News

The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Consensys Software Inc. with engaging in the unregistered offer and sale of securities through a service it calls MetaMask Staking and with operating as an unregistered broker through MetaMask Staking and another service it calls MetaMask Swaps.

As the Federal Trade Commission prepares to enforce its ban on non-compete agreements (NCAs), the agency’s chair spoke in Hartford about some of the gaps that could still remain when the rule goes into effect.

The Internal Revenue Service's plans to expand the Direct File free tax program nationwide next year could meet an early demise if Republicans gain control of Congress and the White House.

The AICPA has made recommendations to the IRS on its 2024–2025 Priority Guidance Plan, including on the corporate alternative minimum tax (AMT) and group exemption letters.

An independent national group featuring stakeholders from throughout the accounting profession published a draft set of recommendations for tackling the talent shortage.

The salary threshold required to exempt a salaried executive, administrative, or professional employee from federal overtime was increased from $35,568 to $43,888 effective July 1, 2024. The salary threshold will further increase to $58,656 on Jan. 1, 2025.

The board of directors of the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) announced today that Daniel J. Dustin, CPA, has been selected to become NASBA’s next president and chief executive officer. Dustin holds extensive expertise in the areas of accounting regulation and Board of Accountancy operations. His tenure as president and CEO will begin on August 1, 2024, following the retirement of current President and CEO Ken L. Bishop.

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) on Tuesday released final regulations (RIN 1210-AC02) that will subject the financial services industry to new requirements designed to protect retirement investors from receiving bad or self-interested investment advice.

Existing noncompetes with senior executives — those who earn more than $151,164 annually and who are in a “policy-making position” — may remain in force.

Updated FAQs on beneficial ownership information (BOI) from Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) include details on the timing of the phase in of access to BOI under Section 6403 of the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA), P.L. 116-283.

The 2024 filing season, which began with a hint of uncertainty, has progressed into one of the smoothest in recent memory — but the uncertainty still exists, fueled by court decisions and pending legislation.

The AICPA and over 50 state CPA societies have written to the Treasury secretary and the director of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) asking that enforcement of beneficial ownership information (BOI) reporting requirements be suspended until one year after court cases have been resolved.

In a recent letter to the Department of the Treasury and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) and CTCPA, together with 54 state CPA societies, expressed serious concerns with the rollout and push to implement FinCEN’s Beneficial Ownership Information reporting requirement without regard for the impact to the small business community.

In a recent letter to the Department of the Treasury and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) and CTCPA, together with 54 state CPA societies, expressed serious concerns with the rollout and push to implement FinCEN’s Beneficial Ownership Information reporting requirement without regard for the impact to the small business community.

The U.S. Supreme Court will decide a case this term that presents a crucial question regarding the estate tax treatment of life insurance proceeds received by a closely held business and its shareholder redemption obligations. It focuses on closely held corporations' practice of entering into an agreement to redeem the stock of a deceased shareholder and funding the redemption with life insurance proceeds received by the company upon the shareholder's death.

The budget passed by Congress over the weekend officially rescinds $20 billion in long-term spending for the IRS, a move that the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) said will reduce federal revenues and increase the cumulative deficit.

The IRS has identified about $1 billion in potential savings from erroneous employee retention credit (ERC) claims, with over half of that money coming from enforcement efforts and the rest from the ERC voluntary disclosure program (VDP) and claim withdrawal process, officials said Friday.

To counter promoters that marketed misleading information about the Employee Retention Credit (ERC), the Internal Revenue Service urged businesses to review seven suspicious signs of a bad claim and see if the agency’s special programs can help them avoid future compliance issues.

A pair of lawmakers proposed a bill Wednesday to end the abuse of grantor-retained annuity trusts to avoid taxes.

Danny Werfel understands that the IRS has a perception problem. The IRS commissioner said in a speech Monday at American University that the Service is "iconically unpopular," even playing a clip from The Simpsons to illustrate the point.