IT company owes nearly $1.7 million in back wages due to H-1B Visa Program violations [DOL ESA News Release, 10/30/08]: Mike Habib, EA An information technology (IT) company has agreed to pay $1,683,584 in back wages to 343 non-immigrant workers after a Department of Labor (DOL) investigation found that the…
Roundup of recent employment tax rulings Mike Habib, EA There have been several recent rulings issued in the employment tax area. Here is a summary: Joint employment. A federal district court has ruled that a property management company was the joint employer of leasing consultants who worked out of the…
Gambling winnings or losses? Mike Habib, EA As a US taxpayer, you can deduct gambling losses only if you itemize your deductions on form 1040. You can claim your gambling losses as a miscellaneous deduction on IRS Form 1040, Schedule A. However, the amount of losses you deduct can not…
Estate not taxed on transfer of decedent’s pension to charitable beneficiary PLR 200845029 IRS has privately ruled that an estate will not be taxed on a distribution of the decedent’s pension benefits to a charitable beneficiary of the estate. Facts. An individual, whom we’ll call, Smith, died owning an interest…
Year-end tax planning client letter with checklist As the end of the year approaches, it is a good time to think of planning moves that will help lower your tax bill this year and possibly the next. Factors that compound the challenge include the stock market’s swoon, the difficult economic…
How businesses are affected by tax changes in the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 As I’m sure you’re aware, on Oct. 3, 2008, the President signed into law the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (P.L. 110-343). Although virtually all of the press coverage of this law has concentrated…
Timely reminder for small businesses to steer clear of trouble on payroll tax and retirement plan contributions IRS Employee Plan News (Fall 2008) In these trying times, with cash scarce and credit hard to find, a small business might be tempted to “temporarily” use money it deducts for taxes and…
IRS seeks to return $266 million in undeliverable refunds and economic stimulus payments to taxpayers [IR 2008-123]: More than 383,000 regular refund and economic stimulus checks have been returned by the U.S. Postal Service as undeliverable, IRS said on Oct. 23. This figure included 279,000 economic stimulus checks totaling $163…
As I’m sure you’re aware, on Oct. 3, 2008, the President signed into law the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (P.L. 110-343). Although virtually all of the press coverage of this law has concentrated on its hotly debated $700 billion financial industry bailout plan, the legislation also contains scores…
Special refund procedures for coal producers and exporters on excise tax paid on exported coal Ann. 2008-103, 2008-46 IRB In a new Announcement, IRS has advised taxpayers how to claim a refund of the excise tax on exported coal under the new procedures provided in Sec. 114 of the Energy…