Tax News Roundup

Every Saturday, we'll take a look at the top tax stories in the news.

IRS releases tax information for hurricane victims
The IRS provides information for the victims of Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma in new Publication 4492. The publication explains all the tax law changes that benefit hurricane victims, including tax benefits for rebuilding in the Gulf Opportunity Zones ("GO Zones"). There's also special rules for calculating net operating losses for people in the Gulf area. IRS Publication 4492 is required reading for all tax accountants, and highly recommended for anyone affected by the hurricanes.

Commissioner Everson Calls for Improvements to Refund Fraud Program
IRS Commissioner Mark Everson responded to criticisms from the National Taxpayer Advocate over the IRS' Questionable Refund Program. Basically, the program was designed to alert IRS examiners to potentially abusive or fraudulent tax returns. Under the program, the IRS held on to tax refunds while the agency determined if the tax return was in fact fraudulent or not. As a result, many innocent taxpayers had their refund checks held up for months or even years. Commissioner Everson promised to review the overall program and to make improvements in how the IRS notifies taxpayers of delays in their refunds.

Taxing Matters: Books to Help Ease the Burden
(Wall Street Journal Op/Ed) Randy Blaustein picked the top five tax books ever written in this opinion column. I agree with only one of his picks, the annual JK Lasser's Your Income Tax. There's also a list of top tax books selected by Entrepreneur Magazine.

"Survivor" Richard Hatch Guilty of Tax Evasion
(New York Times) Richard Hatch, the first grand-prize winner on the TV show Survivor, was found guilty of failing to pay his taxes. The case was detailed in an earlier New York Times article. The judge has not sentenced Hatch, but he could be facing up to 13 years in prison.

Tax Woes Threaten TIAA-CREF Customers
TIAA-CREF is one of the largest mutual fund and pension plan providers in the United States. Some retirment plan participants will be facing higher taxes because of delays or miscalculations on their retirment withdrawals and rollovers. The miscalculations are the result of snafus TIAA-CREF encountered when upgrading its computer systems. TIAA-CREF participants who are affected by these problems should seek the assistance of an experienced tax professional.