Website of the Month: Tax Blogs

By Susan B. Anders

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.

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