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Senators Stabenow and
Levin Support Ban on Tax Strategy Patents
U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow has joined her Michigan colleague, Senator Carl
Levin, in co-sponsoring legislation to ban the issuance of patents on tax
strategies. If signed into law, Senate Bill 2369, endorsed by the MACPA and
AICPA, will allow tax practitioners the freedom to utilize interpretations
of tax law and allow for the validity of tax strategies to be challenged on
behalf of their clients. (Simply because a tax strategy patent exists, it
does not necessarily mean that particular strategy is permissible under
current tax law.) Allowing such patents to exist restricts practitioners
from fully protecting and advising their clients.
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International
Accounting – Call for Volunteers
As the U.S. considers converting to International Accounting Standards, the AICPA
is looking for volunteers who have prepared financial statements based on
International Accounting Standards, who have audited those financial
statements, or have taught the subject. This new AICPA group will work to develop best practices to
help preparers and auditors, influence the content of the CPA examination,
and share their thought leadership throughout this important period in our
profession. If you have experience with international standards, please
submit your name to Volunteer Services at
volunteerservices@aicpa.org.
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House Committee Approves
Taxpayer Advocate Bill
A bill to correct a flaw in a 2007 law that tightened disclosure
requirements for tax preparers is expected to go before the full House of
Representatives this week. The AICPA applauded the House Ways and Means
Committee’s approval last Wednesday of the Taxpayer Assistance and
Simplification Act of 2008 that would equalize the IRS disclosure standards
between tax preparers and taxpayers. For more information, read the AICPA’s
press release. The Act also contains provisions that would eliminate the
special requirements for individuals to keep detailed records of calls made
on employer-provided cell phones; repeal the IRS’s authority to use private
debt collection companies to collect Federal taxes; prohibit the misuse of
Department of the Treasury names and symbols in misleading websites and
"phishing" schemes; and more. Read the Ways and Means Committee
press release.
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Treasury Releases
Competitiveness Study on the Changing Nature and Consequences of Financial
Restatements
A new study, commissioned by the U.S. Treasury Department, provides one of
the most in-depth looks at the soaring number of
financial restatements in the years before and after the Sarbanes-Oxley
Act. Financial restatements grew nearly eighteen-fold in this time, from 90
in 1997 to 1,577 in 2006 with acceleration in restatement activity occurring
in 2001 before the implementation of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. However,
restatements associated with fraud and revenue declined after 2001. Fraud
was a factor in 29 percent of all 1997 restatements, but only 2 percent of
2006 restatements. The proportion of revenue-related restatements also
decreased from 41percent in 1997 to 11 percent in 2006.
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Treasury, IRS Issue
Funding Guidance for Single-Employer Defined Benefit Plans
The Treasury Department and the IRS issued
proposed regulations under section 430 of the Internal Revenue Code that
provide employers sponsoring single-employer defined benefit plans with
guidance regarding the determination of minimum required contributions under
the new funding rules enacted as part of the Pension Protection Act of 2006.
The proposed regulations, together with three earlier sets of proposed
regulations, enable plan sponsors to determine the contribution requirements
that apply to their defined benefit plans under the new funding regime,
including the application of the quarterly contribution requirements.
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Governor Signs Bills to
Grow Economy Through “Anchor Zones”
Last Tuesday, Governor Jennifer Granholm signed into law a
package of bills that create new tools designed to attract new business
investment and jobs in fast-growing, high technology industries. The bills
create "anchor zones" that provide incentives to companies to attract other
growing companies. The first of two bills signed into law provides tax
credits for anchor companies, those companies that attract or influence
suppliers or customers to expand anywhere in Michigan. A second bill grants
the anchor company a Michigan Business Tax credit incentive for up to 10
years for successfully encouraging a customer or supplier company to locate
within a 10-mile radius of the anchor company's facility.
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Do Not Call Registrations
Permanent
Telephone numbers placed on the
National Do Not Call Registry will remain on it permanently due to the
Do-Not-Call Improvement Act of 2007, which became law in February 2008. More
than 157 million phone numbers are on the National Do Not Call Registry.
Under the Act, the Federal Trade Commission will continue to remove
telephone numbers that have been disconnected and reassigned to other
customers. The Act also set the fees telemarketers will pay to access the
registry in 2009. For information on how to register or delete a number from
the registry, visit
www.ftc.gov/donotcall.
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Track Down Elusive
Network Printers
Connectivity problems with network printers are often caused by the Dynamic
Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP), the technology that oversees the
automatic assigning of IP addresses for computers and additional devices on
a corporate network. DHCP gives out IP addresses on a temporary basis, so
prior to a drive's address expiring, the device asks for an address renewal.
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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