ABA Asks IRS to Withdraw Proposal Requiring Taxpayers to Report Uncertain Tax Positions

Last Friday, the American Bar Association (ABA) sent a letter to the IRS expressing opposition to a new proposal requiring taxpayers to disclose “uncertain tax positions” to the IRS. You can find a snippet of the letter below courtesy of the Tax Professor, or download a PDF of the full letter at ABAnet.org.

The ABA Tax Section on Friday sent this letter to the IRS expressing its opposition to the proposals to require taxpayers to disclose uncertain tax positions to the IRS:

On behalf of the ABA, I write to express our concerns regarding the proposals contained in IRS Announcement 2010-9, 2010-7 I.R.B. 408, Announcement 2010-17, 2010-13 I.R.B. 515, and Announcement 2010-30, 2010-19 I.R.B. 668 (collectively, the Announcements). The Announcements would require disclosure of uncertain tax positions through the required filing of Schedule UTP by certain business taxpayers...

We are concerned that the disclosure proposals set forth in the Announcements, requiring identification of specific uncertain tax positions and elaboration of the taxpayer’s views and assessments of those positions, will undermine the protections afforded by the attorney-client privilege and attorney work product doctrine, as well as the related § 7525 tax practitioner’s privilege. ...

[T]he ABA urges the Service to withdraw the disclosure proposals in the Announcements and instead rely on existing methods of obtaining information.

American Bar Association to Host Free Tax Workshop

According to their website, the American Bar Association (ABA) will present a free workshop in Washington, DC later today. The workshop is designed for low income taxpayers who are struggling to pay their taxes in today’s tough economy. According to the ABA’s announcement, the “workshop will cover all aspects of representing individual taxpayers in IRS examinations, and it will include a discussion of all recent legislation regarding debt relief as well as the Service’s new identity theft program… It will be held at the Doubletree Hotel Crystal City at National Airport, immediately prior to the IRS’s LITC Grantee Conference. Attendance is not restricted to LITC employees. All are welcome.”

Tax Law to the Rescue: 6 Ways the IRS is Giving Relief to Taxpayers

ABA Law Journal has put together a very well thought, and informative article on how the IRS is giving more relief to taxpayers this year than they have in the past. The author examines recent tax law changes over the past year and put together a list of ways the federal government is helping taxpayers. Below is a short list of the recent changes, but to read the full list click here.

1. A break for first-time homebuyers

2. Standard deduction increases

3. More help for hurricane victims

4. A break for military personnel

5. Some relief from the AMT

6. Simplifying low-income housing credits

ABA Accredits 199th and 200th Law Schools

Earlier in the week, the American Bar Association (ABA) granted provisional accreditation to Charlotte School of Law and Elon University School of Law. These two additions bring ABA’s total number of accredited law schools to 200, which is exciting for anyone in the field of law. To see their full list of accredited law schools check out ABAnet.org.