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10 Million Taxpayers Miss Out on Phone Tax
Refunds; Almost Half Used Tax Preparers
The IRS issued yet another reminder last week,
urging taxpayers to check to see if they qualify for the
telephone excise tax refund after more than 10 million early filers did
not request the one-time refund. In the first release of this year’s weekly
filing season statistics, about 30 percent of all taxpayers did not request
the telephone tax refund.
And nearly half of those returns — more than 4.8 million — were completed by
a tax preparer. Early filing statistics also show e-file returns are up
nearly three percent and e-filed returns prepared on home computers are up seven
percent compared to last year. Through Feb. 16, the average refund is
$2,733, nearly $100 above last year. For people requesting the telephone tax
refund, it adds $30 to $60 — or even more — onto a refund.
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Fraudulent Phone Tax Refunds, Abusive
Roth IRAs Top the 2007 “Dirty Dozen” Scams
Last week, the IRS identified 12 of the most
blatant scams affecting American taxpayers and warned people not to fall for
schemes peddled by scamsters. Apparently, some of the individuals who are
requesting the phone tax refund (see story above) are trying to take more
than their fair share. This year, fraudulent Telephone Excise Tax Refunds
top the list of the “Dirty Dozen” scams uncovered by IRS auditors and
criminal investigators. Also new to the Dirty Dozen this year are abuses
pertaining to Roth IRAs, the American Indian Employment Credit, domestic
shell corporations and structured entities. Read more about the IRS
Dirty Dozen scams.
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There’s Still Time to Submit Nominations
for Crain’s CFO of the Year
Crain's Detroit Business is seeking
nominations for its first-ever CFO Awards, co-sponsored by the MACPA. The
original March 2 deadline has been extended to March 9. Winners will be
recognized at a May 17 dinner and featured in the May 28 issue. Nominees
must be CFOs, or hold an equivalent job, who have displayed excellence in
financial or other corporate operational management. Nominees will be
considered for the following categories: public companies, private companies
and nonprofits; as well as a community service category that recognizes CFOs
or treasurers whose leadership has led to significant financial or
organizational improvement for a nonprofit. To submit a nomination, go to
crainsdetroit.com
and find “CFO Awards – 2007” under “Surveys and Forms” in the left-hand bar.
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Accounting Issue for Automobile Dealers
To Be Addressed by Industry Issue
Resolution Program
The IRS and the Treasury Department announced
that they will work to publish guidance for automobile wholesalers,
manufacturers and dealers regarding the proper treatment of the
dollar-value, last-in, first out (LIFO) inventory method for pooling
purposes of
crossover vehicles, which have characteristics of both trucks and cars.
Crossover vehicles include sport-utility vehicles, minivans and pick-up
trucks used as substitutes for cars, and it is not clear how they should be
treated for LIFO purposes. The law firm of Miller & Chevalier Chartered and
the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) submitted a request for
guidance on behalf of the automotive industry to resolve the issue arising
from vehicles that do not fit clearly into either a car or a truck pool.
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New Issue of CPA Exam Newsletter
Available
The Winter/Spring 2007 issue of the Uniform
CPA Examination Alert has been posted on the CPA Examination web site and is
available
here. This issue contains an interview with Colleen Conrad, chair of the
Board of Examiners (BOE), updates on the new diagnostic report and practice
analysis projects, and reports on the 2006 candidate focus group findings.
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Use SaaS for Enterprise
Resource Planning
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) can help
small and midsize companies simplify their business procedures and lessen
operational expenses by automating and incorporating supply chain
procedures. Industry analyst research, however, shows that smaller
businesses frequently fail to use everything that ERP offers. Choosing a
Web-based ERP solution constructed on the Software as a Service (SaaS)
delivery model is a good idea for those companies that want to circumvent
the price and complexity of installing a company-wide system. To read this article in its entirety and
much more about developments in technology, access
Technology and
Productivity Weekly, the MACPA's electronic technology newsletter for
industry professionals, sponsored by Information, Inc.
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