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New Tax Filing Deadlines for Partnerships and Corporations

By:  Amanda Wilson

Last Friday, President Obama signed into law a bill that provides temporary funding for the highway trust fund.  Buried in the law are several permanent changes to the tax code that are unexpected.  Specifically, the deadline for filing tax returns for partnerships and S corporations has been moved up a month, from April 15th to March 15th.  The deadline for filing tax returns for corporations has been moved back a month, from March 15th to April 15th.  These changes will apply for tax returns due for tax years starting in 2016.  Be aware of how these changes could affect your private business. read more

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Business Tax Reform High Priority

By:  Amanda Wilson

Recently, I was at the ABA Tax Section meeting in DC, and one refrain that I heard over and over is that tax reform is a major priority for Congress.  The Obama administration has basically shut down the possibility of personal tax reform by threatening a veto on any legislation that lowers the top individual tax rate from 39.6%.  However, business tax reform continues to be open for discussion, and there is a strong appetite for lowering the corporate tax rate.  The key issue, though, is that any tax reform will have to come soon – before the presidential campaign over shadows everything. read more

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Abandon All Hope? If a Partnership, Maybe

By:  Amanda Wilson

Several years ago, many taxpayers faced with underwater partnerships would abandon their partnership interests, thereby triggering an ordinary loss.  This ordinary loss was often preferred over the capital loss that would be triggered if the taxpayer’s sold their partnership interests or liquidated the partnership.  Capital losses are less advantageous, as they can generally only be used to offset capital gains.  By contrast, ordinary losses can offset ordinary income, providing a much bigger tax benefit. read more

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Time to Fess Up on Foreign Financial Accounts

By Jason Palmisano

The IRS wants to know if a taxpayer has financial interests outside of the United States to ensure the taxpayer is not hiding money for illicit purposes (i.e., money laundering, tax evasion, or funding terrorism).  As such, the IRS requires a Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR) to be filed with the U.S. Department of Treasury by any United States person if: read more

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Act Now! Protect Yourself From Tax Fraud

By:  Amanda Wilson

Tax identity theft is a big issue right now, with people only discovering that they are victims when they go to file their tax return with the IRS.  Instead of having their returns accepted, these people find themselves having their returns rejected by the IRS becuase an identity thief has already filed a fraudulent return (and received a huge refund check).  The next year will be a nightmare of frustration and red tape as they try to resolve the issue with the IRS. read more