Federal Tax

Baucus Laments Inaction on Extenders

Senate Finance Committee ranking Democrat Max Baucus (Mont.) Oct. 13 renewed his call for Congress to pass popular tax break extensions as soon as possible, in light of the Oct. 15 Internal Revenue Service printing deadline for revising the basic Form 1040 and other 2006 tax forms.
"These tax measures have real value. They mean millions of dollars to millions of Americans, who are at risk of losing out because of the majority's inaction," Baucus said in a news release.

"Time and time again, I called on Congress to renew these provisions while the IRS still had time to print the correct forms and still had time to prevent a lot of confusion. These tax cuts may not be printed on the standard tax forms once this deadline passes, but we can and we must extend these measures, so that people can still benefit from these vital tax provisions," he said. Read entire article.

The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc.
October 16, 2006

Transparency to Be Theme of Efforts To Improve Business Tax Administration

Transparency will dominate the Internal Revenue Service's interactions with business taxpayers for the foreseeable future, Large and Mid-Size Business Division Commissioner Bruce Ungar said Oct. 11.
"I think this is a bedrock principle and goal on which we will be basing our work for a number of years," Ungar said at a tax conference. "Our methods, our direction are all designed to do things more quickly without sacrificing quality."

The IRS official said the use of new sources of data will be a major part of this effort. In addition to requiring larger corporations to file electronically, Ungar said, IRS is "set to release some changes" that will affect LMSB taxpayers first, but also will impact smaller taxpayers "sooner rather than later." Read entire article.

By Alison Bennett
The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc.
October 12, 2006

State Tax

New Jersey --Corporate Income Tax: Physical Presence Not Required for Income Tax Nexus

New Jersey may apply its corporation business tax notwithstanding a taxpayer's lack of a physical presence in the state, according to the New Jersey Supreme Court. In a per curiam decision with national significance, the state high court held that the U.S. Supreme Court's holding in Quill Corp. v. North Dakota, 504 U.S. 298 (1992) should be limited to the area of sales and use tax nexus.

CCH Tax News
October 13, 2006

Second Service Provider Brings SSUTA Collection System Online

Two of three certified service providers for the Streamlined Sales Tax Project now have their tax collection systems up and running, the executive director of the Streamlined Sales Tax Governing Board Inc. told BNA Oct. 10.
In addition, Executive Director Scott Peterson told BNA, the third CSP is expected to be in operation soon.

The latest is Avalara Inc., which announced Oct. 9 that it had completed testing, and processed its first transaction. Read entire article.

By William H. Carlile
The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc.
October 12, 2006