BLUE BOOK 2013: Joint Committee on Taxation's General Explanation of Tax Legislation Enacted in the 112th Congress (Blue Book (CCH))

The General Explanation of Tax Legislation Enacted in the 112th Congress (commonly referred to as the ôBlue Bookö) provides a detailed explanation of the tax-related provisions contained in over 40 pieces of legislation enacted in the 112th Congress during 2011 and 2012. The Blue Book provides the legislative history for each Act, a provision-by-provision description of the prior law and new law, the reasons for the law change if the provision was reported out of committee before enactment, and the effective date of each law change. Descriptions prepared by the Joint Committee on Taxation were included in the absence of other committee reports or when the Joint Committee issued a contemporaneous technical explanation of the bill. An Appendix shows the estimated budget effects of the tax legislation enacted in the 112th Congress for fiscal years 2010 û 2012. The Blue Book's explanations serve as a useful guide in understanding the intent and meaning of the new tax laws and, along with committee and conference reports, is considered substantial authority for the tax treatment of an item for purposes of avoiding the Code Sec. 6662 accuracy-related penalty on substantial understatements of income tax (Reg. º1.6662-4(d)(3)(iii)).