The IRS Wants Companies To Provide a Roadmap for Potential Audits

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It’s no secret corporate taxes are incredibly complicated. Companies file returns thousands of pages long, leaving IRS agents to sift for deeply buried objectionable tax positions. But according to the New York Times, the agency is out of patience. The IRS wants companies to simplify agents’ work by filing, alongside their return, “a list of areas subject to doubt and the maximum amount that might be involved.” Essentially, the move would make it easier for the agency to spot whom and where to audit. IRS chief counsel William J. Wilkins called the plan “a tool for prioritizing where resources will be spent.” It’s unlikely to be popular with businesses, some of whom are already challenging the IRS’s attempts to demand more information. Military contractor Texatron (TXT), allied with a number of corporate lawyers and execs, is already fighting a recent appeals court decision enabling the IRS to demand more specific information, such as spreadsheets and documents assessing which positions might be challenged, the potential financial impact, and the need for tax reserves. The deadline for comments on the new plan is March 29.

The Washington Post says Greece's problems could mean future headaches for the United States. In recent months, investors have viewed government debt as safe, keeping interest rates low in many countries and supporting an economic rebound. So far, the crisis in Greece has just made borrowing cheaper for the United States, with the dollar and Treasury bonds still seen as stable alternatives to exposure to Europe. But if Greece defaults, it’ll make national debt from Spain to the United States look riskier. In the worst case scenario, investors jack up interest rates, potentially choking off economic recovery. According to the Post, analysts are concerned about the systemic risks posed by the crisis. They fear that “just as subprime mortgage loans—representing a minuscule portion of the global financial landscape—triggered a massive crisis back in 2007, so could Greece cause problems for much bigger, and apparently more stable, nations.”

But there is good news out of Athens. Despite the country’s precarious financial condition, the Financial Times reports investors bid eagerly on bonds issued Thursday. The government received orders for three times the €5 billion in 10-year bonds offered. But Greece had to offer steep interest rates to attract investors, and the country still has to raise more money to meet the €10 billion due in April.

Today’s jobs report won’t be pretty, but the Wall Street Journal urges you to keep in mind the old adage that it’s always darkest just before dawn. Today the paper outlines several reasons job growth might be just around the corner. Higher demand combined with cost-cutting has made for increased corporate profits. "You tend to get these big increases right before strong job growth," says one economist. There’s also been a sharp uptick in the hiring of temp workers, often a leading indicator of full time positions. Job growth wouldn’t mean the economy is suddenly healthy, but it would stave off a double-dip, the paper says.

The largest fossil-fuel power plant in the country is being retrofitted to generate solar energy as well, the New York Times reports. It’s a test to see whether renewable and traditional energy sources can be combined to reduce both costs and carbon emissions. The hybrid model also helps solve alternative energy’s problem of variability, what to do when the sun’s not out or the wind drops off. An expert at the Environmental Defense Fund praised the project: “When we talk about getting to a low-carbon, clean-energy economy, we know there is not going to be a single technology that is going to transform the industry.”

Looks like the government is no longer promising to rescue any and all financial institutions labeled “too big to fail.” The Washington Post reports that in a congressional hearing yesterday regarding Citigroup (C), assistant Treasury secretary Herbert M. Allison Jr., the department’s man in charge of the bailout, said, “There is no too-big-to-fail guarantee on the part of the U.S. government.” He also said the government is ready to sell its shares in Citi and has no plans to invest further in the firm.

And finally, the New York Times reports the SEC has filed suit against one Sean Morton, self-described psychic, for fraud.  Morton calls himself “America’s prophet” and has allegedly made $6 million promising investors “piles of money,” plus spiritual happiness. “Morton’s self-proclaimed psychic powers were nothing more than a scam to attract investors and steal their money,” said New York office head George S. Canellos. The Times’ headline: “For Psychic, Suit Came as Surprise.”