Sure, keeping tax liabilities to a minimum is important, but when it comes right down to it, the crucial thing is making sure the returns are timely and accurate. That’s according to 41 percent of respondents in a Grant Thornton survey of CFOs and senior comptrollers released today. more

Tom Henschke, president of the SMC Business Councils, a Pennsylvania-based network that provides support for small and midsize businesses, on a little-known provision in the health care reform bill that will massively expand the requirements for businesses to file 1099-Misc forms, starting in 2012:

“Just with business travel, it would include hotels, rental cars. Phone service: 1099. Computer service: 1099. Whoever does your postage meter: 1099. You do a little advertising, Yellow Pages: 1099. Your landlord: 1099. You might as well just keep them in your pocket and hand them out as you go around every day.”

Henschke’s organization was among the first to call attention to the provision, which requires a 1099 for all business purchases and payments above $600 per calendar year, according to a report from CNNMoney.com. ###

Which country imposes the highest taxes on corporations?

Hard to say. Assessing the relative tax competitiveness of different countries is an extraordinarily tricky task, and I’m always amazed at how often people — even people who should know better — try to sweep the difficulties under the rug of statutory maximum rates. more

Arizona voters’ approval yesterday of a temporary 1 percent increase in the state’s sales tax underlines the points I made in a recent post: Sales and use taxes are creeping higher around the country, and they now rival state and local income taxes as a rising compliance challenge for business. The Arizona decision may encourage other states to attempt to patch up the holes in their budgets with rate hikes.

It’s the constant changes in rates and rules that make sales and use taxes such a challenge for businesses to track and manage, and which also explain the vibrant health of the best-of-breed technology sector that helps companies cope. more

The IRS is pulling out all the stops to get the word out about the new healthcare tax credit for small businesses provided by the Affordable Care Act, and has released new guidance covering a range of questions that Congress didn’t address. If your organization has 25 employees or fewer, offers health benefits, and covers more than 50 percent of the insurance cost, you might want to check out the IRS’s Affordable Care Act page, which includes links to detailed guidance, a simplified 3-step guide, and frequently asked questions. more