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IRS Tax Audit News
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Washington IRS more likely to audit millionaires
Washington IRS more likely to audit millionaires
There's at least one advantage to not being a millionaire -- less chance of being audited by the Internal Revenue Service.
The tax agency said Thursday that in the 2007 budget year it audited one out of every 11 with incomes of $1 million or more. Among those with incomes of $100,000 or less, 99 out of every 100 escaped further IRS scrutiny...There were 31,382 audits of those with $1 million incomes, up 84 percent from the 17,015 audited in 2006.
For complete article click link above.
There's at least one advantage to not being a millionaire -- less chance of being audited by the Internal Revenue Service.
The tax agency said Thursday that in the 2007 budget year it audited one out of every 11 with incomes of $1 million or more. Among those with incomes of $100,000 or less, 99 out of every 100 escaped further IRS scrutiny...There were 31,382 audits of those with $1 million incomes, up 84 percent from the 17,015 audited in 2006.
For complete article click link above.
Friday, January 18, 2008
High Incomes Pique IRS Interest
High Incomes pique IRS interest
Take note CPA's and Tax Preparers-
"Congress passed a law in May that increased the disclosure requirements for them.
The law requires tax preparers to report any tax positions taken by their clients that don't meet the Internal Revenue Code's "More Likely Than Not" standard.
If there's any doubt in the tax preparer's mind about whether a certain deduction a client wants to take will pass muster with the IRS or courts, then by law they must bring that to the IRS' attention or face a monetary penalty...The penalties for preparers are stiff. The new standard raises the monetary penalty for tax preparers from $250 to either $1,000 or 50 percent of the tax return preparation fee, whichever is greater. That means if it costs $10,000 to prepare a company's return, and the tax position isn't accepted by the IRS, the tax preparer could be fined $5,000."
Click on link above for complete article
Take note CPA's and Tax Preparers-
"Congress passed a law in May that increased the disclosure requirements for them.
The law requires tax preparers to report any tax positions taken by their clients that don't meet the Internal Revenue Code's "More Likely Than Not" standard.
If there's any doubt in the tax preparer's mind about whether a certain deduction a client wants to take will pass muster with the IRS or courts, then by law they must bring that to the IRS' attention or face a monetary penalty...The penalties for preparers are stiff. The new standard raises the monetary penalty for tax preparers from $250 to either $1,000 or 50 percent of the tax return preparation fee, whichever is greater. That means if it costs $10,000 to prepare a company's return, and the tax position isn't accepted by the IRS, the tax preparer could be fined $5,000."
Click on link above for complete article
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Cost for Unreported Income: 30 Years in Jail
Cost for unreported income: 30 years in jail
A Cohasset man was sentenced yesterday to 30 years in federal prison for failing to report more than $1.6 million in taxable income to the Internal Revenue Service between 2000 and 2004.
For complete article click link above
A Cohasset man was sentenced yesterday to 30 years in federal prison for failing to report more than $1.6 million in taxable income to the Internal Revenue Service between 2000 and 2004.
For complete article click link above
Friday, December 21, 2007
Island tax havens factor into Romney's business success
LA Times 12/17/07 article reported:
"While in private business, Mitt Romney utilized shell companies in two offshore tax havens to help eligible investors avoid paying U.S. taxes, federal and state records show.
Romney gained no personal tax benefit from the legal operations in Bermuda and the Cayman Islands. But aides to the Republican presidential hopeful and former colleagues acknowledged that the tax-friendly jurisdictions helped attract billions of additional investment dollars to Romney's former company, Bain Capital, and thus boosted profits for Romney and his partners.
Romney has based his White House bid, in part, on the skills he learned as co-founder and chief of Bain Capital, one of the nation's most successful private equity groups. His campaign cites his record while governor of Massachusetts of closing state tax loopholes; his involvement with foreign tax havens had not previously come to light."
Complete article:
Island tax havens factor into Romney's business success
"While in private business, Mitt Romney utilized shell companies in two offshore tax havens to help eligible investors avoid paying U.S. taxes, federal and state records show.
Romney gained no personal tax benefit from the legal operations in Bermuda and the Cayman Islands. But aides to the Republican presidential hopeful and former colleagues acknowledged that the tax-friendly jurisdictions helped attract billions of additional investment dollars to Romney's former company, Bain Capital, and thus boosted profits for Romney and his partners.
Romney has based his White House bid, in part, on the skills he learned as co-founder and chief of Bain Capital, one of the nation's most successful private equity groups. His campaign cites his record while governor of Massachusetts of closing state tax loopholes; his involvement with foreign tax havens had not previously come to light."
Complete article:
Island tax havens factor into Romney's business success
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Aide to Illinos Governer Indicted for Unreported Income
"Christopher Kelly, a close advisor to Illinois Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich and chief fundraiser on his two campaigns for governor, was indicted Thursday on federal tax fraud charges, accused of understating more than $1.3 million in personal and business income on tax returns for five years, federal authorities said."
See LA Times article Illinois governor sees a 2nd aide indicted by U.S.
See LA Times article Illinois governor sees a 2nd aide indicted by U.S.
Monday, December 17, 2007
Tax Haven Abuse: Walter Anderson Case
The 8/1/06 Report: United States Senate (Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations/Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs), Walter Anderson Case:
Anderson: Hiding Offshore Ownership.
This case history examines actions allegedly taken by a wealthy American to hide hundreds of millions of dollars in stock and cash offshore by disguising his ownership of the corporations that controlled those assets and failing to pay taxes on those assets. Walter C. Anderson was indicted for tax evasion in 2005, and is now awaiting trial. The government has developed evidence that Mr. Anderson took advantage of secrecy laws in multiple tax haven countries to create a structure of offshore corporations and trusts. According to the indictment, through a series of assignments, sales, and transfers, Mr. Anderson placed into these offshore entities about $450 million in cash and stock, including large interests in telecommunications firms. He allegedly disguised his ownership of these assets through a range of techniques including shell companies, bearer shares, and nominee directors and trustees. In one instance, according to the indictment, Mr. Anderson set up an offshore shell corporation in the British Virgin Islands, gave its shares to a second shell corporation he established in the same jurisdiction, and had the second corporation send the shares to a bearer-share corporation in Panama, which he controlled. The government stated that it seized a document granting Mr. Anderson’s mother the exclusive option to purchase, for $9,900, ninety-nine percent of the bearer share corporation which then held assets worth millions of dollars. According to the indictment, Mr. Anderson used these methods to evade more than $200 million in Federal and District of Columbia income taxes.
View complete report: Tax Haven Abuses: The Enablers, The Tools, & Secrecy
Anderson: Hiding Offshore Ownership.
This case history examines actions allegedly taken by a wealthy American to hide hundreds of millions of dollars in stock and cash offshore by disguising his ownership of the corporations that controlled those assets and failing to pay taxes on those assets. Walter C. Anderson was indicted for tax evasion in 2005, and is now awaiting trial. The government has developed evidence that Mr. Anderson took advantage of secrecy laws in multiple tax haven countries to create a structure of offshore corporations and trusts. According to the indictment, through a series of assignments, sales, and transfers, Mr. Anderson placed into these offshore entities about $450 million in cash and stock, including large interests in telecommunications firms. He allegedly disguised his ownership of these assets through a range of techniques including shell companies, bearer shares, and nominee directors and trustees. In one instance, according to the indictment, Mr. Anderson set up an offshore shell corporation in the British Virgin Islands, gave its shares to a second shell corporation he established in the same jurisdiction, and had the second corporation send the shares to a bearer-share corporation in Panama, which he controlled. The government stated that it seized a document granting Mr. Anderson’s mother the exclusive option to purchase, for $9,900, ninety-nine percent of the bearer share corporation which then held assets worth millions of dollars. According to the indictment, Mr. Anderson used these methods to evade more than $200 million in Federal and District of Columbia income taxes.
View complete report: Tax Haven Abuses: The Enablers, The Tools, & Secrecy
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