Current Items of Interest -- This page is dedicated to articles that will help you achieve optimum tax planning, and will help in understanding many important issues of the day. Check back frequently, as the content of this page will be updated frequently with current, relavent information. If you have a request on a particular topic, please feel free to contact us. To view the articles, just click on the title. You will need Adobe Reader 5.0 or above. Click here to download Adobe Reader free. Heroes Earnings Assistance and Relief Tax Act of 2008 (the 2008 Heroes Act) The recently enacted “Heroes Earnings Assistance and Relief Tax Act of 2008” (the 2008 Heroes Act) provides targeted tax relief for military members and their families, fully offset with tightened expatriation rules, a new rule requiring U.S. companies working under federal government contract to treat overseas employees as subject to employment taxes, and a higher failure to file penalty. Here's a summary of the tax provisions in the Act. Heartland, Habitat, Harvest, and Horticulture Act of 2008 (the 2008 Farm Act) The recently enacted “Heartland, Habitat, Harvest, and Horticulture Act of 2008” (the 2008 Farm Act) contains a package of tax changes including specialized tax breaks for the farming industry (along with a crackdown on farm losses) and new and modified credits related to the production of certain fuels, among other things. Here's a summary of the key tax provisions in the 2008 Farm Act. The “American Housing Rescue and Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2008” (the Housing Act) The “American Housing Rescue and Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2008” (the Housing Act) was signed into law by the President on July 30, 2008. This sweeping measure is designed to shore up the ailing housing market as well as tighten lending practices and reform financial institutions associated with that market. It also contains a number of tax changes, including tax breaks for homebuyers and homeowners, relaxed requirements for tax-exempt bonds, eased AMT rules, tax changes for businesses, as well as highly specialized changes affecting low-income housing and special investment vehicles called Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs). Here is an overview of the more widely applicable tax changes in the Housing Act. Please call our offices for details of how the new changes may affect you, your family, your investments, or your business.