acc 331 introductory federal income taxation. what is this course about? intelligent consumer of tax...
TRANSCRIPT
WHAT IS THIS COURSE ABOUT?
• Intelligent Consumer of Tax Services
• Make You Relatively Knowledgeable About Taxes• Personal and Business Taxes• What a CPA is Expected to Know
• Give a Base for a Tax Specialty
COMMENT ON BOOK
• Good Problems
• Tax Laws Change • Not in Book• Watch for Changes in Notes and
Handouts• Focus on New Law!!!!
• Tax Software for Cumulative Problems
ACC 331 Secondary Goals
• Apply Knowledge to Client Situations
• Communication
• Use Technology
• Stand on Your Own Two Feet
WHY DO WE HAVE TAXES?
• To Raise Money for Public Purposes
• The Alternative is:• No Government or• Inflation
Vertical Equity
• Persons with different amounts of income pay different amounts of tax.
• The extraction of the different amounts of tax cause equal amounts of pain for the different taxpayers.
HISTORY OF U.S. INCOME TAX
• Civil War - Springer
• 1898 - Pollock
• 1909 - Excise on being incorporated (1%)
• 1913 - 16th amendment
HISTORY OF U.S. INCOME TAX
• March 1913 - Individual income tax• low rates / high base
• 1941 - High rates, low base, withholding• 1950’s - Relative quiet• 1960’s-70’s - Equity and complication• 1980’s-90’s - Revenue needs &
complication• 2000’s Budget surplus & ????• Bush & Republicans (Split senate)
WHY SO COMPLICATED?
• EQUITY• Vertical - graduated rates
• Horizontal - exemptions, joint returns
• Property v Labor Income• Capital gains v Wages
ADMINISTRATION - Audit
• Office, field or correspondence - RAR
• Appeal inside service
• Go to court!
ADMINISTRATION – Courts
• Courts of first impression• Tax Court• District Courts• Court of Federal Claims
• Appellate Courts
• Supreme Court
STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS
• Federal• 3 years - regular• 6 years - omit > 25% of Gross Income• None - fraud!
• States • May be different• Michigan - Regular is 4 years.