With the new year comes the busiest season for many CPAs. In this issue, we turn our attention to the oncoming tax filing season, with all the attendant issues and complexities it brings for preparers. Our feature articles this month are drawn from a recent conference covering issues in dealing with the IRS. The highlights run the gamut, from dealing with new clients that have little or no documentation or filing history to filing returns and negotiating with the IRS. There is also ample discussion of the downsides—dealing with bankrupt clients, preparer penalties, and even criminal charges.
Also covered in this issue are a variety of state and local taxation topics. Mark Klein and Dan Kelly provide a thorough overview of the challenges faced by “snowbird” taxpayers seeking to change their residency from New York to Florida. Jason Feingertz and Jonathan Nehring review the strange case of Tennessee’s “jock tax” on outof-state athletes, which was challenged as unconstitutional. And Mark Levin surveys the various tax provisions in the current New York State Budget Act, which will have a significant impact on certain taxpayers.
Finally, this issue also includes some prognostication. In the wake of the recent national election, many observers are anticipating changes in tax policy or even fundamental reform of the tax system. David Lifson lays out the current set of perceived problems and proposed solutions, and notes that tax laws often reflect a combination of existing reform ideas. He reminds readers that, while coping with tax changes can be challenging for professionals, they also represent opportunities for those who are prepared. Randall Andreozzi and Justin Andreozzi likewise speculate on what changes could be coming to specific areas of the tax code and which taxpayers could be affected.
