Blog

U.S. Offshore Account Enforcement Issues

August 7th, 2013 This is a digest of presentation made to the 2013 NYU Tax Controversy Institute by Scott Michael of Kaplan & Drysdale in Washington. Since 2008, IRS has been aggressively moving against thousands of taxpayers who maintain foreign bank accounts that do not get reported on their tax returns.  There is a growing […]

IRS Criminal Investigation

Criminal investigations at IRS are handled by the Criminal Investigation Division (CI) that operates through approximately 2,600 special agents.  Cases investigated by CI are reviewed by attorneys with the IRS Chief Counsel Office and then forwarded to the Department of Justice for further review and prosecution.  CI is the gateway for the IRS offshore voluntary […]

Immigration Tax Problems

Before 2013 is over we will probably have comprehensive immigration reform. The political talk is that to become a citizen it will be necessary to file un-filed tax returns and pay any taxes owed. Until we see the final legislation we won’t know what sort of compliance will be required, but I would anticipate 3 […]

Reporting Foreign Income and Interests in Foreign Entities

June 19th, 2013 An article by Richard Satran in the 05/10/2013 US News, reports “The Internal Revenue Service relies on technology more than ever to sniff out tax cheats using robo-audits and data mining – but so far it has caught a lot of minnows and the big fish are still eluding detection.” Without much […]

Swiss Banks Cave on Bank Secrecy

A 05/28/2013 article in the New York Times reports that: The Swiss government said on Wednesday that it would allow its banks to disclose information on American clients with hidden accounts, a watershed move intended to help resolve a long-running dispute with the United States over tax evasion. The decision, which comes amid widening scrutiny […]

Problems at the IRS

In its May 25, 2013 edition, The Economist has an article about the IRS scandal, which is entitled “Who Will Tame the Taxman?” The part that interested me was not the discussion of alleged targeting of conservative organizations by the exempt organizations group, but its summary of other problems the IRS lives with. I quote […]

Sales Tax Comes Back to Bite Online Buyers

June 14th, 2013 Online shopping is the latest and greatest way to shop. It may seem simple if you’re surfing Ebay or Craigslist, and harmless if you make a purchase or two. Online shopping is fun and easy, and having the ability to order from different parts of the country gives you even more variety. […]

Tax Extensions – Good or Bad?

May 31st, 2013 Are you one of the millions of Americans who filed for an income tax extension this year? On average, 3 million businesses and 10 million individuals file for tax extensions each year, but all of those people now find the clock ticking on their 2012 returns. An extension offers the benefits of […]

Celebrities – Tax Evasion Doesn’t Pay

May 17, 2013 When it comes to income tax, it’s fair to say that nobody relishes paying it. We all feel we work hard for our money and the last thing we want to do is give a portion of it back to a slothful and wasteful government. But a word of caution to anyone […]

The Underground Economy

April 30, 2013 United States citizens and residents are taxed on their worldwide income. All of it should be declared on an income tax return and be accounted for. To what extent does that happen? It happens more here than in Greece, but certainly less than in a perfect world. Click to read an excellent […]