Below please find daily updates pertaining to the latest in financial, business, and tax news:
AccountingWEB.com - NewsOscar swag bags loaded with taxable goodies
Even if you never watch Hollywood’s seemingly endless lineup of awards shows, you’re probably aware that the celebrities who appear on those programs are thanked with gift bags loaded with expensive items. Until a few years ago, the recipients assumed that, because the term gift was used, all that loot was free. Then the Internal Revenue Service stepped in to disagree.
Money matters: CFOs say bonuses reign as top employee reward
Despite lean budgets for many businesses today, most financial executives say cash is king in recognizing their teams' hard work.
Senate moves to protect small business from unfair penalties
Small businesses get a break in the form of an extended moratorium on penalties related to tax shelters. Since last summer the Internal Revenue Service, under pressure from Congress, has been extending the moratorium a few months at a time.
Update: Bad guys plead guilty in two separate cases
Sherry Lynn Vertoch, age 64, was arrested for posing as an agent of the Internal Revenue Service in order to gain free housing at a California hotel. Since her arrest in January, Vertoch has pleaded guilty to impersonating a federal agent and, if convicted, could spend up to three years in prison.
Examiner: Lehman used aggressive accounting to hide borrowing
Anton R. Valukas, the U.S. bankruptcy court-appointed examiner of failed investment bank Lehman Bros., charged with determining the causes of the largest bankruptcy filing in U.S. history, has found that the company used “materially misleading” accounting to make its balance sheet look stronger than it really was.
