LATEST TAX NEWS

New Payment Options For Federal Income Taxes

A new payment option for federal income taxes started on January 15, 1999
-- put the balance due on a credit card. The IRS is piloting two different
ways for taxpayers to charge their taxes owed -- by phone or by computer.

Once they have determine the amount owed, taxpayers may make a toll-free
call to 1-888-2PAY-TAX and arrange payment of their 1998 taxes with a
MasterCard, Discover, or American Express Card. For more details, see IRS
news release IR-1999-11, dated January 15, 1999, on the "IRS Newsstand" on
the IRS Web site check it out at: http://www.irs.ustreas.gov/prod/news/nandf.html

Special Taxpayers Alerts

On January 11, 1999 the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) unveiled a new page
on its Web site to alert taxpayers about problems that occur during the
filing season. The new page, called "Special Taxpayer Alerts," will
describe the problem, its scope -- the number of people likely to
be affected, where they're located, etc. -- what the IRS is doing to fix
the problem, and what, if anything, the taxpayer needs to do about it in
the meantime.

The IRS problem alerts will be like product recall notices, with specific
descriptions of errors in the IRS products and/or services and practical
information about what this may mean to taxpayers. You will find the
"Index of Problem Alerts" at http://www.irs.ustreas.gov/prod/hot/prob-alert.html

Low-Income Taxpayer Clinic

On January 11, 1999 the IRS issued news release IR-1999-03, announcing
plans to expand the availability of legal assistance to low-income
taxpayers across the country. The new IRS project will provide $2 million
this year through the Low-Income Taxpayer Clinic grant program,
designed to help organizations provide low-cost legal assistance in tax
disputes. Qualifying clinics also can inform people who use English as a
second language about their tax rights and responsibilities.

The clinics may be run by a variety of organizations, including law,
business or accounting schools -- whose students represent taxpayers in tax
disputes with the IRS or in the courts -- or by tax-exempt organizations
that represent taxpayers or refer taxpayers to qualified representatives.
Taxpayers using the clinics may pay a small fee for the legal help.

IRS news release IR-1999-03, dated January 11, 1999, is available on the
"IRS Newsstand" on the IRS Web site check it out at: http://www.irs.ustreas.gov/prod/news/nandf.html

Small Business Pay Less For Private Letter Ruling

More small businesses will now pay less when they request a private letter
ruling from the Internal Revenue Service. The IRS announced on January 11,
1999 in news release IR-1999-04 that businesses with less than $1 million
in gross income will qualify for a special $500 user fee.

Previously the $500 reduced user fee for requesting a ruling applied only
to business or individual taxpayers with gross income of less than
$150,000. The threshold has been raised to $1 million for business to
allow more businesses to qualify for the reduced fee.

Information on this and other new user fees can be found in Revenue
Procedure 99-1, in Internal Revenue Bulletin 1999-1, dated January 4, 1999.
IRS news release IR-1999-04 is on the "IRS Newsstand" on the IRS Web site
check it out at: http://www.irs.ustreas.gov/prod/news/nandf.html

Advance Pricing Agreements (APAs)

The Internal Revenue Service plans to make public copies of Advance Pricing
Agreements (APAs), but only after removing certain details such as the
taxpayer's identity, trade secrets, and confidential commercial or
financial information. In the case of bilateral and multilateral APAs,
information protected by the non-disclosure provisions of the relevant tax
treaty would also be removed.

Litigation over the disclosure of APAs has been pending since 1996. The
issue in the litigation is whether the entire APA is subject to the
confidentiality provisions of Internal Revenue Code section 6103, or
whether APAs should be make public, either under the Freedom of
Information Act or as a written determination under Code section 6110.

IRS news release IR-1999-05, dated Jan. 11, 1999, is on the "IRS Newsstand"
on the IRS Web site check it out at:
http://www.irs.ustreas.gov/prod/news/nandf.html

Innocent Spouse Relief

On January 12, 1999 the Internal Revenue Service announced it has new
versions of its form and publication for innocent spouse relief, each
revised to incorporate the changes made by last summer's IRS Restructuring
and Reform Act. Both items are available on the IRS Web site at
http://www.irs.ustreas.gov/prod/forms_pubs/forms.html

IRS Commissioner Charles O. Rossotti said, "This is the latest of several
steps we've taken in our ongoing effort to help innocent spouses. We hope
that our materials will effectively explain the new law to taxpayers and
assist them in taking full advantage of their rights. We appreciate
the comments we received on the draft form last fall and welcome
suggestions on how we might further improve these items. We plan to
incorporate additional feedback from taxpayers and practitioners -- as well
as our own experience in processing these requests -- into even better
products."

IRS news release IR-1999-06, dated January 12, 1999, is available on the
"IRS Newsstand" on the IRS Web site check it out at:
http://www.irs.ustreas.gov/prod/news/nandf.html

Problem Resolution Program

The IRS Problem Resolution Program resolved more than 270,000 requests for
taxpayer assistance in fiscal 1998, according to the National Taxpayer
Advocate's Annual Report to Congress, which was recently released. Efforts
to address taxpayers' problems and make the nation's tax system more
responsive and less burdensome will intensify in 1999, said Nation
Taxpayer Advocate Val Oveson.

The report details actions taken by the Taxpayer Advocate's office to
resolve taxpayers' problems and identifies areas of tax law that impose
significant compliance burdens. It also lists the 20 most serious problems
encountered by taxpayers from the point of view of individuals,
practitioners, and the IRS. Topping the list are:

complexity of the tax law; fairness of treatment to taxpayers;
listening to taxpayer concerns; length and explanations of IRS
processes; and IRS explanation of taxpayer rights.

The report, which is required by law, will be available on the IRS Web site
by January 15, 1999. IRS news release IR-1999-08, dated January 12, 1999,
is available on the "IRS Newsstand" on the Web site check it out at:
http://www.irs.ustreas.gov/prod/news/nandf.html

Electronic Filing Season

The IRS announced the opening of the electronic-filing season for 1998
income tax returns on January 14, 1999. TeleFile, the file-by-phone system,
opened its line on the 14th. Filing by computer begins on January 15, 1999.

"Our annual e-filing volume has increased by 10 million over the past two
years, to the point that one out of five taxpayers e-filed last season,"
said Bob Barr, IRS Assistant Commissioner for Electronic Tax
Administration. "We hope to sustain this momentum and possibly surpass our
projection of 29.6 million returns in 1999."

More than 18.6 million taxpayers e-filed by computer last year, either
through tax professionals or from their homes. The IRS has two pilot
programs this year to eliminate the remaining paper documents for many
e-filers. Participating taxpayers will not need to send any signature form
or W-2 forms to the IRS. IRS news release IR-1999-10, dated January 14,
1999 is available on the "IRS Newsstand" on the IRS Web site check it out
at: http://www.irs.ustreas.gov/prod/news/nandf.html

Saturday Walk-in Hours

The IRS will provide Saturday walk-in service during the 1999 filing season
at nearly 250 locations nationwide beginning January 16, 1999. IRS
representatives will be on hand to assist taxpayers from 8:30 am to 12:30
pm.

The first six Saturday sessions will focus on assisting low-income
taxpayers who may be eligible for the earned income tax credit. To find
the nearest location offering Saturday walk-in hours, call the IRS help
line at 1-800-829-1040.

(914) 681 0400