Washington Post: IRS tests free e-filing system that could compete with tax prep giants . “The Internal Revenue Service has quietly built its own prototype system to allow Americans to file tax returns digitally and free of charge, according to three current and former agency officials, essentially creating government software that could disrupt the tax-prep industry.”
Georgia Department of Revenue: DOR Unveils Surplus Tax Refund Eligibility Status Tool . “State Revenue Commissioner Frank O’Connell today announced a tool for Georgians to view their eligibility for surplus tax refunds. HB 162 and HB 1302 provided for surplus tax refunds of up to $500 for Georgia filers.”
US Department of Energy: DOE Launches New Consumer Energy Savings Hub. “The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today launched the Energy Savings Hub — an online one-stop shop for American families and consumers to access the savings tools that President Biden’s Investing in America agenda has made available to drastically cut energy costs.”
Johns Hopkins University: Tax Loopholes Abound, But AI Could Shut Them Down. “To eliminate tax loopholes that cost the federal government billions of dollars every year, tech and law experts are working together to create artificial intelligence that can find loopholes better than a legion of blue-chip tax accountants.”
Business Insider: Elon Musk’s Twitter Blue is breaking European rules about unfair business practices by failing to show its full cost to consumers right away, EU agency says. “Elon Musk’s Twitter Blue subscription is breaking European Union rules about unfair business practices, a consumer watchdog in the bloc told Insider. Specifically, the advertised subscription prices don’t factor in taxes, which violates consumer-protection laws in the 27-country union, a spokesperson for the watchdog said.”
ProPublica: How to Track Your Tax Refund in 2023. “You’ve figured out your deductions or credits, calculated how much you owed in taxes and successfully filed your return. If you’re sitting around wondering where your money is, you’re not alone. Lucky for you, the IRS offers several ways to track your tax return.”
AFP: France says tax on tech giants ‘blocked’ in global talks. “International talks aimed at taxing global tech giants that only declare profits in a few jurisdictions have hit a standstill due to opposition from countries including the US and India, France’s finance minister said Monday.”
Hartford City News-Times: Indiana lawmaker wants to tax social media apps to stop bullying, suicides. “The purpose of the bill is two-fold. Any social media platform with more than 1 million active account holders in Indiana, generates at least $1 million in ad revenue from the state and gains financially from the data created by Hoosier users would be taxed. The tax would be based on the app’s calendar year ad revenues, multiplied by 7%. The apps would also pay $1 for each active account in the state.”
ProPublica: What to Know About TurboTax Before You File Your Taxes This Year. “Under the Free File agreement, Americans who make less than $73,000 per year should be able to file their taxes for free with one of the tax preparation companies that partners with the IRS. But this program has been historically underutilized, with just 4% of eligible Americans filing for free in 2021. The story of the Free File program is long and twisting, and it can seem more like a fight against free tax filing than a fight for it. One of the biggest players is Intuit, the maker of TurboTax, one of the largest tax preparation software companies in the country.”
Ars Technica: Unpaid taxes could destroy porn studio accused of copyright trolling. “Over the past decade, Malibu Media has emerged as a prominent so-called ‘copyright troll,’ suing thousands of ‘John Does’ for allegedly torrenting adult content hosted on the porn studio’s website, ‘X-Art.’ Whether defendants were guilty or not didn’t seem to matter to Malibu, critics claimed, as much as winning as many settlements as possible. As courts became more familiar with Malibu, however, some judges grew suspicious of the studio’s litigiousness.”
TechCrunch: Florida state tax website bug exposed filers’ data. “A security flaw on the Florida Department of Revenue website exposed at least hundreds of taxpayers’ Social Security numbers and bank account numbers, a security researcher found. Kamran Mohsin said the security flaw — now fixed — allowed him, or anyone else who was logged in to the state’s business tax registration website, to access, modify and delete the personal data of business owners whose information is on file with the state’s tax authority by modifying the part of the web address that contains the taxpayers’ application number.”
WAVY: Virginia tax rebates: See if you’re eligible with new tool. “The Virginia Department of Taxation’s rebate lookup tool just needs your Social Security number or Individual Tax Identification Number (ITIN) and your zip code to see if you’ll get the rebate (up to $250 for individuals and $500 for joint filers). Around 3.2 million Virginians are eligible.”
National Taxpayer Advocate Blog: NTA Blog: Improving Services to Taxpayers With Visual Disabilities. “Millions of U.S. taxpayers are visually impaired and unable to read print material in a standard font size. As a result of a settlement agreement between the IRS and the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) on July 10, 2020, the IRS agreed to develop a process for taxpayers to request post-filing tax notices in a variety of acceptable formats, including Braille and large print.”
SmartCompany: Google AI spots 20,000 undeclared pools in $14 million tax windfall for French government. “Artificial intelligence (AI) software developed by Google has found thousands of undeclared swimming pools in the backyards of France, resulting in the owners of those pools being slugged a hefty tax bill totalling $14.5 million.”
International Consortium of Investigative Journalists: Sign up for a guided email tour of the Pandora Papers. “The Pandora Papers also explore how this shadow economy takes a global toll beyond lost tax revenue, harming everyday people and the public interest in often unexpected ways. To help readers navigate the vast scope of this investigation, this six-part guided tour will walk you through the most explosive stories and break down key findings, email-by-email over the next two weeks, right in your inbox.”
