politics & government

seven changes in the new taxpayer first act clients need to know

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young man under rain-covered umbrellaone congressman says it “levels the playing field.”

by barry j. friedman, cpa
industrynewsletters

the taxpayer first act of 2019 is redesigning how the irs works with taxpayers, even though it may take a while for many of the provisions to take effect.

more: how manufacturers can use the r&d tax credit | padding your tax deductions? the consequences are serious | beware the taxes of self-employment | charitable giving under tcja
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some experts have highlighted the following aspects of the bill as especially important:
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should the irs go down in history?

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stock image of businessman pushing a giant stack of documents isolated on white background3 reasons an agency historian would be a good idea.

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

karl marx may have been wrong about workers rising up against their capitalist overlords, but he was right in observing that much of history can be explained by economics.

more: 5 easy ways that congress could fix tax collection | 4 ways to fix irs collections | taxpayers deserve better receipts | what’s the real impact of irs audits?
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if history and economics go hand in hand, it makes sense  that the internal revenue service, an entity through which trillions of dollars pass in a constant flow, should have an in-house historian. its policies, programs, decisions, managers, records, cases, controversies and artifacts are an important part of american and world history – but only if they survive for historical analysis.
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3 ways to improve irs levies

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hand drawing a rainbow-colored 3because common sense isn’t always common.

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

there’s a rumor that the pillared citadel of the internal revenue service on constitution avenue has a secret room where no one ever goes. it’s the largest room in the building, yet empty save for distant echoes in the dark. the room has a name. it’s called the room for improvement.

more: how the irs abuses ‘math errors’ | taxpayers deserve better receipts | troubles with irs private debt collection | what difference does one word make? | what’s the real impact of irs audits? | data divers profile taxpayer filing styles
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ok, that’s an exaggeration. the irs is constantly improving, at least when congress gives it the funds to do so.

but that doesn’t mean the room isn’t there.
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recession-proofing your business

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source: aicpa

accountants in industry and in practice are taking a dimmer view of the economic and business outlook

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

recession-proofing your practice:
join the survey. get the results.

new 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 soundings show concerns are building among both public and corporate accountants about the outlook for both the u.s. and global economies.

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why shouldn’t all tax practitioners need licenses?

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data chart

does a 90% error rate alarm anyone?

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

america needs tax preparers. without them … well, it’s hard to imagine how people would calculate any more than the most rudimentary returns.

more: data divers profile taxpayer filing styles | who’d like a friend in the irs? | wanna change the tax world? | the big free-file flop | survey: busy season goes sour | lessons learned: how the federal shutdown hit busy season 2019 | taxpayer advocate slams congress over funding
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the funding of the government would fall to a fraction of what is needed to sustain the nation. tax preparers are an essential link between the government and those who fund it.
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2 ways the eitc error rate is high

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line graph
source: national taxpayer advocate annual report to congress 2018 [click for larger image]

and 6 contributing factors.

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

the earned income tax credit is considered one of the most efficient federal programs for sustaining people with inadequate income. part of the eitc’s efficiency results from the lack of an intermediary checking the qualifications of those who receive it.

more: who’d like a friend in the irs? | hello, irs? anybody home? | tax season 2019 serves up a taste of the future | the demise of schedule a? | tax refund fury roils busy season
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the tax return itself is the application for eitc. there is no other process, no pre-return vetting, no social workers. the closest thing to an intermediary is the tax preparer who makes sure the correct income is reported and the correct forms filled out.
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is the irs about to get beefed up?

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today’s bonus question: lessons from tax season to apply to 2020?

trump proposes 5% boost to the irs budget, reversing years of cutbacks and declines.

busy season barometer
today’s bonus question: what are firms learning from tax season 2019, that they’ll apply in 2020?
join the survey. get the results.

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

after many years of increasing austerity—and some would say crippling austerity—the irs may have bottomed out. despite broad cuts proposed in the overall 2020 federal budget, president trump has included an additional $362 million—a five percent increase—for the agency that gathers the funds that keep the united states in business.

more busy season: tax season funnies: april fool is when?  |  wanna change the tax world?   |  how the irs hides its legal decisions  |  tax season 2019 serves up a taste of the future  |  the biggest reason fraudsters run rings around the irs  |  the irs free-file flop  |  protect your clients’ assets  |  the demise of schedule a?  |  tammy’s tale of tax season tardiness  |  how effective project management makes your life easier  |  survey: busy season goes sour   |  when clients cash out: four smart financial moves

goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

if congress approves the budget as proposed (and that’s bound to be an exciting story), the irs can begin—just begin—to recover some of what has lost over the last decade or so.

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who’d like a friend in the irs?

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four recommendations for congress.

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

do you dare dream the impossible dream? try dreaming this one: you call the irs.

more: hello, irs? anybody home? | wanna change the tax world? | tax season 2019 serves up a taste of the future | the big free-file flop | the demise of schedule a? | survey: busy season goes sour | lessons learned: how the federal shutdown hit busy season 2019 | tax refund fury roils busy season
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

on the second ring, an operator answers. you tell him you’re a tax preparer. he hears your question and immediately passes your call to the right person in the right department.
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who pays the auditors?

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doron

how the pcaob could assure real independence.

by kayleigh padar
卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间

is the u.s. ready to move to a third-party payer system for audits?

the author of an article in the influential new york state society’s cpa journal magazine says the time has come to bring the discussion into the open.

in the article, michael doron, ph.d, cpa, an associate professor in the department of accounting and information systems at california state university in northridge, examines relationships between auditors and the public in countries which have more regulation, the results of an experiment with a third-party payer and how the united states government handles similar regulation in other industries.

although he recognizes changing this process could be seen as “politically radical,” evidence shows it could work. organizations such as the public accounting oversight board (pcaob) already regulates the american auditing profession. in addition to being seen as radical, he acknowledges the shift would be a “tremendous change.” read more →

how the irs hides its legal decisions

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irs chief counsel office charged with intentionally evading its responsibilities to the public

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

like the universe itself, the internal revenue code keeps expanding toward infinity. in that its more than 2,600 pages are unclear in spots, there are an additional several thousand pages of rules and regulations. and just to clarify all that, there are tens of thousands of pages of court decisions.

more: tax season 2019 serves up a taste of the future  | the biggest reason fraudsters run rings around the irs  | the big free-file flop | the demise of schedule a? | refunds still up, but only by 0.7% | survey: busy season goes sour | tax refunds up 1.7% | lessons learned: how the federal shutdown hit busy season 2019 | tax refund fury roils busy season | taxpayer advocate slams congress over funding

goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

how many pages in all? no one knows. knowing, in fact, is impossible because in the time it takes to add them all up, their number increases. that’s why 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 believes it’s so critically important to a fair and well-functioning tax system that the irs office of chief counsel (occ) be held accountable for disclosing technical advice promptly. unfortunately, the occ seems to disagree. read more →