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FASB Defers Effective Date
of FIN 48
In Staff Position
FIN 48-2,
adopted on February 1, 2008, the FASB deferred the effective date of FASB
Interpretation 48, Accounting for Income Taxes, for certain nonpublic
enterprises – including nonpublic not-for-profit organizations – to the
annual financial statements for fiscal years beginning after December 15,
2007.
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IRS Offers EITC Tool Kit
for Tax Professionals
A new tool kit for tax professionals will make it easier to help clients
determine eligibility for the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). In addition,
the EITC Tool Kit features resources and information to help practitioners
ensure full compliance with EITC rules and regulations, and file accurate
claims on behalf of clients, as well as answer client questions. The kit
also offers several downloadable tools to use in communicating about the EITC to your clients. Go to
www.eitcfortaxpreparers.com to access the tool kit.
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Online Tax Hints
Publication Takes New Approach
The IRS Tax Hints (Publication 4437) for
Fiscal Year 2008 features a
new approach to this online newsletter for tax professionals. Beginning
with this
edition, Tax Hints will be updated periodically, year-round. If new
developments occur after the latest edition has been posted that are of
significance to the tax professional community, a revised edition may be
posted before the next regularly scheduled monthly update. The date of the
current revision will always be on the front page, and previous editions
will be archived.
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IRS Warns of New E-Mail
and Telephone Scams
The IRS warned taxpayers to beware of several current e-mail and telephone
scams that use the IRS name as a lure. The IRS expects such scams to
continue through the end of tax return filing season and beyond. The IRS
cautioned taxpayers to be on the lookout for scams involving proposed
advance payment checks. Although the government has not yet enacted an
economic stimulus package in which the IRS would provide advance payments,
known informally as rebates to many Americans, a scam which uses the
proposed rebates as bait has already cropped up. Another new scam brought to
IRS attention contains features not seen before by the IRS. Using a
technique calculated to get almost anyone’s attention, the e-mail notifies
the recipient that his or her tax return will be audited. This is the first
scam of which the IRS is aware that uses this to get the victim to respond.
The goal of the scams is to trick people into revealing personal and
financial information, which the scammers can use to commit identity theft.
Read
more about IRS-related scams.
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Guidance Released on
Pension Funding Rules & Backloading
The Treasury Department and the IRS issued
guidance that relates to
new pension funding rules that were included in the Pension Protection
Act of 2006. They also issued
Revenue Ruling 2008-7 that addresses the application of the accrual
rules for pension plans under section 411(b)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code
(commonly referred to as "backloading" rules).
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AICPA Submits Multiple
Comment Letters
Over the past week, the AICPA has submitted
comment letters regarding numerous issues. For more information, click on
the link for any of the following topics:
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Comment letter to IRS/Treasury on proposed regulations on cafeteria
plans under section 125.
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Cover letter and
comments to IRS/Treasury on proposed regulations that
would treat tax strategy patents as reportable transactions and require
taxpayer notification.
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Comment letter to IRS/Treasury regarding proposed regulations on
automatic contribution arrangements for 401(k) plans and other
retirement plans.
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Cover letter and
comments to lawmakers about expatriate tax legislation.
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Safely Share Your
Wireless Access
Sharing wireless access is more common today than it was 10 years ago,
but there are fundamental practices that still must be observed. Those that
wish to share their Internet connection should be familiar with the
configuration of their local area network (LAN) and assess their setup.
To read this article in its entirety and learn 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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