Tax News

CCH (cch.taxgroup.com) reports:

  The Florida property tax relief measure known as the "Save Our Homes" Amendment was constitutionally valid and did not violate a nonresident's rights under the Equal Protection Clause, the Privileges and Immunities Clause, or the Commerce Clause. The taxpayers argued that the existence of a benefit for homestead property, when combined with the tax treatment of non-homestead property, gave Florida residents a tax advantage. However, a Florida resident who owned vacation property or business property in the state would not be entitled to claim any tax benefit and would be in the same position with respect to that property as a nonresident. The tax benefit was based on the way the property was used, not on the status of the landowner as a resident or nonresident.

  Additionally, the trial court had jurisdiction over the case because the 60 day time period that taxpayers had to contest a property tax assessment or the denial of an exemption did not apply to litigation that involved the validity of the tax laws.

  Subscribers can view the full text of the opinion.
Lanning v. Pilcher , Florida Court of Appeal, First District, No. 1D07-6564, July 8, 2009

CCH (cch.taxgroup.com) reports:

  CCH Tax and Accounting is hosting a live two-hour audio seminar, Multistate Income Taxation: Individuals and Passthroughs, on Tuesday, July 14, 2009, at 1 p.m. Eastern; noon Central; 10 a.m. Pacific. This two-hour CCH Audio Seminar is the final program of a three-part series on multistate income taxation presented by noted state tax experts, educators and authors, John C. Healy, M.S.T., CPA, and Bruce Nelson, M.A., CPA. This seminar will provide background and a look at the latest developments and trends in multistate income tax relating to individual and passthrough taxpayers.

  Program topics include the following:

  -- Calculating nonresident state tax credits

  -- Residency, nonresidents, incentive stock options and other deferred compensation

  -- Factor flow-through for S corporations, limited liability companies and partnerships

  -- Apportionment and allocation --at the partner or partnership level?

  -- Nexus and tax credits with nonincome based tax jurisdictions

  The learning objectives include:

  -- understand the distinctions between nexus and residency

  -- develop an approach to analyze passthrough income issues

  -- gain awareness of recently instituted state taxing structures

  Registration can be completed online at
http://www.krm.com/cch or by calling 1-800-775-7654. Participants can receive two hours of CPE credit for an additional $25 per person. Firms registering for this audio seminar will also receive a free issue of CCH's Journal of Passthrough Entities.

CCH (cch.taxgroup.com) reports:

CCH (cch.taxgroup.com) reports:

  For pension plan years beginning in July 2009, the IRS has released the corporate bond weighted average interest rate, the permissible range of interest rates used to calculate current plan liability and to determine the required contribution under Code Sec. 412(l) for plan years through 2009, and the current corporate bond yield curve and related segment rates for the purpose of establishing a plan's funding target under
Code Sec . 430(h)(2).

  The corporate bond weighted average interest rate for plan years beginning in July 2009 is 6.47 percent; and the 90-percent to 100-percent permissible range is 5.83 percent to 6.47 percent. The annual rate of interest on 30-year Treasury securities for June 2009, used to determine the minimum present value of a participant's benefit under Code Sec. 417(e)(1) and (2), is 4.52 percent.

  For plans electing not to use the transitional rule under Code Sec. 430(h)(2)(G), or for plans whose first year begins after 2009, the 24-month average segments rates for July 2009 are: 5.21 for the first segment; 6.74 for the second segment; and 6.84 for the third segment.

  For plan years beginning in 2009, the funding transitional segment rates for July 2009 are: 5.63 for the first segment; 6.65 for the second segment; and 6.72 for the third segment.

  For plan years beginning in 2009, the minimum present value transitional segment rates for June 2009 are: 4.27 for the first segment; 5.35 for the second segment; and 5.33 for the third segment.

Notice 2009-57, 2009FED ¶46,423

Other References:

 
Code Sec. 401

  CCH Reference - 2009FED ¶17,730.40

 
Code Sec. 412

  CCH Reference - 2009FED ¶19,125.505

 
Code Sec. 417

 
Code Sec. 430

  CCH Reference - 2009FED ¶20,161.30

  Tax Research Consultant

  CCH Reference - TRC RETIRE: 15,304.05
CCH Reference - TRC RETIRE: 15,304.10
CCH Reference - TRC RETIRE: 30,556
 

CCH (cch.taxgroup.com) reports:

  The House Appropriations Committee late on July 7 approved an IRS budget of $12.1 billion for fiscal year (FY) 2010. The proposed budget is a $600-million increase (5.2 percent) over the Service's FY 2009 budget and fully funds the administration's budget request. According to the committee's tentative schedule, the House will take up the financial services bill on July 17, including the IRS budget.

  The IRS budget provides an increase of $387 million for tax enforcement to $5.5 billion, Committee Chairman David R. Obey, D-Wis., reported in a written statement. "Among other things, the increase is for the administration's initiative to target wealthy individuals and businesses who avoid U.S. taxes by parking money in overseas tax havens," Obey indicated. "In enforcing our tax laws, we need to be sure we're going after the big fish as well as the little ones," Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee Chairman José E. Serrano, D-N.Y., said in a written statement.

  The budget provides $2.27 billion for taxpayer services, $4 million above the administration's request and $19 million below FY 2009, which included additional costs to make economic stimulus payments. The FY 2010 figure includes $680 million for prefiling assistance and education, an increase of $19 million, and $206 million for the IRS Taxpayer Advocate, an increase of $13 million.

  The proposed IRS appropriation also includes $4.1 billion for operations support, a 5-percent increase; $253 million for business systems modernization (BSM), a 10-percent increase, and $15 million for administering the health insurance tax credit. The bill "works to make it easier for honest Americans to file their taxes while it beefs up IRS enforcement to catch tax cheats," Obey said.

  The IRS Oversight Board on June 7 released a report to Congress that recommended an IRS budget of $12.5 billion for FY 2010 (TAXDAY, 2009/07/08, I.3). The Board's budget included $400 million for BSM, a $147-million increase over the administration request, to speed up the development of the IRS's information technology program to support the tax administration system. The Board also recommended a $184-million increase in IRS infrastructure initiatives and an additional $32 million for taxpayer service. It agreed with the administration's proposal for tax enforcement.

  By Brant Goldwyn, CCH News Staff

Tax Analysts report: