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Website
of the Month: Tax Blogs
By
Susan B. Anders
DECEMBER 2007 - Blogs
(short for weblogs) are an increasingly popular way for individuals
and organizations to communicate with an online audience. Blog
journal entries are often short introductions to a topic that
may include links to related information and other resources.
Additional background on blogs can be found in the June 2007 website
of the month, “Introduction to Accounting Blogs,”
which covered two accounting blogs.
In preparation
for tax season, preparers can read tax-related blogs to stay abreast
of pertinent developments. Two blogs that maximize tax content
and minimize nontechnical material are the Roth & Company,
P.C. Tax Update Blog (www.rothcpa.com/taxupdates.php)
and TaxProf Blog (www.taxprof.typepad.com).
Roth
& Company, P.C. Tax Update Blog
This is a
good example of a blog created by a professional firm. Tax practitioner
Joe Kristan, CPA, is the firm’s technical director and blogger.
Tax Update Blog uses PHP hypertext processing, which is a free
community-based programming language, rather than a commercial
blog service. The Tax Update Blog mirrors the appearance of the
firm’s website, which is linked to the blog site.
The Tax Update
Blog is mainly dedicated to Kristan’s summaries of current
tax events, often featuring multiple posts per day. The entries
make use of photos and videos, provide keyword tags to other entries
on the topic, and link to outside resources. Users can read others’
comments and submit their own.
One example
of a typical blog post during the review period was “IRS
Puts ‘Section 419’ Death Benefit Only Plans on Watch
List.” The article addresses the efforts of insurance companies
to promote their cash-value policies as qualifying welfare benefit
plans under IRC section 419. The blog provides links to Revenue
Ruling 2007-65, Notice 2007-83, and Notice 2007-84, in which the
IRS indicated that not only do these plans not qualify they are
also listed transactions. The entry also connects to a previous
Tax Update Blog article on tax shelters.
Users can
search the blog’s archives, which go back to November 2001.
The archives are grouped by category and month. Categories include
the AMT, applicable federal rates, backdated options, listed transactions,
tax reform, and many others. One recent post, “Paulson:
Punt AMT to 2008,” addressed the lack of congressional action
to address AMT issues that are slated to arise for 2007 tax returns.
Backdated
options also contains a substantial number of entries, such as
“IRS Says Backdated Options Are a ‘Tier 1’ Exam
Issue,” which links to a Wall Street Journal table
of companies under investigation.
Several categories
focus on tax information specific to Iowa, Roth & Company’s
home state. The Iowa topics include “Eye on the Legislature:
2007,” which extensively covers tax amnesty, new credits,
and other current issues. Other entries address tax law, tax administration,
and tax policy issues.
The webpage
also presents a substantial number of links to external resources:
Friends and neighbors includes Iowa-related blogs and websites,
as well as some of the blogger’s personal favorites. Economics
nerds links to the Accounting Observer blog and the New York
Times Freakonomics Blog. Hard-core tax nerds lists several
popular tax blogs and websites, including Tax Guide for Investors
(January 2007 website of the month). Goners are discontinued blogs.
Legislation connects to an extensive table of Iowa tax legislation
offered on the Roth & Company website.
TaxProf
Blog
This was
created in 2004 by a University of Cincinnati law professor, Paul
Caron, using the Typepad commercial blog platform. Although its
primary mission is to provide daily news and permanent resource
links for law school professors and students, it may also be of
interest to practicing CPAs and tax accounting faculty. TaxProf
Blog’s homepage introduces and summarizes a variety of tax-related
news, current events, article abstracts, conference notices, book
reviews, and research reports.
One excellent
feature is the daily tax news roundup, covering print and Internet
sources. Each post includes links to the originating resource
and related materials. Users can access archived entries by searching
under recent posts, the topical archive, or the weekly archive.
Each entry offers links to similar archived entries and allows
users to read others’ comments and submit their own.
A typical
post during the review period was “How Wal-Mart Pays Everyday
Low Taxes,” citing a Wall Street Journal article
written by Jesse Drucker. The entry addressed Wal-Mart’s
success in legally reducing its tax burdens in several states.
The left side of each page displays permanent resources and links.
TaxProf Blog offers listings of law school programs under the
heading of graduate tax programs, and school ratings under tax
rankings. Tax teaching links to course materials, as well as the
“Tax History Project” (see the February 2007 website
of the month) webpage of presidential tax returns. Tax scholarship
covers law review articles and the “Book Club” of
the TaxProf’s book reviews. Tax professor blogs and other
tax blogs provide links to almost three dozen popular legal and
tax blogs. Tax policy groups contains over 30 links, such as the
Tax Policy Center and the “Tax History Project.”
Of most interest
to CPAs may be the federal tax law resource which is organized
according to the three branches of government. “Congress”
presents several links, including the Internal Revenue Code and
Joint Committee on Taxation. “Executive Branch” contains
an outstanding selection of contacts, such as the IRS, Treasury
Regulations, and the Internal Revenue Manual. “Courts”
links to the Tax Court and GPO Access. Additional permanent resources
include connections for state tax law, foreign tax law, tax publishers,
and free tax websites. TaxProf Blog is sponsored by Thomson-RIA,
Thomson-West, and Foundation Press. Advertisements for these sponsors’
tax-related products appear on the right-hand side of the webpages.
The book
club offers a variety of tax-related book reviews with links to
purchase. Congressional news contains information on hearings,
reports, and tax bills. Government reports covers the Congressional
Research Service, Government Accountability Office, and several
other sources. IRS news offers news about the IRS, IRS notices,
other technical releases, and statistics of income releases. News
provides quick access to the daily tax news roundup feature, as
well as current events from a variety of sources.
Susan
B. Anders, PhD, CPA, is a professor of accounting at St.
Bonaventure University, St. Bonaventure, N.Y.
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