Tax & Accounting News

The Weekly (Tax)Buzz - February 19, 2020

The Weekly (Tax)Buzz - February 19, 2020

If you feel like the news is tough to keep up with these days, you aren’t alone. Every week, we publish a curated list of some of the top articles in tax and finance. Tune in every Wednesday to read the latest thought leadership pieces from our favorite bloggers, US tax proposals, tax crime stories, and much more.

The (Tax)Buzz this week: Protecting yourself against tax scams, how your tax bracket actually works, Facebook vs. the IRS, and more.

USA Today: Curious how your residence of choice affects your tax situation? Here’s a breakdown of how state and local taxes differ across the US, ranked by state.

CNBC: Tax fraud, such as “scams involving phone calls, phishing, identity theft and accountants, often picks up early in the tax season.” Make sure you know how to protect yourself.

The Motley Fool: The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act eliminated a number of key tax deductions that helped Americans save money, but there are still plenty of deductions in play to take advantage of if you’re in the process of working on your 2019 return. 

Reuters: The tax trial for Facebook Inc has begun, as the IRS tries to convince a judge that the company owes more than $9 billion after their decision to shift profits to Ireland.

Forbes: Small business owner? Here are 24 tax filing mistakes that could cost you.

MarketWatch: Following the lead of France and the United Kingdom, Spain’s government has decided to adopt a digital tax, pending the approval of the parliament.

Yahoo! Finance: Here are some bizarre case studies of people who “have turned not paying taxes into something of an art form, securing deductions for things that would normally seem entirely off limits.”

CNBC: While receiving a tax refund does mean you gave the IRS an interest-free loan throughout the year, there are ways to use your refund wisely if you do receive one.

Accounting Today: Taxpayers prevailed in 38.1% of the significant cases relating to SALT (state and local taxes) in 2019, according to recent analyses.

USA Today: Many people have misconceptions about how tax brackets actually work. What will your effective tax rate end up being?

Bonus content: 

  • Last-minute tax extenders create a dilemma for many tax pros on when to amend a tax return. We created a free worksheet to help you communicate the options with your clients and avoid costly mistakes. Download it here.
  • It is the law that tax professionals have a security policy in place, and neither the IRS or the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) provides one. The TaxBuzz & CountingWorks team prepared a FREE Security Policy Template which should enable everyone to come up with a policy for their firm. Download it here.
  • Our favorite pros of #TaxTwitter weighed in with their #TaxValentines on 2/14, and we were all thoroughly impressed. Check out the full thread here.

Don’t miss our latest TaxBuzz posts: 

  • Why You Should Put Your Business Clients on Extension
  • Important New Tax Information for Retirees
  • Experts Voice Their Thoughts on Key Tax Season Topics
  • California Legislation Would Discriminate Against California Registered Tax Return Preparers (CRTPs)

Who said accountants don’t have a sense of humor? Not us! Our team has a t-shirt store with 11 awesome designs to choose from. Check it out here.

Did we miss a great article this week? Let us know in the comments below!

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Lauren Detweiler

Lauren Detweiler

I am equal parts marketer, traveler, and writer, and I've been doing all three for as long as I can remember. I have spent most of my time since graduating university traveling and working remotely in Africa and Europe. My passion lies in conveying the right messaging to the right people, and being a part of the CountingWorks and TaxBuzz team means I get to do that not only for our company, but for clients across the country as well.

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