Getting a phone call from someone who claims to work for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is a stressful event. Unfortunately, a number of less than desirable characters know this and will attempt to take advantage of the stressful situation and gather personal information that could be used in a […]
In part one of this post, we took note of the unsuccessful appeal by soccer star Lionel Messi of his tax fraud conviction. His attempt to claim lack of knowledge of his father’s use of shell companies to hide income didn’t go over well with the appeals court. The court […]
Tax season recently ended. Some taxpayers may have experienced the unpleasant surprise that they owed state taxes not just in the state that they live in, the state they consider their domicile, but in another state or even multiple states as well. This can happen for a number of different […]
Congress has been on the hunt for undisclosed offshore accounts for several years now. The latest news comes in a report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office titled “IRS’s Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program: 2009 Participation by State and Location of Foreign Bank Accounts.” While it is not against the law […]
A year ago, the soccer star Lionel Messi was on the coveted cover of Sports Illustrated (SI). SI touted the success of his professional team and an upcoming match called the Copa America. What a difference a year makes. This week’s news about Messi is that an appeals court has […]
Congress has been on the hunt for undisclosed offshore accounts for several years now. The latest news comes in a report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office titled “IRS’s Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program: 2009 Participation by State and Location of Foreign Bank Accounts.” While it is not against the law […]
Each year the criminal investigations unit of the IRS (IRS-CI) puts out its annual report. Agents in this division are in charge of investigation tax crimes and recommending prosecutions. As IRS funding continues to fall short, the number of agents has steadily declined. What has this meant for abusive preparer […]
The Trust Fund Recovery Penalty (TFRP) is a powerful IRS tool for going after certain individuals who are considered personally responsible for a business’s unpaid employment taxes. We discussed it in considerable detail in an article on which parties can be held responsible. In today’s post, let’s consider a Texas […]
Trust is necessary for a successful marriage. In our tax practice, we see how misplaced reliance on a spouse’s integrity may not only break a heart, but also bring an undeserved tax bill. Innocent spouse relief The IRS has a legal mechanism that may help a blameless spouse in this […]
On behalf of Lawrence Brown The program may be advantageous for certain taxpayers who may not be in compliance with offshore account reporting requirements. The IRS has offered some form of the Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program since 2009 as a potential way for noncompliant taxpayers to resolve civil liability and […]