Tag Archive for Mortgage Interest Statement

Top Ten Items of Tax Policy Interest For 2015 #1

TaxConnections Member Annette Nellen

For the rest of 2015, I’m going to share my list of ten items from 2015 that I think have particular tax policy relevance.  It’s not a countdown so the start of this list today – #1, isn’t necessarily the biggest item of interest.

#1 – Congress can alter our tax system via a lot of non-tax bills.  In 2015, we saw ten bills enacted (as of 12/11/15) with tax changes. Yet, these bills were not intended to be tax bills, they all had a different primary purpose such as enacting trade deals or funding the Highway Trust Fund. Various tax changes were added in, many of which had been around for a while. For example, the GAO has been suggesting for years that additional information be required on Form 1098 mortgage interest statement. The change in due dates for some tax forms has also been talked about for some time and was even in Congressman Camp’s H.R. 1 (113rd Congress) tax reform bill. Read More

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How Can Theft Prevention, Reporting and Return Filing Be Improved?

Changing the April 15 due date, moving taxpayer information to the cloud, and allowing personal identification numbers (PINs) for taxpayers who want them were all on the table at a Thursday hearing held by the IRS Oversight Board to explore ways to combat fraud and improve tax administration. The board, composed of presidential appointees with tax, technology, or business expertise, advises the IRS on the best ways to meet taxpayer needs.

Fraud and Identity theft

Fraud and identity theft are still rampant, according to Michael Phillips, acting principal deputy inspector general, Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA), who cited billions of dollars fraudulently claimed on refundable credits such as the American Opportunity tax credit. He said “the IRS recently prevented $12.1 billion of potentially fraudulent refunds from being issued, but more work needs to be done”.

Fraud comes in many forms, observed James R. White, director of tax issues for the United States Government Accountability Office (GAO). Given its many sources, such as failure to file, underreporting, and off-shore tax evasion, Read More

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