JCS-5-05. Joint Committee Print. Provides an explanation of tax legislation enacted in the 108th Congress. Arranged in chronological order by the date each piece of legislation was signed into law. This document, prepared by the staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation in consultation with the staffs of the House Committee on Ways and Means and the Senate Committee on Finance, provides an explanation of tax legislation enacted in the 108th Congress. The explanation follows the chronological order of the tax legislation as signed into law. For each provision, the document includes a description of present law, explanation of the provision, and effective date. Present law describes the law in effect immediately prior to enactment. It does not reflect changes to the law made by the provision or subsequent to the enactment of the provision. For many provisions, the reasons for change are also included. In some instances, provisions included in legislation enacted in the 108th Congress were not reported out of committee before enactment. For example, in some cases, the provisions enacted were included in bills that went directly to the House and Senate floors. As a result, the legislative history of such provisions does not include the reasons for change normally included in a committee report. In the case of such provisions, no reasons for change are included with the explanation of the provision in this document. In some cases, there is no legislative history for enacted provisions. For such provisions, this document includes a description of present law, explanation of the provision, and effective date, as prepared by the staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation. In some cases, contemporaneous technical explanations of certain bills were prepared and published by the staff of the Joint Committee. In those cases, this document follows the technical explanations. Section references are to the Internal Revenue Code unless otherwise indicated.

Millions of donors annually give hundreds of billions of dollars to charities. While this giving helps meet charitable purposes, congressional & media concerns have arisen about whether some charities spend too much on fundraising & general management & not enough on program services to meet the charitable purposes related to the tax-exempt status. Such concerns have heightened since the outflow of charitable giving after 9/11. This report focuses on the adequacy of: (1) publicly reported Form 990 data on charity spending in facilitating public oversight of charities, (2) IRS's oversight of charities, & (3) IRS's data sharing with state agencies that oversee charities. Includes reviews of studies on charities from 1994-1999. Charts & tables.

With tax laws constantly changing and existing regulations hidden in volumes of tax code, nothing related to taxes is easy to figure out. Businesses and individuals in every income bracket need expert advice that cuts through the IRS bureaucracy and shows them how to work within the system. In What the IRS Doesn't Want You to Know: A CPA Reveals the Tricks of the Trade, tax expert Martin S. Kaplan reveals critical strategies that the best CPAs use for their clients to file shrewd, legal, money-saving returns. Filled with in-depth insights and practical advice, this book will help you answer such questions as: * How can you approach the "new" IRS to maximize your tax return success? * What are the latest IRS weapons? * What are the biggest taxpayer misconceptions? * What are the most commonly overlooked credits and deductions? * How will new tax legislation affect you? * How can outdated IRS technology benefit you? * What forms should you never fill out? From deciphering the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003 to understanding the personality of the IRS, What the IRS Doesn't Want You to Know will help you shape your tax strategies and stay on top of your current financial situation.