Tax Law And Accounting

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Tax Law and Accounting

In today's society income taxes are something in which almost everyone is familiar. However, the tax law and general purpose of income taxes is something in which the general society gives little thought. In addition, few tax preparers are aware that differences exist between the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and tax accounting, not to mention the ramifications of avoiding or evading to proper complete the reporting of income taxes. This paper will discuss the objectives of modern tax law, the differences between Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and tax accounting as well as the differences between tax evasion and tax avoidance.

Objectives of Modern Tax Law

William Perez explains that income taxes are paid because the United States has to pay for such expenses as "schools, roads, hospitals, the military, government employees, national parks, and so forth" (2007, ¶ 2) and the process in which the United States pays for these expenses is through income taxes. The United States requires that the people and companies with earned income pay to the government a portion of the income earned. This portion of earned income paid to the government helps to pay for the many expenses needed by our society.

The process in which income taxes are paid is simple. Tax laws are written by the President and Congress of the United States. Enforcing the laws written by the President and Congress is the responsibility of the Internal Revenue Service (Perez, 2007), an organization that was once named the Bureau of Internal Revenue but was changed to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in the 1950s (IRS, Brief History of IRS, n.d., ¶ 4). The IRS is responsible for collecting taxes, issuing refund...

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