AICPA Corporate Taxation Insider

Corporate Tax Under the Microscope

Ron Tang — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 00:00:00 -0500

S corporations now account for two-thirds of U.S. corporate tax returns (see NTA report) and while designed for simplicity, they’ve become increasingly complex and harder for regulators to standardize and monitor.

As the number of small businesses has exploded, the number of S corporations formed has more than quadrupled since the last review (of 1984 returns) while the number with assets exceeding $10 million has increased 10-fold. Today’s S corporations are not necessarily small, and not necessarily easy to classify for tax reporting purposes.

In fact, the National Taxpayer Advocate’s (NTA) 2007 Annual Report to Congress (January 2008) identifies… more

Policy Considerations of a Carbon Tax

adminn — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 15:46:00 -0500

Regardless of one’s view on the issue of climate change and how high priority it should be on national and international agendas, the topic, as well as ideas for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, is getting much attention by legislators, governors, mayors and others. One idea that has been suggested for changing manufacturer’s behavior to reduce GHG emissions is a carbon tax (for more information on carbon taxes and examples of current proposals, see Warming Up to a Carbon Tax).

Energy Taxes -- Not a New Idea

Taxes on… more

Warming Up to a Carbon Tax

Ron Tang — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 00:00:00 -0500

Reports made by the United Nations and other groups over the past year have concluded that global warming is a certainty (United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Pew Center on Global Climate Change and others). Greenhouse gases (GHG) trap heat in the atmosphere that slowly warms the earth. The primary greenhouse gas is carbon dioxide (CO2) generated from the burning of fossil fuels, such as oil, coal and natural gas.

The U.S. is the largest emitter of greenhouse gases (November 2007 report (PDF) from the Climate Change Science Program). Increased world attention to climate… more

The Future of the Corporate Income Tax

Articles — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 15:33:00 -0400

Two great concerns leading to calls for tax reform are (1) that changes in the world economy are reducing the likelihood that the U.S. will be assured of a dominant role and (2) inordinate complexity that leads to disrespect for the tax system, economic inefficiencies and increased costs of tax compliance. Yet, despite numerous calls for tax reform, the major changes we have seen to the system recently have actually increased its complexity. Examples include the addition of Schedule M-3 for large corporations and the IRC §199 manufacturing deduction. Why? This article summarizes the primary reasons for tax reform discussion,… more

Nexus Confusion: Sales and Use Tax

Articles — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 12:46:00 -0400

The best way for a business to simplify its nexus determination for sales tax purposes is to set up a sales office in the state in question. Then, it clearly has nexus and must collect sales tax there. But, this approach isn’t the business reality or plan for Internet-era businesses. Businesses without an obvious physical presence in a state, but with customers there, may be challenged to know if they should collect sales and use tax. This article looks at the reasons for uncertainty and what improvements might be made.

Sales and Use Tax Nexus

For a state to subject a vendor… more