Tag Archive for tax connections

2017 Federal Budget Bill #2 Receives Royal Assent

This bill implements certain measures announced in the 2017 federal budget. Bill C-63 also includes catch-up measures previously included in September 16, 2016 draft legislation, measures related to the principal residence exemption, and some specified cooperative income measures. Bill C-63 also contains some GST/HST measures related to pension plans and drop shipments, and other indirect tax measures that were previously released in draft legislation on September 8, 2017 (see TaxNewsFlash-Canada No. 2017-50). Read More

Written by | Posted in Budget • Canada • Federal

Texas Supreme Court Denies Three-Factor Apportionment In Graphic Packaging

In its Graphic Packaging Corporation v. Hegar decision rendered December 22, 2017, the Texas Supreme Court fell in line with the rejection of the Multistate Tax Commission (MTC) optional three-factor apportionment provisions, citing the California Supreme Court Gillette decision,2 the Minnesota Supreme Court Kimberly Clark decision,3 and the Oregon Tax Court decision in Health Net. Read More

Written by | Posted in Supreme Court

IRS Amnesty; The Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program Explained In Less Than 5 Minutes

Richard Lehman, Tax Connections

American citizens and residents often have placed funds in “foreign bank accounts” in banks all over the world. There is a requirement that all of these foreign bank accounts be reported to the United States on an annual basis and that United States income taxes be paid on all of these bank deposit funds.

Many American taxpayers who have been unaware of this requirement are now being pursued for taxes and penalties for not reporting their foreign bank deposits. There are two Internal Revenue procedures that will permit American taxpayers, who have not properly reported their foreign bank deposits, and the income therefrom, to come forward and report their foreign bank deposits. This avoids significant fines and penalties on a United State taxpayer who has not reported foreign bank deposits. Read More

Written by | Posted in Offshore

Expat Guide To Foreign Tax Credit Carryover

As an expat, no matter where you live and work, your US and foreign income is subject to IRS taxes. The fact that the majority of countries around the world also require you to file and pay tax locally makes the matter even more complex. In order to avoid double taxation, the US allows you to take a Foreign Tax Credit based on the foreign taxes you pay to your resident country. The Foreign Tax Credit is subtracted directly from your US income tax. However, if you cannot claim the full credit amount, you are allowed a carryover. Carryovers do expire, though, so read on to find out how best to utilize this savings! Read More

Written by | Posted in Foreign Tax Credits

Federal Tax Reform Is Nearing The Finish Line

Thomas Zaino, Tax Connections

On December 15, 2017, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (H.R. 1) conference committee members signed and released a Conference Agreement reconciling the different tax bills passed by the U.S. House and the U.S. Senate. The U.S. Senate passed the bill on December 19, 2017, and the U.S. House passed the final version of the conference committee report on December 20, 2017. President Trump is expected to sign the bill into law.On December 15, 2017, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (H.R. 1) conference committee members signed and released a Conference Agreement reconciling the different tax bills passed by the U.S. House and the U.S. Senate. The U.S. Senate passed the bill on December 19, 2017, and the U.S. House passed the final version of the conference committee report on December 20, 2017. President Trump is expected to sign the bill into law. Read More

Written by | Posted in Federal • Tax Reform

Indiana Court Clarifies That Burden Of Proof In Unemployment Tax Successorship Cases Is On Government

Norman Quinn, Tax Connections

Unemployment insurance in Indiana, like virtually all states, is financed by a tax on employers.  The employer contributions are charged proportionally against an employer’s experience account: the greater the number of unemployment claims, the more that employer must contribute to the unemployment fund.  Each year, the Department of Workforce Development determines the contribution rate applicable to each employer.  How that rate is calculated can be a point of substantial contention between the Department and employers. Read More

Written by | Posted in TaxConnections • Unemployment

Avoid Holiday Shopping Ho-Ho-Hoaxes

Barry Fowler, Tax Connections

Package Theft

You may find it hard to believe, but according to delivery services like the USPS and UPS, some 23 million recipients each year don’t get their holiday goodies because thieves steal them right off the doorsteps. There is an easy way to prevent this. Simply arrange for a delivery that requires a signature upon receipt. Other options include sending gifts to the recipient’s workplace or have them delivered to a pickup location operated by the carrier. For example purchases made through Amazon can be delivered to an Amazon Locker location and retrieved by using a pickup code. There’s no extra fee to use the service, which can be selected during checkout. Amazon has about 2000 secure locations in more than 50 cities. Read More

Written by | Posted in Schemes

Where’s My Refund? – IRS Changes

John Stancil, Tax Connections

So you get all your tax information together early and go to your preparer so you can file your tax return early and get the refund quickly. Not so fast. Certain refunds will be delayed and will not be released by the IRS until February 15. This is due to a provision in the PATH Act, enacted by Congress in 2015, prohibiting the IRS from releasing certain refunds prior to February 15. This provision takes effect this year. Note that the 15th is the release date, so it will take a few more days for you to receive the refund. Read More

Written by | Posted in Tax Refund

Control Spending This Holiday Season, Avoid Financial Problems in 2018

Keith Jones, Tax Advisor

I know ladies who shop all night long and are so excited about the big sales that go on throughout the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.

They plan to hit stores for time-specific sales and map out routes to cut down on time wasted in traffic or looking for parking spots. To make the most of the big day, hardcore shoppers sort through advertisements and go online to compare prices Others get caught up in the moment and join the spending frenzy with no plans or shopping lists. Read More

Written by | Posted in Holiday Expenses

New Update: Trump Tax Proposals

Lisa Nason, Tax Advisor

Both the House and Senate have passed their versions of President Trump’s tax bill, and there are many similarities, including the limiting of itemized deductions to mortgage interest, charitable contributions, and property taxes (up to $10,000), and the doubling of the estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer tax exemptions from $5.6 million to $112 million in 2018. These versions also differ in a number of ways. These differences will have to be resolved through a legislative conference committee. Some differences should be easy to reconcile, but resolving others is expected to take time and effort. Read More

Written by | Posted in Tax Proposals

New Paper: “The Games They Will Play: Tax Games, Roadblocks, and Glitches Under the New Legislation”

With new tax legislation comes new tax games, which is the topic the new paper, “The Games They Will Play: Tax Games, Roadblocks, and Glitches Under the New Legislation,” available from SSRN.  I haven’t reviewed it, but it has received a large amount of publicity in the press.  It’s written by a group of tax professors. Read More

Written by | Posted in TaxConnections

Appeals Court Finally Affirms One Million Dollar FBAR Penalty

Ephraim Moss, Tax Attorney

In a rather swift and harsh judgment, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court’s decision in favor of the IRS, which assessed an approximately $1.2 million penalty against a taxpayer for failing to disclose her financial interests in an overseas account.

The decision, U.S. v. Bussell, is noteworthy for two reasons. First, it shows the magnitude of penalty that can be reached, even with respect to an individual and a single foreign account and tax year (in this case, the relevant tax year was 2006). Second, it shows the type of taxpayer arguments that courts will likely reject when reviewing an FBAR penalty case. Read More

Written by | Posted in FBAR • TaxConnections
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