The stories that caught our attention this week ranged from tax evasion and fraud, to how the Offer in Compromise Program can help consumers, erasing tax debt in bankruptcy to the increase in IRS criminal investigations to the IRS under intense scrutiny.

The IRS Gets Scrutinized – By far the biggest IRS story this week revolved around the IRS itself! The agency is being closely examined for unfairly targeting conservative
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A Louisiana lawyer pleaded guilty to making false, fictitious and fraudulent claims to the Internal Revenue Service in an attempt to receive more than $9.7 million in tax refunds.
According to court records, Francis C. Broussard, 53, of West Monroe, Louisiana, had his accountant prepare his 2005 through 2007 tax returns — but Broussard never filed them.
In 2009, Broussard went to a different tax preparer to have his personal tax returns
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Question: I owe a lot of money to the IRS, and having just filed my taxes for 2012, I owe even more! I need to do something, and soon. How do I know if I qualify for the Offer in Compromise program?

Answer: The Offer in Compromise is a great program for consumers who owe a substantial amount to the IRS but who cannot pay off their tax debt, even
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Question: I am filing bankruptcy to get out from underneath debt brought on by some bad financial decisions. Can I discharge in bankruptcy the IRS back taxes I owe for tax years 2008 and 2009 that amount to roughly $25,000? I am struggling financially to pay off all the debt I incurred in this mess but am particularly overwhelmed with the tax debt. Do I have any chance at tax
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Just last week, the IRS Criminal Investigation (CI) released its Annual Report for 2012 showing strong increases in enforcement actions and IRS penalties imposed on convicted tax criminals for the year ending Sept. 30, 2012. According to the IRS bulletin announcing the report’s release, the criminal investigation division investigates potential criminal violations of the Internal Revenue Code and related financial crimes in a manner to foster confidence in the
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Every month at Tax Resolution Services we choose a very special Tax Client Of The Month.  It’s our way of acknowledging good friends and saying “thanks” to those who support our business with referrals, word of mouth and repeat business.
This month’s Tax Client Of The Month is Mr. & Mrs. Ford Sr.
Mr. & Mrs. Ford Sr. owed the IRS $112,000 in back taxes when he sought help.  After several months
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This was a busy week in tax relief and IRS news. The stories that caught our attention ranged from how long to keep IRS tax records, to celebrity tax woes and finding tax debt solutions to the pro’s and cons of IRS prepared returns.
This week started with a helpful post titled: Tax Relief Tips for How Long to Keep IRS Records. A general rule of thumb guideline suggests that
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Recently, I have been asked for my thoughts on the IRS’ proposal to pre-filled tax returns. Under a proposed system, the IRS would pre-fill taxpayers’ returns with the data employers and financial institutions have already reported. I came across a Forbes article titled: “Are IRS Prepared Tax Returns the Solution to our Tax Woes?“ that presented a decent overview of what such a system would mean for taxpayers, tax preparers and
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If you have tax troubles that haven’t been addressed, it’s time for you to see a tax professional and get to know your options.
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I remember his face, clear as day.
Panicked — that’s the only word to describe it.
I shook his hand; it was a clammy. He was nervous.
For the sake of this column, I’ll call him Bill. At the time, he was my newest client.
Bill was holding a copy of
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Actor Stephen Baldwin pleaded guilty to failure to file income taxes for three years and will pay $300,000 in back taxes to the government.
Baldwin, the youngest of the Baldwin brothers and best known for his roles in The Usual Suspects and The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas, was arrested in December on charges that could have resulted in a prison sentence of up to four years.
According to Balwin’s attorney, if
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Apparently, Lauryn Hill’s “Miseducation” may relate to how badly she handled her IRS tax problems. According to Accounting Today’s article titled: Fugees Singer Lauryn Hill Sentenced to Prison for Tax Evasion, Hill was sentenced Monday to three months in prison plus three months home confinement for failing to file tax returns for five years and not reporting more than $2.3 million in income. The article explains the terms of her
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Every year after the tax day, clients inquire as to what tax documents they need to keep and for how long. Last tax season I wrote a blog post on the subject, inspired by a Forbes article by Tax Girl, Kelly Phillips Erb titled: “How Long Should You Keep Records after Tax Day?” I thought the information would be helpful for those who may be wondering what documents to hold
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Happy Friday!  Here are some of the tax stories we covered from this week’s news. The topics include: Government Accountability Report showing IRS budget cuts effecting offshore tax collection and tax audit rates, offshore amnesty program success, new Tax Resolution Services commercial and tax evasion by New Jersey meat distributor.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) Report Shows Big IRS Budget Cuts – The post titled: IRS Budget Cuts Hurt Tax
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I recently wrote a post for the Tax Matters blog about a newly released Government Accountability Office (GAO) report showing IRS budget cuts forcing the furlough of 100,000 employees therefore reducing the ability to audit taxpayers at the same rate. A Huffington Post article titled: “Offshore Tax Havens: Sequestration Damages IRS Battle with Tax Evasion“ provides additional GAO report information shining a light on how the sequester/IRS budget cuts will
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Government investigators reported that the Internal Revenue Service has recouped more than $5.5 billion for the voluntary disclosure programs. NPR sites an Associated Press article titled: Tax Cheats Pony Up $5.5 Billion in Amnesty Program highlights a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report that shows how through these programs the IRS was able to get people to come forward to report their offshore bank accounts and assets in exchange for reduced
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