Large Partnerships Face Major Changes to Audits and Adjustments The recently enacted federal budget deal includes major changes to how the IRS will audit large partnerships and, when adjustments result in tax underpayments, will allow the IRS to collect the tax directly from the partnership, instead of from the individual partners.  Alistair M. Nevius, Journal of Accountancy editor-in chief, discusses the n ...

Background and Objectives of the Job Aid (Part 3 of 3) In the third article of this three part series, the author discusses the remaining portions of the Job Aid, specifically, the Discussion and Analysis Section of the Job Aid which addresses: Evidence-Based Valuation Analysis, Theory-Based Valuation Analysis, and Weighting of Factors and Approaches and shares his views on the value and limits of this docu ...

Background and Objectives of the Job Aid (Part 2 of 3) In the first of this three-part series, the leading cases involving tax-affecting where analyzed; those cases discussed included: Gross, Wall, Heck, Adams, Dallas, Gallagher, Korbel, and Guistina. This second part analyzes the first two parts of the Job Aid by section, the “Executive Summary” and first three subsections of the “Discussion and Analysis”, ...

Background and Objectives of the Job Aid (Part 1 of 3) The release of this series of Job Aids has been hailed by many as a new era of communication and understanding between the Internal Revenue Service, taxpayers, and practitioners. However, in the opinion of this author, and others, releasing these additional documents in such a formal manner seems to be an attempt to influence practitioner behaviors in s ...

Five Remaining Leading Misconceptions (Part II of II) The following discussion summarizes and responds to common misconceptions many analysts have with regard to the valuation of healthcare entity property and/or services transfers. These analyst misconceptions typically involve a misunderstanding of one or more of the relevant regulatory provisions. These analyst misconceptions typically relate to an erron ...

“The IRS issued final regulations on determining partners’ distributive shares of partnership items when a partner’s interest varies during the partnership’s tax year.”  Sally P. Schreiber, a senior editor for the Journal of Accountancy®, explains the exceptions and methods the proposed regulation influences. To find out more on The Tax Adviser® article, click: Regulations Determine Partnership Distributive ...

Five of the 10 Leading Misconceptions (Part I of II) The following discussion summarizes and responds to common misconceptions that many analysts have with regard to the valuation of healthcare entity property and/or services transfers. These analyst misconceptions typically involve a misunderstanding of one or more of the relevant regulatory provisions. These analyst misconceptions typically relate to an e ...

Are you aware of these interesting tips regarding Section 409A?  There may be more to it than you think.  Travis Harms, leading Mercer Capital’s Financial Reporting Valuation Group, answers eight questions to offer practical and comprehensive information about how Section 409A works. Read more about the results of this report in the Mercer Capital's Financial Reporting article, 8 Things You Need to Know Abo ...

Is There a Reason to Act Soon? Will the IRS Prevail this Time? The IRS is considering issuing proposed Section (SEC) 2704(b)(4) regulations to limit the availability of discounts for lack of control and lack of marketability. The article highlights the need to communicate with estate and gift tax attorneys that have discussed forming a FLP. While practitioners do not know what is being proposed, the §2704 l ...

In Economic Substance Analyses Valuation analysts and other financial advisers are often called on to perform economic substance analyses in federal income tax challenges. In these cases, the Internal Revenue Service challenges a tax deduction or loss related to a taxpayer transaction by applying the so-called economic substance doctrine. This doctrine allows the Service to disallow a taxpayer transaction i ...

A Former Insider’s Views on the Subject of Compensation What is reasonable compensation? In this article, Michael Gregory proposes that while the views of the U.S. Tax Court are well-understood, those of the IRS are not. In this article he underscores the importance of this matter to business valuation professionals. ...

With Commentary by Original IRS Champion Leading valuation practitioners have proposed various models to guide practitioners valuing controlling and non-controlling interests. The published Tax Court cases—precedents—have favored the position of the IRS. The author suggests that is not surprising. In a soon-to-be released book, Michael Gregory highlights the importance of a new Job Aid focused on valuation ...

Merger and acquisition activity in the healthcare industry has increased over the past few years. The playbook used in the past has shifted. In this article the authors share their views on whether and when to announce the deal, the importance of conducting pre-deal due diligence, appearing before the Board of Directors, understanding the constituents that are needed to succeed, and conducting pre-market du ...

A Drop-Dead Plan for the Unprepared In this article, Edward Mendlowitz shares his views regarding the importance of having a buy-sell agreement. He proposes a “drop-dead plan” or method that, while imperfect, addresses how owners can arrive at an initial value that does not necessarily require a Conclusion of Value, especially if the owners are not related. Significantly, Mendlowitz stresses the importance ...

The Treasury Department and Health and Human Services announced last week that in the coming weeks it will introduce “consumer-friendly” resources for taxpayers to use to comply with the new healthcare rules. Starting this year, taxpayers are facing additional paperwork for this year’s filing, causing concern for taxpayers and their accountants. Tax filers will now have to report whether they had healthcare ...

Despite all the talk about new changes underway now that Republicans will assume control of Congress and governorships in 31 states, much of the current tax issues will look the same in 2015 as they did in 2014, according to Forbes. Below is a snapshot of the top nine tax stories to watch in 2015: Business Taxes.  Will 2015 be the year of business tax reform? Probably not, according to Forbes, as the Afford ...

Thanks to the U.S. Senate, IRA owners age 701/2 and older have until Wednesday, December 31, 2014, to make a direct transfer from their account to an eligible charity of their choice of up to $100,000 without paying taxes on the distribution. The senate approved the direct rollover in addition to more than 50 other tax provisions as part of the extender’s package on December 16, 2014—just two weeks shy of t ...

  Back in 2007, the IRS and U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) were hot on the heels of Switzerland-based mega financial institutions like UBS, Credit Suisse, and Wegelin for assisting wealthy Americans in hiding billions of dollars in foreign accounts. Part of the fallout included the enactment of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) in 2010, which requires all foreign banks to file reports wi ...

  The IRS has released the annual inflation adjustments for a number of provisions for tax year 2015, including tax rate schedules, tax tables, and cost of living adjustments for some items. In total, the IRS posted more than 40 updates. You can read them in full here. You can also find an excellent overview of all the changes at Forbes.com through the link below. ...

  With just six more weeks to go until 2015 is rung in, small business owners and managers can take simple steps now to minimize their tax bill next April, according to business advisory services firm Skoda Minotti. Below are five ideas small business owners and managers can consider from now until December 31: Make those needed office or plant repairs. For the most part, expenses for minor business pr ...