Western CPE Blog
Breaking tax and accounting news and analysis from the experts at Western CPE.
Bipartisan “Stop Subsidizing Giant Mergers Act” Takes Aim at Tax-Free Reorganizations
Few proposals have been made to change tax-free reorganizations in the past century, but today, a Democrat and a Republican have combined forces to attempt exactly that. This morning (3/21), Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D., R.I) and Sen. J.D. Vance (R., OH) introduced new legislation aimed at transforming the tax implications of big mergers by revising the corporate tax code. The Stop Subsidizing Giant Mergers Act is described in a statement from the senators as “ending a wasteful subsidy for mergers where combined average annual revenues exceed $500 million.”The bipartisan bill sets its sights on companies’ ability to complete tax-free mergers. …
New IRS Memo Answers Questions Related to Form 8300 and Cannabis
Once a business receives cash exceeding $10,000 (in either a transaction or related transactions), a Form 8300 must be filed. Cannabis businesses are cash intensive businesses and therefore are subject to the reporting requirement.A March 1, 2024 Chief Council Memorandum 202409016 addresses a series of questions related to the filing of Form 8300 that have arisen in examinations of cannabis businesses. The memorandum provides guidance on many of these issues in a 16 question-and-answer format. Additional guidance on questions related to cash couriers/armored cars who transport cash between growers/manufacturers and dispensaries/sellers is in process.Example from Q and A #2. What …
President Biden Proposes 2025 Budget
President Biden has proposed a 2025 budget, and it’s a pie-in-the-sky plan that has no chance of getting through Congress. It is instead a political statement of what might be, not what will be. So, why read about the proposals? Because some well-read client will ask about a provision that particularly irritates them. (Think real estate investor and the Section 1031 proposed limit.)The proposed budget includes tax increases of $5.1 trillion over the next ten years, and it assumes that the Tax Cut and Jobs Act will not be extended past 2025.Here are a few items from President Biden’s proposed budget.The …
Student Loan Discharge for Small Loans Has Started
The Department of Education has announced that it will automatically discharge $1.2 billion in loans for nearly 153,000 borrowers who are eligible for the shortened time to forgiveness benefit under the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) Plan. For a borrower to be eligible for this forgiveness, they must be enrolled in the SAVE Plan, have been making at least 10 years of payments, and have originally taken out $12,000 or less for college. For every $1,000 borrowed above $12,000, a borrower can receive forgiveness after an additional year of payments. All borrowers on SAVE receive forgiveness after 20 years …
California Board of Accountancy: Everything You Need to Know
By: In the world of accounting, the Golden State is a beacon of professionalism and integrity thanks to its regulatory body, the California Board of Accountancy (CBA). Understanding the ins and outs of this organization is the first step every aspiring California CPA should take in their CPA journey. Let’s explore everything you need to know about the California Board of Accountancy.Ensuring Professional Standards and Public Trust The California Board of Accountancy plays a crucial role in regulating the accounting profession in the state. Established under the California Accountancy Act, the CBA’s primary mission is to protect consumers by ensuring that …
California Corner: Calling the Practitioner Hotline
By: The FTB continues to request (actually beg) practitioners to utilize the self-service options available on its website using “MyFTB Account.” Accessing information on the website frees up hotline agents to handle cases that cannot be resolved without live contact.Tax Practitioner Hotline(916) 845-7057Tax practitioner hotline implements virtual hold technology. As a result of practitioner feedback, the Tax Practitioner Hotline successfully implemented Virtual Hold technology. Virtual Hold allows callers to save their place in the phone queue and receive a call back instead of waiting on hold for a potentially extended period of time.In March 2023 alone, over 24,000 tax practitioners utilized …
Federal District Court Rules that the Corporate Transparency Act is Unconstitutional (National Small Business United et al v. Yellen et al)
An Alabama Federal District Court has found the Corporate Transparency Act and its Beneficial Ownership Interest (BOI) reporting to be unconstitutional. Judge Liles C. Burke concluded that “The Corporate Transparency Act is unconstitutional because it cannot be justified as an exercise of Congress’ enumerated powers.”What now? This will be a wait-and-see situation as the government appeals the decision and FinCEN decides how to address the decision. But what do we tell our clients?There will be no hurry in filing BOI reports for existing entities, as the reports are not due to FinCEN until Dec. 31, 2024. Wait for a FinCEN …
Should More of Our Clients Have IP PINS?
By: An Identity Protection PIN (IP PIN), a unique six-digit number known only to the taxpayer and the IRS, helps prevent the misuse of a taxpayer’s Social Security number on fraudulent federal income tax returns, according to a recent blog by National Taxpayer Advocate Erin M. Collins. In calendar year 2022, about 525,000 taxpayers opted in to the IRS’s IP PIN program.“When the taxpayer files their return, they include their IRS-provided IP PIN, signaling to the IRS that the return is authentic,” Collins wrote. “If a taxpayer has an IP PIN but does not include it on their return at filing, this …
Robert Doggart V. Comm., TCS 2023-25
Failure to Pay Premiums on Life Insurance Securing Loans Resulted In Taxable Income (Robert Doggart V. Comm., TCS 2023-25) Before 2017, Robert Doggart took out a series of loans against two life insurance policies that he held with Prudential Insurance Co. The cash value of his policies served as collateral for the loans. While incarcerated, Mr. Doggart stopped paying premiums on the two policies. As a result, each policy lapsed and Prudential used the cash values of the policies to repay the loans plus interest due. Prudential subsequently issued Mr. Doggart Form 1099–R for 2017 with respect to each policy …
Capitol Hill Connection: House-Approved Tax Bill Stalls in Senate
While Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car” may have found its way back to the top of the charts after 30 years, and rightfully so, there is zero related prophecy to the movement of that House-approved tax bill you love to hate or its need for a quickly moving legislative vehicle. “Maybe we can make a deal,” Chapman sings, “maybe together we can get somewhere.” Although it seems Congress is working to do just that with the largely bipartisan, bicameral tax deal that cleared the House on January 31, for now, the bill remains stalled in the Senate.Although I told you earlier …
California Corner: San Diego County Storm Relief Postpones Filing Deadlines to June 17, 2024
By: Federal Notice: IR-2024-51, February 27, 2024 IRS notice IR-2024-51 postpones tax year 2023 tax filing and tax payment obligations for residents and businesses of San Diego County as “federally declared disaster areas” due to severe storms and flooding that began on Jan. 21, 2024. California conforms to the June 17 filing and payment date.Other Counties Coming? The same relief will be available to any other California localities added later to the disaster area. The current list of eligible localities is always available on the disaster relief page on IRS.gov. Although not yet designated, watch for Southern California Counties to be …
Om and Anjali Soni v. Comm., CA-2 No. 22-829-ag
Tax Return was Jointly Filed Even though Spouse did not Sign the Return (Om and Anjali Soni v. Comm., CA-2, No. 22-829-ag (Jul. 27, 2023)) The US Court of Appeals, Second Circuit, affirmed the Tax Court’s Jan. 7, 2022, opinion that Om and Anjali Soni’s 2004 tax return was jointly filed. Four circumstances were identified as probative of the taxpayers’ intent. First, Anjali knew “a return had to be filed” because “[s]he was generally aware of the U.S. tax system but chose not to engage.” Second, Anjali knew of Om’s “expert knowledge” because he was an experienced businessman and she …
Mohamed H. Elbasha v. Comm., TCM 2022-001
Tax Court Reminds Taxpayer about Single Filing Status Rules : Mohamed H. Elbasha v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue, TCM 2022-001 Mohamed H. Elbasha was married at the close of the 2008 tax year but contended he was entitled to the single filing status because his wife lived abroad. Simply having a spouse living apart or abroad is insufficient for a person to be considered unmarried.To file under the single filing status, a person must be unmarried, not a surviving spouse, and not a head of household (§1(C)). The determination of whether an individual is married is made at the close …
Why Trusts Can Be Residents of More Than One State
By: California has 39 million people, according to the census. (I suspect at least 10 million of those folks are employed by the Franchise Tax Board.) The United States has 335 million people. Doing the math, there is a likelihood that if you have an irrevocable trust on the west coast, someone out there is going to ruin your tax professional’s day. so let me get this straight.you can have a trust established in hawaii, holding hawaii real estate and the sole beneficiary is a resident of hawaii, but because the sole fiduciary is a california resident, the whole trust is …
IRS Announces Beginning of Audits on Business Aircraft
The Internal Revenue Service announced this week that it plans to begin dozens of audits on business aircraft involving personal use. The audits will be focused on aircraft usage by large corporations, large partnerships, and high-income taxpayers. They’ll also take into account whether for tax purposes the use of the aircraft is being properly allocated between business and personal reasons. I wonder if the Taylor Swift love story played into the IRS’s tax season announcement?Taylor Swift jetted from Tokyo to Las Vegas to watch her boyfriend, Travis Kelce, play in Super Bowl LVIII. Her jet was parked with 881 other …
Maximum Marginal State Individual Income Tax Rates
Rates are as of Jan 1, 2024. What is a marginal tax rate? In many states, the tax rate you pay escalates with increasing income. As you earn more, you progress into higher brackets, and the income in those brackets is taxed at a higher rate. This taxation approach is called progressive taxation, and it’s designed to tax individuals proportionately to their earnings. In theory, the objective is for lower-income earners to pay a lower tax rate, while higher-income earners pay a higher tax rate.This map illustrates the highest possible individual income tax rate someone might pay for the last dollar …
FinCEN Reporting on All Cash Real Estate Transfers is Coming
Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) estimates that approximately 20 percent of real estate purchases are not financed — they are all cash deals — indicating a vulnerability in the US real estate market for money laundering, particularly when the purchaser is an entity. Therefore, in a February 2024 notice of proposed rulemaking, FinCEN announced its intention to initiate requirements under the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) for certain persons involved in real estate transactions to collect, report, and retain information on non-financed (cash) purchases of residential real estate by shell companies. See FinCEN’s Fact Sheet for details on the proposed …
New Question on Digital Assets
In case you haven’t noticed. . . the IRS has added a new question about income from digital assets to partnerships, corporations, S corporations, and estates and trusts for 2023 tax returns. Ask your entity client about digital currency transactions. 2023 Form 1065 For example, the 2023 Form 1065, Schedule B, question 30 asks: “At any time during this tax year, did the partnership (a) receive (as a reward, award, or payment for property or services); or (b) sell, exchange, or otherwise dispose of a digital asset (or financial interest in a digital asset)? See instructions.” Digital assets include (but …
Capitol Hill Connection: Werfel Grilled in House Hot Seat
By: Happy Friday, tax pros. In case you thought you couldn’t possibly start your weekend without a Capitol Hill tax update from your friend in D.C. (you did not), I’ve got you covered.Indeed, things got a little heated yesterday in 1100 Longworth as IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel got a good grillin’ from lawmakers while in the proverbial hot seat during a House Ways and Means Committee hearing. But because I haven’t yet figured out how to communicate by way of smoke signals, despite my brief phase with pyromania, all you get is this eTax Alert. 2024 Tax Filing Season The …
IRS Revises Form 1099-K FAQs
The IRS has revised its frequently asked questions (FAQs) for Form 1099-K, Payment Card and Third Party Network Transactions. The FAQ Fact Sheet, FS-2024-03, released this month provides substantial updates to nearly 50 questions. The IRS announced last November in Notice 2023-74 that it would again delay the new $600 Form 1099-K reporting threshold for third party settlement organizations for calendar year 2023. Following tax community concerns and industry feedback, the IRS is treating 2023 as an additional transition year, which applies to taxes filed this year. Thus, reporting is not required unless the taxpayer receives over $20,000 and has more than …