Today, IRS Commissioner Koskinen painted a clear picture of how the IRS plans on “overseeing” billions of dollars in taxpayer subsidies. When asked by Health Subcommittee Chairman Brady if the IRS would be following the law and collecting taxpayer dollars that went to people who were not eligible, Koskinen simply said, “Wherever we can, we follow the law.” [House Ways and Means Committee]
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CPAs: Start Your Stimulus Engines
- Caleb Newquist
- December 16, 2010
Apparently this video is from last year but whatevs. Since the new year is creeping up fast, it serves as a friendly reminder that all the tax jockeys out there carry some heavy responsibility, stimulating the economy year after year.
Okay, let’s forget about the refunds for two. What’s really worth noting is all the CPAs out there scarfing bagels and guzzling coffee from January until March/mid-April because their time is far to valuable to bother going to the grocery store to buy a piece of fruit. Then think about all the late night take-out. The profession is single-handedly keeping bagel shops, pizza joints and various Asian restaurants in business year after year.
Then Joe Kristan makes the following point:
Never mind that the refunds are a result of overwithholding, or anti-stimulus, the rest of the year. Actually, in a way, it underlines how all “stimulus” spending really works: it takes our money all year, and we’re supposed to feel stimulated when they give a little of it back.
So in reality, the only stimulus is CPAs giving a boost to various segments of the restaurant industry. It’s not ideal but it’s an annual boost they can rely upon, nonetheless.
[via Tax Update Blog via Tax Lawyer’s Blog]
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Security Workers at an IRS Building in Atlanta Are Understandably Jumpy
- Caleb Newquist
- June 9, 2010
If you’re working security at any building that houses IRS employees, your tendency to be extra cautious is warranted. For example, if you’re X-Raying a suspicious package that just so happens to contain a curiously shaped object that may resemble an explosive device, you may just order the entire evacuation of the building.
Fortunately, it sounds like it was just a fancy-schmancy decorative egg. While it’s comforting that security forces at the Peachtree Summit Federal Building are a vigilant (maybe too vigilant) bunch, anyone brave enough to bring any sensual devices to work might make for some awkward convos.
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IRS’s Employment Tax National Research Project Just Getting Started
- GoingConcern
- September 21, 2010
This story is republished from CFOZone, where you’ll find news, analysis and professional networking tools for finance executives.
About 2,000 firms around the US have received audit letters from the IRS as part of the agency’s Employment Tax National Research Project (NRP). If your firm isn’t one of them, you can’t breathe easy just yet – the agency has indicated that it include a total of 6,000 firms over three years. What’s more, the “examinations will be comprehensive in scope,” and “employers should have all of their records available to expedite these examinations,” the IRS said he project last November.
While similar to an audit, an NRP is designed to “take a snapshot of a given taxpayer population in order to determine the compliance (with tax regulations) within that population,” according to this article by Kevin Packman of Holland & Knight. In addition, the companies studied are chosen at random.
The NRP is the first the IRS has undertaken in 25 years. During that time, the agency noted, business practices regarding employment taxes may have changed significantly, prompting the need for study. In particular, the IRS is looking for data that will allow for a better understanding of just how well corporate tax filers comply with regulations. That way, they can focus their efforts on areas of greatest non-compliance.
Equally important, the agency is looking to boost its knowledge of the “employment tax gap.” The tax gap is the difference between the amounts that taxpayers should pay, and the amounts they actually pay on a timely basis. A gap can come about in several ways: non-filing or failure to file a return; underreporting income or overstating deductions; and underpaying the amounts actually owed.
In 2006, the IRS estimated a gap of $290 billion for the year 2001. The bulk of the gap — 80 percent — was due to under-reporting income, the IRS said.
In an effort to close the gap, the National Research Project will focus on several subject areas, noted the law firm of Morgan Lewis:
Worker Classification: The question of whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor keeps rearing its head. From the IRS’ point of view, that’s probably because they see a fair amount of misclassification of employees at contractors – which means lost tax revenue. An August 2009 GAO report on the topic referred to a DOL study in 2000 which found that between 10 and 30 percent of firms audited in nine states misclassified at least a portion of their employees. In 1984, the IRS estimated that the misclassification of employees meant a revenue loss of $1.6 billion.
Executive compensation: This includes non-salary compensation, like loans, travel, deferred comp, stock-based compensation and more.
Fringe benefits: The fun stuff some execs get, like the use of company aircraft or cars, club dues, and housing, among other perks, will be under the microscope. The audits may even include benefits like gift cards, employer cafeterias and athletic facilities, Morgan Lewis notes.
Payroll taxes: The agents will examine Forms 941, Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax Return. As part of this, they will look at backup withholding, next-day deposit requirements and Form 1099/W-2 compliance, among other issues.
What can a firm do to prepare in case it receives notice that it will be part of the NRP? As a starting point, management should conduct an internal compliance review. That way, they’ll have a better idea of potential weak points, and to take steps to resolve issues that could prove to be sticking points during an audit, Packman says.
In addition, all CFOs need to recognize that this project “is the beginning of a long-term emphasis by the IRS on employment tax issues,” Packman writes. Once the NRP is wrapped up, the IRS will use the data it has gathered to focus on areas that were shown to have higher rates of noncompliance.