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Accounting News Roundup: Revenue Is a Sticking Point in Tax Reform; Another Deal with the Swiss; You Can’t Fix the IRS That Way | 07.12.13

Posted on by Caleb Newquist

Democrats Resist No New Revenue Pledge Seen Hurting Deal [Bloomberg]
Two Democrats considered to be possible swing votes on the House committee working on a tax overhaul — Representative Richard Neal from Massachusetts and John Larson of Connecticut — say they doubt a revenue-neutral proposal would attract Democratic votes, casting a cloud over what many tax analysts and lobbyists say is a primary ingredient for any broad deal, Bloomberg BNA reported.“I’d be very doubtful about that,” Neal said when asked whether a revenue-neutral plan could generate support among Democrats. “That would be problematic for me.”

Democrats offer new evidence that IRS targeted progressive groups [WaPo]
Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) said in a draft letter to committee chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif) that congressional investigators have discovered training materials from an July 2010 “Screening Workshop” that prove IRS agents were told to be on the lookout for groups from both sides of the political spectrum. A PowerPoint presentation from the workshop told IRS processors to screen for names that look like “tea party,” “patriots,” ” 9/12 Project,” and “progressive.” It noted that such groups ”may be more than 50% political,” which could disqualify them from tax-exempt status.
Minutes from the training session show that the IRS also instructed agents who had doubts about those groups to “err on the side of caution and transfer to 7822,” an IRS office in Cincinnati that reviewed applications for tax-exemption.
 
Swiss Banks Near Deal on U.S. Tax Cheats [WSJ]

Last week, the Swiss cabinet unveiled a program that would allow roughly a dozen Swiss banks that are being investigated by the Justice Department to deliver data on Swiss bank accounts held by American clients that had been transferred to other institutions as U.S. authorities began cracking down on overseas tax evasion. Under the program, banks would deliver "leaver lists"—aggregate data on bank accounts that can be used to identify tax evaders—directly to U.S. authorities, a step that could further chip away at Switzerland's historic banking privacy. The program was developed after Switzerland's Parliament rejected a broader proposal for cooperating with U.S. authorities. It also allows banks to provide information on employees who assisted American clients in the past. Banks already being investigated by the DOJ have previously handed over such information to the U.S.
 
JP Morgan's "Ooops" Chart… Or All Praise FAS 115 [ZH]
Fun with numbers!
 
H&R Block finds buyer for its bank [KCS]
H&R Block has a bank?
 
How Not to Fix the IRS [TaxVox]
Howard Gleckman dares to apply some rational thinking to this problem: "Tea Party and other conservatives groups had two main objections to the way they were treated by the IRS: They were subjected to lots of intrusive questions and the applications process took too long. The agency has stopped asking the questions and new management wants to speed up the process. But deep budget cuts in a labor-intensive organization won’t increase efficiency. They will almost certainly slow down IRS processing of something—if not requests for tax-exempt status, then something else."

Tunnel of self-love: NJ Transit bus driver caught on VIDEO pleasuring himself while driving packed bus through Lincoln Tunnel [NYDN]
“He must have been really horny,” said a 28-year-old female neighbor who withheld her name. “He must have seen someone he really liked on that bus.”

 

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Accounting News Roundup: Auditors ‘Portray Worrying Lack of Skepticism’; Are Tax Strategies Patentable?; Method Man Pleads Guilty, Cuts Check for NYC Tax Evasion | 06.29.10

FSA accuse auditors of failing to question management bias [Accountancy Age]
The Financial Services Authority has decided that it was about time it called out a few people, “Auditors have become yes men who don’t adequately question management bias according to concerns raised by the UK’s chief financial regulators. The Financial Services Authority (FSA) and the Financial Reporting Council today released a scathing discussion paper into the profession following concerns raised in the wake of the financial crisis. Among its concerns is that auditors ‘portrays a worrying lack of skepticism’ when scrutinising potential management bias.”

Not onlef=”http://www.accountancyage.com/accountancyage/news/2265630/fsa-audit-report-regulator”>FSA wants new enforcement powers including the ability to ” fine, censure or disqualify audit firms.” The FSA also wants to meet with auditors several times a year, rather than just once, as well as direct access to audit committees.

Alex to Become Hurricane as Swells Reach Gulf Spill [Bloomberg]
“Tropical Storm Alex, the first named system of the Atlantic hurricane season, strengthened today, forcing the evacuation of rigs in the Gulf of Mexico and pushing swells toward the worst U.S. oil spill.

The storm, packing maximum sustained winds of 70 miles (110 kilometers) per hour, was 460 miles southeast of Brownsville, Texas, before dawn today, moving north-northwest at 8 mph, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said in an advisory. The circulating winds were near reaching hurricane status of 74 mph.”

New York state may tax out-of-state hedge fund execs [Reuters]
Desperate idea of the day from the brain trust in Albany, “Recession-hit New York could raise an extra $50 million a year by collecting income taxes from people who work for hedge funds in the state but live elsewhere, according to a legislative plan to raise revenue…A spokesman for Democratic Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver said by telephone on Monday that it means hedge fund managers would be treated the same way as other commuters.”


Aprill: The Impact of Bilski on Tax Strategy Patents [TaxProf Blog]
In non-PCAOB SCOTUS news, the decision in Bilski v. Kappos addressing “Whether a ‘process’ must be tied to a particular machine or apparatus, or transform a particular article into a different state or thing (‘machine-or-transformation’ test), to be eligible for patenting….” was examined by Ellen P. Aprill of Loyola-L.A. regarding the impact on tax strategy patents:

“Bilski is at best a mixed bag for those who think tax strategies should be patentable. It gives little help and does allow business method patents, albeit somewhat begrudgingly. It demonstrates that for those who believe that tax strategies should not be patented, legislation is needed.”

Method Man pleads guilty to NYC tax-evasion charge [AP]
“Hip-hop star Method Man pleaded guilty to a tax-evasion charge Monday, writing a check on the spot for the final $40,000 restitution payment after owing about $106,000.” What, no cash?

U.S. Court to Hear Janus Appeal In Securities Case [Reuters]
“The lawsuit, brought on behalf of those who bought Janus stock from mid-2000 through early September 2003, alleged that the prospectuses of several of Janus funds created the misleading impression that the company would adopt measures to curb market timing, when in fact secret arrangements with several hedge funds permitted such transactions, to the detriment of long-term investors.”