Paul L. Caron
Dean
Pepperdine Caruso
School of Law
IRS News
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IRS Hosts Public Meeting Today on A ‘Real-Time’ Tax System
IRS to Host Public Meeting Dec. 8 on Real-Time Tax System (IR-2011-114): The IRS will kick off a series of public meetings Thursday, Dec. 8 to gather feedback on how to implement a series of long-term changes to the tax system described by IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman in an April 2011 speech at the National…
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TIGTA Finds ‘Quality Concerns’ in 37% of Small Corporation Tax Audits
The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration yesterday released Steps Can be Taken to Enhance the Quality of Audits Involving Small Corporate Returns (2011-41-083): The IRS should continue to improve the quality of its audits of small corporations. … TIGTA reviewed whether IRS examiners followed proper procedures and guidelines when auditing the returns of small corporations.…
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The Coming Flood of Estate Tax Returns
Roberton Williams (Tax Policy Center), The Coming Flood of Estate Tax Returns: Fewer than 3,300 estates will owe federal estate tax this year, the smallest number in more than 75 years (other than 2010 when the tax disappeared for the year). But, paradoxically, even as Congress shrinks the number of taxable estates, the law also…
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IRS Can’t Find 100,000 Taxpayers to Deliver $1,500 Tax Refund Checks
IRS Seeks to Return $153 Million in Undelivered Checks to Taxpayers; Recommends e-file, Direct Deposit to Avoid Future Delivery Problems (IR-2011-113) (Nov. 30, 2011): In an annual reminder to taxpayers, the IRS announced today that it is looking to return $153.3 million in undelivered tax refund checks. In all, 99,123 taxpayers are due refund checks…
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Scammers Steal IRS Refunds With Ease
Miami Herald, Scammers Steal IRS Refunds With Ease: Identity-theft crimes have soared in the electronic age, with crooks graduating from everyday credit-card fraud to stealing people’s identities such as Social Security numbers for income tax-return scams. Almost one year ago, in broad daylight, North Miami postal carrier Bruce Parton was killed for his key —…
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IRS Audits UBIT Issues at Thirty Colleges
Bloomberg, The IRS Takes a Closer Look at Colleges: The government is probing tax breaks at more than 30 universities, including Harvard. Harvard University owns a hotel that overlooks the Charles River and charges up to $300 a night for a room. The country’s richest higher-ed institution doesn’t pay a cent in taxes on revenue…
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IRS Releases Fall 2011 SOI Bulletin
The IRS’s Statistics of Income Division on Friday released the Fall 2011 SOI Bulletin (Vol. 31, No. 2), with these articles: Individual Income Tax Returns, 2009 (p.5), by Justin Bryan Partnership Returns, 2009 (p.68), by Nina Shumofsky & Lauren Lee Municipal Bonds, 2009 (p.158), by Aaron Barnes Charities and Other Tax-Exempt Organizations, 2008 (p.191), by…
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IRS to Wage ‘Full Court Press’ Against Homes, Retirement Accounts for Back Taxes
Washington Examiner, Obama’s IRS to Initiate Full Court Press, Warn Tax Law Experts: As 2012 approaches, tax attorneys are sounding the alarm: The IRS will squeeze every cent it can and “it will be nastier than ever.” The Obama administration and U.S. lawmakers know that current economic conditions will probably result in less revenue collected from…
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President Obama Nominates Mark Mazur to be Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy
President Obama yesterday nominated Mark J. Mazur to be Assistant Treasury Secretary for Tax Policy (the position has been vacant since Michael Mundaca left on May 13): Mark J. Mazur is the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Tax Analysis at the Department of Treasury, a position he has held since 2009. From 2001 to 2009, he…
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IRS Cuts Travel Budget by 27%
ABC News, President Barack Obama to Order Ban on Swag; Cutbacks on Travel, Cellphones, Computers: President Barack Obama is coming out against swag. That’s swag, as in the coffee mugs, pens, T-shirts and other public relations articles that federal government agencies purchase with taxpayer money to promote their work. The swag ban is part of…
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Retired IRS Agent Pleads Guilty in Pimping Case
Accounting Today, Retired IRS Agent Pleads Guilty in Pimping Case: A retired special agent with the IRS’s Criminal Investigation division has pleaded guilty to charges of transporting a California woman across state lines to Las Vegas for the purpose of prostitution. Prosecutors agreed to drop one of the criminal counts against him for traveling to…
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IRS Offers $25k Buyouts to 5,400 Employees
Government Executive, IRS Offering Buyouts to Employees: The IRS is currently offering buyout packages to thousands of its employees. The offer is being extended to about 5,400 IRS workers, and the agency will accept as many as 1,600. … The buyouts are capped at $25,000 per person.
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IRS Asked to Investigate Charity’s Financial Support of Cain Campaign
The Center for Media and Democracy yesterday sent this 11-page letter to the IRS requesting an investigation into whether Prosperity USA, a § 501(c)(3) charity headed by Herman Cain’s Chief of Staff Mark Block, illegally funnelled $40,000 of tax-exempt donations to pay for private jets, travel, and iPads for the Cain presidential campaign. Center for…
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Tax Connection in Herman Cain’s Sexual Harassment Scandal
One of the four women to charge Herman Cain with sexual harassment (one of the two anonymous women in the original Politico story) is Karen Kraushaar, Communications Director for the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration. She previously served as a communications specialist for the Taxpayer Advocate Service. She is profiled in today’s The Daily.
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TIGTA: Only 14% of Eligible Small Businesses Claim ObamaCare Tax Credit
The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration yesterday released Affordable Care Act: Efforts to Implement the Small Business Health Care Tax Credit Were Mostly Successful, but Some Improvements Are Needed (2011-40-103): The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act were signed into law in March 2010. Among the…
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IRS Acquiesces in O’Donnabhain: Gender Reassignment Surgery Is a Deductible Medical Expense
Action on Decision, 2011-03 (O’Donnabhain v. Commissioner, 134 T.C. 34 (2010)), 2011-47 I.R.B. 1 (Nov. 21, 2011): Issue: Whether hormone therapy and sex reassignment surgery constitute medical care within the meaning of §§ 213(d)(1)(A) and (9)(B). Discussion: Section 213 of the Internal Revenue Code allows a deduction for the expenses paid during the taxable year,…
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TIGTA: IRS Does Not Adhere to Recruitment/Retention Bonus Guidelines
The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration yesterday released The Administration of Recruitment and Retention Incentives Has Improved, but Additional Actions Should Be Taken (2011-10-107): To assist in its workforce planning efforts, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), like other Federal agencies, has the flexibility to use payment compensation in the form of recruitment and retention…
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Taxpayer Advocacy Panel Releases Annual Report
The IRS’s Taxpayer Advocacy Panel today released its 2010 Annual Report: During 2010, the seven area committees reviewed 605 suggestions and issues presented by taxpayers at Town Hall Meetings, Tax Forums, the TAP toll-free line, improveirs.org, and other venues. Of the 605 suggestions and issues reviewed, 101 were developed and elevated to IRS through the…
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TIGTA: IRS Allowed $3.2 Billion in Erroneous Education Credits in 5-Month Period
The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration yesterday released Billions of Dollars in Education Credits Appear to Be Erroneous (2011-41-083): [F]rom January 1 through May 28, 2010. TIGTA identified 2.1 million taxpayers receiving $3.2 billion in education credits that appear to be erroneous, and at least 1.1 million (52%) had tax returns prepared by a paid…
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IRS Releases 2012 Inflation-Adjusted Tax Tables
The IRS today released various inflation-adjusted 2012 tax brackets, tables, exemptions, thresholds, and other items (IR-2011-103; IR-2011-104; Rev. Proc. 2011-52, 2011-45 IRS ___ (Nov. 7, 2011)): Standard Deduction: $5,950 single/$11,900 joint (up $150/$300 from 2011) Personal Exemption: $3,800 (up $100 from 2011) Estate Tax Exemption: $5,120,000 (up $120,000 from 2011) Gift Tax Exemption: $13,000 (same as 2011) 401(k)/403(b)/457 Contribution Limit:…
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TIGTA: 10,300 Businesses (Not Projected 25,000) Paid 10% ObamaCare Tanning Tax
The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration yesterday released Affordable Care Act: The Number of Taxpayers Filing Tanning Excise Tax Returns Is Lower Than Expected (2011-40-115): The number of taxpayers filing tanning services excise tax returns is much lower than expected. According to IRS documents, in April 2010, the Indoor Tanning Association estimated that 25,000…
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TIGTA: 41% Error Rate in $30 Billion First Time Homebuyer Tax Credit Program
The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration yesterday released First-Time Homebuyer Credit Repayment Notices Were Incorrect, and the Method Used to Identify Dispositions Is Unreliable (2011-41-097): Each of the laws which provide First-Time Homebuyer Credits (Homebuyer Credit) contains different Homebuyer Credit amounts, qualification requirements, and repayment requirements. Our review identified inaccuracies relating to the issuance…
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TIGTA: IRS Does Not Adequately Monitor Employee Use of Credit Cards
The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration yesterday released Controls Over the Purchase Card Program Were Not Effective in Ensuring Appropriate Use (2011-10-075): From September 1, 2007, through March 31, 2009, the IRS made more than 174,000 purchases totaling more than $80 million using purchase cards. However, the IRS does not have the necessary controls…
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Call for Tax Papers: 2012 IRS Research Conference
The IRS has issued a call for papers for the 2012 IRS Research Conference in June or July 2012 in Washington, D.C.: We invite you to propose a research paper on a tax administration topic for the 2012 Conference. General areas of interest include measuring and influencing taxpayer compliance, estimating taxpayer compliance costs (burden), tax…