Some recent news

IRS Releases Al Capone Records
The Internal Revenue Service has made available records from one of its most famous legal cases of all time, the tax evasion prosecution of Chicago gangster Al Capone in 1931.  Read More...

PwC Laying Off Consultants
PricewaterhouseCoopers plans to lay off part of the consulting staff in its Advisory Services business.  Read More...

IRS Nixes Distressed-Asset Trust Transactions 
The Internal Revenue Service said it would add distressed-asset trust transactions to its list of tax avoidance transactions, signaling that such transactions need to be disclosed and may be subject to penalties.  Read More...

Accounting Standards-Setters to Be Overhauled
The Financial Accounting Foundation's board of trustees has voted to approve sweeping changes in the oversight, structure and operations of the Financial Accounting Foundation and its two standards-setting boards, the Financial Accounting Standards Board and the Governmental Accounting Standards Board.  Read More...

Deloitte Audit Partners Barred by SEC in Delphi Case
Two audit partners at Deloitte & Touche have agreed to be barred from practicing before the Securities and Exchange Commission to resolve a case involving auto parts maker Delphi .  Read More...

House Holds Small Business Tax Hearing
The House Committee on Small Business held a hearing on business activity taxes and their impact on small businesses.  Read More...

IMA launches small business committee
Small companies in the United States have long complained that it's unfair in terms of costs and time that they're required to meet accounting standards that were written for companies that are many times their size.  Read More...

Intuit Predicts Future of Small Business
Intuit has released a report on the future of small business, predicting that artisans will re-emerge as an influential force in the coming decade, using technology and globalization to help them expand.  Read More... 

President signs Economic Stimulus Package

On February 13, 2008 , President George Bush signed a multibillion-dollar economic rescue package that means $300 to $1,200 for many American households.

For complete details on this program, including IRS Fact Sheets, News Releases and information on the senate vote, click here.

Words of advice for today ... Retirement Planning

If you had purchased $1000.00 of Nortel stock one year ago, it would now be worth $49.00.  With Enron, you would have had $16.50 of the original $1000.00.  With WorldCom, you would have had less than $5.00 left.  But ... if you had purchased $1000.00 worth of beer one year ago, drank all the beer, then turned in the cans for the aluminum recycling REFUND, you would have had $214.00.

Based on the above, the best current investment advice is to drink heavily and recycle.  It's called the 401-Keg Plan!

18 Most Beneficial Internet Sites for Tax Professionals from the National Society of Tax Professionals

See the list here ...

Keep or Toss?  What Tax Documentation Should You Save?

The U.S. Tax Court has ruled that taxpayers using tax preparation software can not blame the software for their own negligence ... the details are here ...

An IRS Audit

The auditor says, 'Well, sir, you have an extravagant lifestyle and no full-time employment, which you explain by saying that you win money gambling and the IRS finds that unbelievable.'
'I'm a great gambler and I can prove it,' says Ralph.. 'How about a demonstration?'
The auditor thinks for a moment and said, 'Okay. Go ahead.'
Ralph says, 'I'll bet you a thousand dollars that I can bite my own eye.'
The auditor thinks a moment and says, 'No way! It's a bet.'
Ralph removes his glass eye and bites it.
The auditor's jaw drops.
Ralph says, 'Now, I'll bet you two thousand dollars that I can bite my other eye.'
The auditor can tell Ralph isn't blind, so he takes the bet.
Ralph removes his dentures and bites his good eye The stunned auditor now realizes he has wagered and lost three grand, with Ralph's attorney as a witness. He starts to get nervous.
'Want to go double or nothing?' Ralph asks. 'I'll bet you six thousand dollars that I can stand on one side of your desk, and pee into that wastebasket on the other side, and never get a drop anywhere in between.'
The auditor, twice burned, is cautious now, but he looks carefully and decides there's no way this guy can manage that stunt, so he agrees again.
Ralph stands beside the desk and unzips his pants, but although he strains mightily, he can't make the stream reach the wastebasket on other side, so he pretty much urinates all over the desk.
The auditor leaps with joy, realizing that he has just turned a major loss into a huge win. But Ralph's attorney moans and puts his head in his hands.
'Are you okay?' the auditor asks. 'Not really,' says the attorney.  'This morning, when Ralph told me he'd been summoned for an audit, he bet me twenty thousand dollars that he could come in here and piss all over your desk and that you'd be happy about it.'