just 36 cents to process, vs. $15.21.
it beats paper on speed—a couple of hours from sending to acceptance, vs. days to mail, more days to open, more days in storage, more days to transcribe, and maybe months more to process.
it beats paper on accuracy—no need for transcription.
it beats paper on convenience—taxpayers can e-file in minutes from a desktop; irs can store and move e-files easily and instantly.
it beats paper on inconvenience—e-filing allows continuous processing regardless of weather, pandemics, etc.
the irs has been making some progress in improving the functionality of individual taxpayer online accounts. progress has been slow but in the right direction.
now it’s time for the irs to aim for two huge new improvements: online accounts for businesses, and expansion of the functionality of tax pro accounts for tax practitioners.
most small businesses are probably paying too much. or, too little. who knows?
s.a.l.t. for the wounds: the total estimated hours per month spent on tax management activities, by industry, with retail the highest at 209 hours. (avalara/potentiate)
by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间
the true cost of interstate sales tax compliance borne by small businesses is fast mushrooming into a problem of national proportions, according to new research. and while it may be a big opportunity for accounting firms, most small business owners are probably spending too much, or just as worrisome, too little.
according to a 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 survey, 39 percent of accountants believe their small business clients were “mostly not in full compliance” with cross-border collection and remittance requirements. each of those non-compliant clients is a potential problem and an opportunity for their accounting firm.
now a new avalara-sponsored survey looks more closely at “emerging small businesses” (esbs) with under 20 employees, and small and medium-sized businesses (smbs) with 20-50 employees. read more →
taxpayers and their tax preparers have a right to be informed about what’s happening at the internal revenue service. it’s the law, duly legislated and mandated by the u.s. congress in the taxpayer bill of rights.
collecting taxes upfront: in mexico, tax returns, accounting records, and other tax disclosures must be filed in standard electronic format, driving down the cost of tax collection by 57 percent between 2006 and 2018. meanwhile, revenue generated by audits rose an astonishing 117 percent between 2015 and 2020. (source: better than cash alliance, the u.n., via avalara)
by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间
accounting professionals may be focused for now on tax season 2022. but right around the corner, a revolution in tax is coming, if the united states can get out of its own way.
ready or not, here it comes: digitized sales tax compliance. the compliance might happen immediately after a transaction or right in the middle of it with a tax agency in between the buyer and the seller.
it isn’t happening in the u.s. yet, but at least three states are thinking about it, and in 83 other countries, it’s already a thing. in california, florida, and massachusetts, it may soon be a thing. the federal reserve and the business payments coalition have already launched a pilot program to standardize electronic invoicing systems.
digitized tax compliance is far more than the mere e-filing of invoices and tax returns. it’s the movement of paper compliance activities to the cloud, where tax authorities can not only see transactions but, in some countries, actually, get involved in them.
the potential opportunities for accountants, auditors, and tax practitioners are as yet unknown, but where there is change, there is opportunity.
they’ll take some time, but not much money or technowizardry.
more tax: 
a lot. it’s bad and getting worse.