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Accounting Case 12-4: Temporary Differences

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* Case 12-4 Temporary Differences
SFAS No. 109, “Accounting for Income Taxes,” requires inter-period tax allocation for temporary differences.
Required:
a. Define the term temporary difference. b. List the examples of temporary differences contained in SFAS No. 109. c. Defend inter-period income tax allocation.

a. Temporary Difference – Definition

An assumption inherent in an enterprise 's statement of financial position prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles is that the reported amounts of assets and liabilities will be recovered and settled, respectively. Based on that assumption, a difference between the tax basis of an asset or a liability and its reported amount in the statement of …show more content…

There may be differences between the assigned values and the tax bases of the assets and liabilities recognized in a business combination accounted for as a purchase under APB Opinion No. 16, Business Combinations.
c. Inter-period Income Tax Allocation – A Defense It is critical to understand that the transaction events which give rise to timing differences are economic in nature and therefore have economic consequences. The question then becomes how to best reflect those economic consequences in the financial statements. Inter-period income tax allocation considers the tax consequences of transaction events such as revenue, expenses, gains, and losses and associates these items with the period in which these events are recognized. In other words, inter-period tax allocation is consistent with the basic tenets of accrual accounting. Underlying this method is the understanding that there is a direct economic relationship between identifiable transactions reflected in the financial statements and related income tax effects (Arthur et al., 1984). Therefore, each transaction has a tax effect. Information based on accrual accounting has historically and empirically provided a better indication of a company’s ability to generate cash flows than information gathered under the cash method. If there is not inter-period allocation, then the information is not as meaningful and will result in a mismatching of economic benefits

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