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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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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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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Last year I wrote an article titled, “The E-Commerce Conundrum: Taxing Virtual Businesses and Their Investors and the Law”, to point out potential IRS tax problems facing e-commerce businesses. I did this because state lawmakers were introducing legislation that forced them to collect and pay state taxes. Fast-forward to today and it looks like online businesses may in fact be mandated to do just that.
A Web Pro News article titled,
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A Louisiana couple who ran a used car lot pleaded guilty to filing a false tax return.
Norman Ducre, 41, and Jami Ducre, 44, of Slidell, Louisiana, owned and operated J & J Auto Brokers. Norman Ducre was responsible for sales and inventory acquisition and management, while Jami Ducre was responsible for the bookkeeping of the business.
In her plea, Ducre admitted to providing false and fraudulent monthly income and expense statements
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It’s the day after tax day and for those taxpayers who don’t intend on filing a tax return, you may want to reconsider. Not filing means you will be facing significant IRS tax issues. Failure to file is considered a misdemeanor that can be punishable up to $10,000 per year and one year in jail. In fact, IRS penalties are more severe for non-filing than for non-payment. If it sounds
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Tax Day is here! For those of you who have filed already: Congratulations! However, there are still many taxpayers who didn’t file because they owe back taxes and don’t have the funds to pay their tax debt. Very often these folks fall into what I call the delinquent tax return trap. On a video episode from the Midday Sunday Fox 11 with host Tony Valdez program, I explained how many
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IRS audits process are often a random selection. However, there are some triggers that can set the audit wheels in motion and bring on further examination and the possibility of paying more to the tax man. An MSN article titled: “What triggers an IRS audit?“ shines some light on how the IRS selects returns for audit and the criteria that sets these returns apart from the rest.

Audits on the Rise
The
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During my interview last tax season on the Midday Sunday Fox 11 with host Tony Valdez program, Mr. Valdez posed a scenario that many today may be facing: they have finished preparing their taxes, but don’t have the money to pay them. What should they do? This is a common question and the good news is that taxpayers with tax debt have options! Below the video, I offer some solutions.

If
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The IRS just released its Dirty Dozen Tax Scam List for 2013 and introduced a video to remind taxpayers they need to protect themselves from the worst tax scams and schemes out there. While the “usual suspect” scams and schemes have not changed that much from last year, the notification explains how the IRS has stepped up their efforts to handle them, specifically identity theft related tax issues. Below the
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A Missouri business owner pleaded guilty to filing a false income tax return. Christopher Huffman, 49, of Lexington, Missouri, is the owner of IG Construction, an asphalt and tree-trimming business. Huffman admitted that he engaged in a scheme to underreport the gross receipts for his business on his tax returns for tax years 2006 to 2008 in order to significantly reduce his income tax liability. He faces up to three
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Sometimes the government does things that make you want to shake your head. This post is about one of those instances. The Today Show reported in a segment titled “Live Long and Squander?” that the IRS is under fire for two training videos in particular a “Star Trek” parody the Agency thought would be good for employee training. NBC’s Kelly O’Donnell reports that a congressional committee was angry about the
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Happy Friday! Tax Day Countdown: 24 days. If you are deciding to hire a tax professional at this stage, make sure you read the following seven tips for choosing a tax professional to help you make a more informed decision. It could help you decide your needs as well as avoid any future IRS tax problems.

Make sure the tax professional has a year round business – Some professionals only work on
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A Wisconsin man was convicted of attempting to evade more than $430,000 in federal taxes for the years 2006 to 2008.
Kalmar Gronvall, 68, previously of Shawano, Wisc., operated an Internet business known as The Gold and Silver Exchange through which he sold gold and silver coins, as well as other precious metals. During the years 2006 to 2008, Gronvall had sales totaling more than $7 million and earned more than
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Two South Florida brothers were sentenced to prison for income tax evasion.
Michael Farnell received 18 months in prison and his brother James Farnell received 42 months.
According to court records, the brothers, both of Boca Raton, Fla., sold stock in a privately held Florida-based technology company between 2004 and 2006 and failed to report the capital gains or pay taxes on the capital gains from those stock sales. In 2004, the
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