Newsroom September 21, 2009
ARRA Marketing Products for Partners
The IRS encourages its various partners and stakeholders to reach out to the public to provide information on the law. This page contains IRS marketing products that partners and stakeholders may find useful in their outreach efforts. Flyers in Spanish, Chinese, Korean, Russian, and Vietnamese
IMRS Hot Topics for September 2009
Standards of Conduct for the Tax Return Preparer Community and Increased Taxpayer Compliance - The IRS received over 450 comments regarding Notice 2009-60. The comment period closed on August 31, 2009. Comments Received July 24 - 31, 2009
The IRS encourages its various partners and stakeholders to reach out to the public to provide information on the law. This page contains IRS marketing products that partners and stakeholders may find useful in their outreach efforts. Flyers in Spanish, Chinese, Korean, Russian, and Vietnamese
Pub 1693: SSA/IRS Reporter (Fall 2009 - English
Fall Issue addresses the new ARRA 2009 Energy incentives for business
IR-2009-78, Sept. 9, 2009 — Information on various tax breaks for higher education may be found on a new Web section of IRS.gov.
Summer 2009 Statistics of Income Bulletin Now Available
IR-2009-77, August 25, 2009 — The IRS announced availability of the summer 2009 issue of the Statistics of Income Bulletin, which features sole proprietorship data for tax year 2007.
IRS Features Recovery Tax Credits on YouTube, iTunes
IR-2009-76, Aug. 21, 2009 — The IRS now has channels on Youtube and Itunes featuring products to help taxpayers take full advantage of the 2009 tax provisions in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
IRS Alerts Public to New Identity Theft Scams
IR-2009-71, August 4, 2009 — Summertime brings no relief from phony e-mails that claim to come from the IRS but which really come from scammers trying to steal the identity of the e-mail recipients.
Help your employees plan ahead.
There are lots of benefits for you and your employees in setting up a retirement plan. Get information on common retirement plan options to help you choose a plan right for your business. If you already have a retirement plan, get information on maintaining that plan and correcting common plan errors.
Tax Hints: Volume 2, Issue 2 (09/04/2009)
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009: Information Center
IRS Headliners
Volume 274: COBRA subsidy recipients who later become eligible for insurance coverage should notify their former employer to avoid a penalty
Technical Guidance
Revenue Procedure 2009-41 provides guidance with regard to eligible entities seeking relief to file late classification elections. Generally, the revenue procedure provides late relief if the request is filed within 3 years and 75 days of the requested effective date of the eligible entity's classification. The revenue procedure also provides guidance for those eligible entities that do not qualify for relief under this revenue procedure.
Revenue Procedure 2009-39 discusses changes in accounting periods and in methods of accounting. It will be published in IRB 2009-38 dated Sept. 21, 2009.
Notice 2009-69 clarifies section D of Notice 2009-28 (2009-24 I.R.B.1082, published on June 15, 2009), which provided guidance to employers seeking to claim the Work Opportunity Tax Credit on two targeted groups added by new §51(d)(14). Notice 2009-69 explains that not readily employable by reason of lacking a sufficient number of basic skills" includes individuals who have worked occasionally since high school graduation / receipt of GED certificate. Notice 2009-69 also provides extended transition relief for filing of Form 8850.
Events
National Phone Forums (http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/article/0,,id=158856,00.html)
§ When Businesses Should File Form 8300 for Cash Transactions - Webinar (9/16/2009)
§ American Recovery & Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) - Tuesday, October 6, 2009, 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. Employment Tax
IRS on the Hill
Senate Indian Affairs: On Friday, September 18th, Tax Exempt Government Entities Commissioner Sarah Hall Ingram testified before the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs at a hearing on examining the federal tax treatment of health care benefits provided by tribal governments to their citizens.
Senator Tom Udall chaired the hearing on behalf of Chairman Byron Dorgan. In his opening statement, Senator Udall explained that tribal health programs are being reviewed by the IRS in order to determine if they should be treated as taxable income. He explained that tribal governments are providing relief to its communities because of the failures of the Indian health care system and indicated that the Federal government should not penalize tribal governments for filling a void that the Federal government has failed to provide.
In her testimony, TEGE Commissioner Sarah Hall Ingram noted that the tax rules that apply to health care provided by tribal governments are the same rules that have existed for decades and that apply to such care and benefits provided by non-tribal governments, including federal, state, and local authorities. TEGE Commissioner Ingram further added that there are no special tax rules that apply uniquely to tribal government health care programs.
Hearing Update
Senate Finance: On Tuesday, September 15th, the Senate Committee on Finance held a hearing entitled, "Unemployment Insurance Benefits: Where Do We Go From Here?" Witnesses included: (1) Ms. Beth Shulman, JD, Chair, Board of Directors, National Employment Law; (2) Mr. Doug Holmes, President, Strategic Services on Unemployment & Workers' Compensation, and the National Foundation for Unemployment Compensation & Workers' Compensation; (3) Mr. Karen A. Campbell, Macroeconomic Policy Analyst, Center for Data Analysis, The Heritage Foundation; (4) Mr. Thomas S. Whitaker, JD, President, National Association of State Workforce Agencies (NASWA), Deputy Chairman, North Carolina Employment Security Commission; and (5) Mr. Gary Burtless, Senior Fellow in Economic Studies (and Whitehead Chair in Economics), The Brookings Institution.
In his opening statement, Chairman Max Baucus stressed the importance of job creation in a job market where 3 million job openings exist for the current 15 million unemployed and the need for unemployment insurance help sustain small businesses, the housing market and the U.S. economy. Chairman Baucus stated that he expected the House to send over an unemployment insurance benefits bill at the end of the month and anticipated that the Finance Committee would be reporting out a bill shortly.
Committee members asked questions related to one witness' assertion that unemployment insurance benefits dis-incentivized unemployed workers and the current state of the job market where job vacancies out-number jobless workers by five to one. Many of the witnesses supported extending unemployment insurance benefits into 2010.
Nomination Update
On Wednesday, September 16th, the White House announced the nomination of Michael Mundaca as the Treasury Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy.
Legislative Update
On Thursday, September 17th, Rep. Charles Rangel introduced H.R. 3590, "Service Members Home Ownership Tax Act of 2009," which would modify the first-time homebuyer's credit in the case of members of the Armed Forces and certain other Federal employees. Also included in the bill is a provision that would increase penalties for failure to file a partnership or S corporation return. The bill was referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
On Wednesday, September 16th, Sen. Max Baucus unveiled the Chairman's Mark of the "America's Healthy Future Act of 2009," which includes an excise tax on high cost insurance; a deduction for health insurance cost of self-employed individuals; a requirement for employer health insurance reporting on the Form W-2; modifications to Health Savings Accounts; limitations on flexible spending arrangements under cafeteria plans; and additional requirements for 501(c)(3) hospitals, which would require the IRS to review information about a hospital's community benefit activities at least once every three years. Attached is an Overview of the tax-related provisions in the Chairman's Mark.
On Wednesday, September 16th, the House Committee on the Judiciary ordered reported H.R. 3290, "September 11 Family Humanitarian Relief and Patriotism Act of 2009." Contained in the bill is a provision that would provide an adjustment of status for aliens with no federal tax liability.
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