October Tax Talk Today: What You Should Know About ARRA 2009

From The IRS.gov Newsroom:

IR-2009-86, Sept. 30, 2009

WASHINGTON — Experts from the Internal Revenue Service and the tax preparation industry will discuss the many tax credits, deductions and incentives contained in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for 2009 on the Oct. 6 Internet airing of Tax Talk Today.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act contained benefits for:

* First-time homebuyers

* People purchasing new cars

* Energy efficient home upgrades

* Parents and students paying for college

The October program for qualifies for one CPE credit for tax professionals. To access the web cast at no charge, viewers can register online at Tax Talk Today.

Panelists include: Virginia M. Tarris, IRS tax law specialist; Amy Stanton, IRS program manager; CPA Gerard H. Schreiber, Jr, partner, Schreiber and Schreiber; and CPA and attorney Donna Rodriguez, managing partner, Donna L. Rodriguez, PLLC. The moderator is Les Witmer.

Tax Talk Today is a free, live, interactive webcast aimed at educating tax professionals on the most contemporary and complex tax issues. Viewers are encouraged to submit questions during the live broadcast. Tax professionals in need of continuing education credits should select Continuing Education at the Web site for more information.

They can view Tax Talk Today with Windows Media Player and Real Player; both are free software that may already be installed on your computer. If not, click the link for Installing System Software to view Internet Broadcast under “How to View.”

Subscribers can view live web casts as well as archived programs; listen to audio podcasts or read show transcripts through Dec. 31, 2009. Subscribers also can order audio and video recordings. A transcript and audio of the July 14 Webcast, “OPR: A Balanced Approach,” is now available.

Questions for the Tax Lady

Although tax season may be over, U.S. tax laws and the IRS code gets more and more confusing by the day. With new credits and deductions, changes to health care on the horizon, and a filibuster proof majority in Congress, being an American taxpayer is more difficult than ever.

To help keep my friends and followers online informed about the ever-changing American tax code, I have launched a new feature on my blog called “Questions for the Tax Lady.” I am going to gather questions through my social networking accounts, and answer them in a weekly column on my blog. So add me as a friend, or follow me through one of the links below and send me a message, or @ reply with your questions. Then, check back next week to see all of my answers!

Obama Auto Plan Raises Questions, Provokes Impatience

From USAToday.com:

Politicians are starting to weigh in on President Obama's plan for General Motors and Chrysler.

Democratic congressional leaders Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi issued supportive statements. Republicans were more mixed.

Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell is impatient. "How many times do the taxpayers have to provide bailout money on the promise of reform?" he asked.

McConnell said Republicans called for "true reform" last year and instead the Bush administration bailed out the companies. "The (Obama) administration says these reforms must now be taken seriously or the taxpayer bailouts will end. While that should have happened tens of billions of dollars ago, we agree that it’s time to get serious," McConnell said.

Bloggers are raising other issues. At The Atlantic, Marc Ambinder wonders if there was any way GM could have satisfied the government's demands. Conservative Ed Morrissey says the new government warranty on GM and Chrysler vehicles amounts to a new federal level DMV.

Doug Heye at The Hill says Obama has created a New Business Order. And the liberal Talking Points Memo wonders why GM CEO Rick Wagoner got the boot, but CEOs of struggling banks are still in their jobs and on the government dole.

Republican Sen. George Voinovich of Ohio said he feels for the two companies' insecure employees and is "extremely disappointed that the administration believes GM and Chrysler did not go far enough in their viability plans."

He also said, however, that he gives the administration credit for insisting on viability and hopes it will be "unrelenting" in its pressure on GM.