Payrolls in U.S. Rose Less Than Forecast; Jobless 7.3% [Bloomberg]
The gain of 169,000 workers last month followed a revised 104,000 rise in July that was smaller than initially estimated, Labor Department figures showed today in Washington. The median forecast of 96 economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for an August increase of 180,000. Unemployment dropped to 7.3 percent, the lowest since December 2008.
Timing of Profits Spurs Debate on Accounting in IRS Code [Bloomberg]
Two approaches to corporate accounting are squaring off in Congress’s plans to change the Internal Revenue Code, and the outcome may have a big impact on some types of businesses, Bloomberg BNA reported. Farms and professional services businesses such as engineering and accounting firms are pushing for greater use of the cash method of accounting, which counts income when it is actually received and expenses when they are actually paid. Accrual accounting, by contrast, counts income when an order is made and an expense when goods are received. Congress is weighing the biggest changes to the tax code since 1986, looking to cut rates, eliminate deductions and simplify the rules. Lobbyists have been pushing to save breaks for everything from retirement savings to credit unions, and representatives from industries from engineering to steel have been weighing in. The House Ways and Means Committee proposed new rules in March for when businesses can use cash accounting. After a plan to expand its use and impose new limits on which companies can use this method, the committee signaled more adjustments may be on the way when a bill is introduced in coming weeks.
Starting a Company? Skip B-School [WSJ]
A number of programs, from General Assembly in New York to Starter School in Chicago, have cropped up recently to cater to people seeking to launch their own companies or join fledgling ones. Offerings are à la carte and the mission is stripped down. The idea, founders say, is to give students just enough instruction in everything from coding to marketing and operations to get an idea off the ground. Increasingly, these programs are attracting college graduates who might otherwise attend business school to master the art of creating businesses or polishing investor pitches. Although these schools make up a sliver of the business-education market, for certain students they may be emerging as a faster, cheaper rival to the two-year M.B.A.
IRS watchdog: Agency should take second look at problematic returns [The Hill]
A new watchdog report released Thursday found that though IRS examiners may identify problems with one return during an audit, they fail to follow up and examine other returns by the same taxpayer to see if that issue repeated itself and more taxes could be recouped. The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration looked at a sample of 102 audits conducted by the IRS in which taxpayers had understated their tax bill by at least $4,000. The IG then looked at returns filed in other years by those same taxpayers, and found similar problems in 43 of them.
The Story of Tax Analysts [Tax Analysts]
Yeah, those people who sued the IRS have been doing this awhile.
Footballer Messi Scores Hat Trick, Clears Tax Debt As Season Rolls [Forbes]
5 million euros was all it took.
CPA Firm Owners Make A Lot Of Money [AWEB]
FYI: "[I]t really bugs me when CPA firm partners (client service partners NOT the managing partner) belittle or ignore the value of the managing partner, the firm administrator, administrative professionals and other non-certified, functional area leaders. The management/leadership team (MP and the non-CPA professionals that actually manage the operations, sales, marketing, human resources, technology and administration of the firm), if they are doing a good job, make all the partners a lot of money."
Teens Check Out 'Kind of Attractive Girl,' Realize She's Being Kidnapped [Gawker]
"It's me and another guy, so we're checking out the girl in the backseat because, we're like, 'OK, she's kind of attractive,'" Arias said. "And then, all of the sudden, you know, the guy is turned back, looking at us."