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Accounting News Roundup: In Defense of Apple’s Tax ‘Sidestepping’; COSO Postpones Framework Release; More Tax Dodginess in Florida | 05.02.12

Apple Sidesteps Taxes – What’s Wrong With That? [Chris Bergin/TC]
We are currently having a debate in this country about fairness and our tax systems. That’s a good debate to have because our tax systems at the state and federal levels are all almost consistently unfair. But I worry about that debate as well. Insinuating that someone who pays a lower effective tax rate than you – say Mitt Romney or President Obama – is somehow doing something unfair to you does not help the debate.

Apple's Taxes: A Teaching Moment About the Real Economic Impact of Corporate Taxes [Tax Foundation]
The article is particularly odd because while the reporters purport to document Apple's minimized tax burden, they fully admit that they have no way of knowing what Apple actually pays to the IRS in income taxes. […] [T]his is a good "teaching moment" to remind people about the incidence of the corporate income tax, because many readers are no doubt convinced by the underlying message of the New York Times expose' that U.S. companies should pay more taxes.

COSO postpones release of internal control framework until 1Q 2013 [JofA]
After receiving extensive feedback, the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO) announced Monday that it expects to delay the release of its updated internal control framework until the first quarter of 2013. That’s a slightly later debut than COSO predicted for the framework in December, when it first released the proposed update of its Internal Control—Integrated Framework for public comment. The original plan was to release it in fall 2012. “In looking at the issues that were raised and the substance of the comment letters, we recognized that it was so important for us to consider all the comments closely and looked at our timeline and concluded that we needed more time than our original timeline had forecasted,” COSO Chairman David Landsittel said in a telephone interview.

Genworth CEO Resigns Abruptly, CFO Takes Over For Now [Dow Jones]
Michael Fraizer, the chairman and chief executive of Genworth Financial Inc. (GNW), resigned abruptly on Tuesday, two weeks after the insurance company postponed a plan to raise funds by selling shares of an Australian subsidiary. Chief Financial Officer Martin Klein was named acting CEO, and the lead director of Genworth's board, James Riepe, was named non-executive chairman, the company said in a statement Tuesday. A board will "move forward with the search for a permanent CEO in light of its continued review of the business portfolio," Riepe said in the statement.

Farmington Hills porn purveyor sentenced to 6 years in prison for unpaid taxes [DFP]

A Farmington Hills man who made millions in the adult entertainment industry is going to prison for six years for unpaid taxes, the U.S. Attorney's Office said Tuesday. Francis Sharrak, 44, of Farmington Hills also was ordered to pay $4.2 million in restitution — the taxes he owed — to the Internal Revenue Service as part of his punishment. Authorities said despite knowing that he owed taxes, Sharrak spent large sums of money gambling and buying and leasing high-end vehicles.
 
Feds bust three former football players on ID-theft and tax-related fraud charges [MH]

FBI agents faked out a couple of ex-NFL football players and a former local high school star by setting up a check-cashing store “front” in North Miami, where the players are accused of cashing dozens of fraudulently obtained tax-refund checks and seeking a loan — all totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars. The undercover operation, designed to block an alleged identity-theft and tax-refund scheme, sacked a pair of National Football League veterans and a Miami Jackson High graduate.
 
Trying to Shed Student Debt [WSJ]
In 2005, Congress prohibited student debt from being discharged through bankruptcy, except in rare cases, because of concerns that many young graduates—who often have no major assets such as a house or a car—would be tempted to walk away from loan obligations. Some lawmakers now want to temper that position, pointing to concerns that a significant number of Americans could be buried under education loans for decades. Their efforts, however, would apply only to private loans—a fraction of the market.
 
Today's Darwin News: Two Teens Hit By Car While Sunbathing ON the Road [JDA]
Pennsylvania, since you ask.

 

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