Archive for April 24, 2024

Spotlight Interview: Chuck Levun and Michael Cohen On Educating CPAs, Attorneys and Other Tax Planning Professionals, Part 1

Spotlight Interview: Chuck Levun and Michael Cohen on Educating CPAs, Attorneys and Other Tax Planning Professionals

Spotlight Interview Part 1:

Chuck Levun and Michael Cohen on Educating CPAs, Attorneys and Other Tax Planning Professionals – As Well as Their Seasoned Advice for Tax Professionals New and Old

For more than thirty-seven years, Charles R. Levun and Michael J. Cohen (the founders of Tax Forum) have been creating and presenting the preeminent seminars on flow-through taxation. The two flagship Tax Forum programs are Fundamentals of Flow-Through® and Tax Planning Forum®.  In addition, Tax Forum is expanding its programs to include self-study (on-demand) training, as well as working on an additional course, which they will share with us soon.

Please read Part 1 of this special interview for Chuck’s and Michael’s descriptions of these programs and education in the flow-through taxation arena. Part 2 will focus on significant tax planning challenges that partnerships face … and the biggest mistakes Chuck and Michael have seen, that they will help you avoid.

Speaking of avoiding potential big mistakes, take a moment to register for Tax Forum’s complimentary webinar:

Avoiding Costly Mistakes: Four Essential Tax Concepts for the Non-Tax Business Attorney or CPA taking place on Thursday, May 16th at Noon CDT

You will appreciate what you will learn by spending time with these leading tax experts/educators.

Kat Jennings’ Question:

First of all, tell us about your favorite career accomplishments?

Chuck Levun’s Answer:

I’ve had many. However, perhaps my favorite is to have developed the Tax Planning Forum and the Fundamentals of Flow-Through tax programs with my partner, Michael Cohen. We’re in our 38th year of presenting these partnership, LLC and S corporation flow-through programs for tax professionals, and I feel that we have assisted several decades of tax professionals to be better educated and better able to assist their clients in closely held business matters.

Michael and I have also been very fortunate to have served as the editors-in-chief of the Journal of Passthrough Entities during its entire 20-year publication, and to have written 400 monthly Partner’s Perspective columns for the Wolters Kluwer (CCH) Partnership Tax Planning and Practice Guide. These vehicles enabled us to learn and assist others to learn at the same time.

But maybe, the most rewarding aspect of all this is the opportunity we have had to not only educate other professionals but also to assist them in growing their practices and retaining clients who are in need of creative business structuring. I also have been involved in mentoring other professionals, both officially and unofficially. More recently, I have been involved with both the Chicago Bar Association and the ABA Tax Section in their mentoring and diversity programs. These mentoring relationships have turned into friendships, and it’s been amazing watching young professionals blossom and grow.

Kat Jennings’ Question:

What is Tax Forum and what is its origin?

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Written by | Posted in Partnership Training • TaxConnections

Sales And Use Tax 101 – You Don’t Know What You Don’t Know

Sales And Use Tax 101 – You Don’t Know What You Don’t Know

Sales and use tax compliance can be daunting. Regulations vary by state and jurisdiction making them difficult to navigate, and to make matters even more complex, the rules are ever-changing.

For many people, the concept of sales tax is just a charge you see on your receipt. Expanding your knowledge base to understand the compliance side of sales tax is far from your idea of fun, however, it’s an essential aspect of conducting business.

The following is a basic outline of compliance, Sales and Use Tax 101, if you will, because, let’s face it, ‘You don’t know what you don’t know.’

What Is Sales Tax?

Sales tax is a tax imposed on the sale of goods and services, which is generally calculated as a percentage of the sale price. It is generally collected by the seller at the time of purchase and remitted to the state or local government.

Sales tax is a jurisdictional tax, which means that each state or jurisdiction has its own set of sales tax rates and rules. The amount of sales tax collected is based on the sales tax rate in the jurisdiction where the sale was made, or where the customer is located.

There are four types of Sales Tax: Sellers Privilege, Consumer Levy, Gross Receipts, and Transaction Tax, and each type is imposed differently, whether on the Seller or Purchaser or on the transaction itself.

What Is Use Tax?

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Written by | Posted in TaxConnections

IRS Releases 2023 Data Book Describing Agency’s Transformation Through Statistics

IRS Releases 2023 Data Book Describing Agency’s Transformation Through Statistics

The Internal Revenue Service today issued its annual Data Book detailing the agency’s activities during fiscal year 2023 (Oct. 1, 2022 – Sept. 30, 2023), including revenue collected and tax returns processed.

For FY 2023, the IRS collected approximately $4.7 trillion, or about 96 percent of the funding that supports the federal government’s operations — to fund everything from education to national defense.

During FY 2023, the IRS processed more than 271.4 million tax returns and other forms, including more than 163.1 million individual income tax returns.

Beyond statistics, the 2023 Data Book reflects the initial impacts of the historic long-term funding provided under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022 to transform the IRS and modernize how the agency serves the American people.

“This once-in-a-generation funding opportunity provided by the IRA is an investment in the transformation of the IRS and an investment in the financial future of our nation,” IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel wrote in the Data Book introduction. “The effects of this IRA funding — to hire more IRS employees and modernize the agency’s technology and systems to provide better service to the American people — started showing up in the 2023 tax season. And that progress has accelerated into 2024.”

In FY 2023, with new phone assistors hired through IRA funding, IRS employees answered nearly 27.3 million phone calls — a 25% increase from FY 2022. The IRS opened or reopened more than 50 taxpayer assistance centers in FY 2023 that were closed during the pandemic. The IRS had more than 1.6 million contacts at 363 centers across the nation in FY 2023 to provide more in-person help to taxpayers – up 18% from FY 2022.

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Written by | Posted in IRS Notice