Filing Dates have Changed for Some Tax Returns, FBARs and New Rules for Auditing Partnerships... [ read ]
Changes have been made to Partnership Tax Return and FBAR filing dates for 2016.
IRS Criminal Employment Tax Enforcement: The Next Big Thing... [ read ]
The IRS has experienced a 28% decline in collectors from 2010 to 2014. Meanwhile, the IRS estimates that $59 billion is owed from unpaid employment taxes from which employment tax returns have been filed. Additionally, taxes withheld by employers make up two-thirds of IRS revenue collection by the IRS. These factors converge for the perfect storm of IRS Criminal Tax Enforcement on payroll taxes.
Congress Passes "Game-Changing" Rules for Small Captive Insurance Companies... [ read ]
It's no secret that the IRS has been eyeing – closely – the small captive insurance industry. This industry embraces Section 831(b) of the Internal Revenue Code, which generally permits an electing insurance company with no more than $1.2 million of annual underwriting income to exclude such underwriting income from taxable income. In that case the insurance company is only subject to tax on its investment income. Back in February 2015, the IRS placed these small captive insurance arrangements on its "Dirty Dozen" list - a list of commonly-promoted techniques that the IRS contends are abusive tax shelters. This was part of a broader IRS crack down on the small-captive insurance industry, which has involved large-scale IRS examinations and promoter investigations and several test cases awaiting decision in the courts.
Spring Break in Mexico -- Think Again if you Owe the IRS... [ read ]
Was the Grinch in Congress last winter? The FAST Act, 2015 Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act, did much more than fix our nation's highways when enacted on December 5, 2015. The FAST Act broke down previous prohibitions that prevented the IRS from sharing information with the State Department.
Automatic Estate Closing Letters No More: The IRS Changes its Procedures for Closing Estates... [ read ]
Closing letters are an important part of estate tax administration and provide great comfort to executors waiting to distribute assets to beneficiaries. To the dismay of many tax professionals, the IRS earlier this year announced that it would no longer automatically send out closing letters to signal the completion of an estate tax audit.
Think the IRS Can't Audit You After 3 Years? Think Again.... [ read ]
There is perhaps no worse a feeling to taxpayers than when they receive an IRS notice indicating their return has been selected for examination. Thankfully, Congress has placed substantial limitations on the IRS' ability to examine returns and assess additional tax: a 3-year statute of limitations period. Under the general statute of limitations period, the IRS has three years after the return is filed to assess any additional tax. See I.R.C. § 6501(a).
Federal Agent Steals Virtual Currency and Receives Real World Prison Sentence... [ read ]
On October 19, 2015, a former Drug Enforcement Agent, Carl Force, was sentenced to 78 months in prison for stealing bitcoin related to the federal criminal investigation of Silk Road.
New DOJ Policy Regarding Individual Accountability for Corporate Wrong Doing... [ read ]
On September 9th the Department of Justice (DOJ) issued new guidance to its prosecutors aimed at encouraging more white collar criminal and civil cases against corporate executives. The new rules take effect immediately, but they are not likely to apply to investigations that are far along.
The OECD's BEPS Initiative and International Tax Reform... [ read ]
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's (OECD) Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) initiative is headed for the home stretch. Whether it will cross the finish line, however, remains to be seen.
IRS Announces it Has Raised $8 Billion Through its Offshore Remediation Programs While Conducting Thousands of Civil Offshore Exams and Numerous Criminal Offshore Investigations... [ read ]
On Oct. 16, 2015, the IRS announced that its offshore compliance programs have generated $8 Billion in IR-2015-116. More than 54,000 taxpayers have participated in IRS offshore remediation disclosure programs since 2009. The IRS warned taxpayers with non-compliant offshore accounts to "strongly consider existing paths established to come into full compliance with their federal tax obligations."
