Governmental Step Child?

Total-Tax-Insights-CalculatorWhat do you feel when I say IRS?  They rank about like Biblical tax collectors in most circles and after their scandalous conference spending along with $2.8 million in bonuses to tax-delinquent employees, it stands to reason.  But another spending cut for the IRS may worsen the already growing issues in the areas of enforcement and customer-service functions that have occurred since the last reduction in funds.  I mean, who enjoys listening to hold music for an hour just to find out how to properly complete section T-1 on Tax Form IDK WUM 44EZ?

Analysis: Spending bill’s IRS cuts could harm tax enforcement

IRS reveals start date for 2014 tax filing season

alice-in-wonderland-costumes-white-rabbit-3The IRS has finally announced an official start date for the 2014 filing season: It will start accepting returns on Jan. 31. This date is 10 days later than the originally planned starting date of Jan. 21. “The late January opening gives us enough time to get things right with our programming, testing, and systems validation,” said Acting IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel in a press release. This process involves programming, testing, and deploying the more than 50 IRS systems that are needed to handle nearly 150 million tax returns.

Read more:  Journal of Accountancy

IRS Loses Lawsuit Challenging Authority to Regulate Tax Preparers

irslosesIn a stunning blow to the Internal Revenue Service’s efforts to regulate the tax preparation profession, a federal judge struck down the IRS’s licensing requirements for tax preparers on Friday, including testing and continuing education.

 

Read more in Accounting Today.