The IRS Voluntary Disclosure Program ended on October 15th.  For U.S. taxpayers who have been hiding money in Zurich, expect indictments and harsh prison sentences from the IRS.

By Michael Rozbruch, Certified Tax Resolution Specialist
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For the more than 4,450 U.S. taxpayers who have bank accounts in Switzerland and haven’t told Uncle Sam, time’s up.
In an unprecedented settlement with the Swiss government and Swiss bank UBS, the Department of Justice and Internal Revenue
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In a high-profile Tax Day press conference, President Obama announced an even more aggressive war on tax cheats. Now, the IRS is planning the assault.
By Michael Rozbruch
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It was only a couple of months ago that President Barack Obama, still freshly inaugurated, stood in the White House and announced his plan to go after — and go after aggressively — tax cheats, no matter where they hide their money.
His plan focused
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Return preparer fraud made this year’s IRS Dirty Dozen list of common scams taxpayers should avoid. In this down economy, the promise of large refunds may seem tempting to taxpayers, but victims of tax schemes will end up facing more tax problems in the long run.
Dishonest tax return preparers are scam artists that skim money from their clients’ refunds and charge inflated fees for return preparation services. They attract new
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A recent Los Angeles Times article examined the resentment that’s brewing among Americans who feel that there is a double standard applied to delinquent taxpayers, which appears to favor powerful people like recent Cabinet nominees.
The most highly criticized nominee has been Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, who owed $34,000 in back taxes and didn’t pay all of it until Obama nominated him.
His excuse? Geithner told the committee that he prepared his
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Internal documents reveal IRS has made offshore tax evasion its highest-priority target; investigators will focus on unreported income
By Michael Rozbruch
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The memo sent to examination staff of the Internal Revenue Service was clear.
Investigators should make sure offshore tax cases “receive priority treatment.”
Indeed, internal documents released by the tax-collecting agency, coupled with public comments from IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman, leave little doubt the government will focus the brunt of its enforcement efforts
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The Internal Revenue Service announced today that taxpayers who buy a new passenger vehicle this year may be entitled to deduct state and local sales and excise taxes paid on the purchase on their 2009 tax returns next year.
“For those thinking about buying a new car this year, this deduction may give them a little more drive to make their purchase this year,” said IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman. “This deduction
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In a blow to tax cheats, Switzerland’s largest bank agrees to divulge the names of those suspect of using offshore accounts to evade U.S. taxes
By Michael Rozbruch
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In the world of tax cheats, the news doesn’t get much bigger.
UBS, the largest bank in Switzerland, agreed to provide to the U.S. government with the names of those it suspects of using its accounts to evade paying taxes in the United States. The
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While Benrie Madoff was jailed last week after pleading guilty to charges surrounding his $65 billion Ponzi scheme, the IRS is busy issuing new guidelines for filing tax theft loss deductions.
Internal Revenue Service Commissioner Doug Shulman reached out to thousands of Ponzi victims to provide “safe harbor” procedures for taxpayers who sustained investment losses discovered to be criminally fraudulent.
In addition to simplifying and clarifying the filing process for those seeking
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The IRS recently announced a plan that will “try” to make it easier for homeowners in financial straits to refinance or sell their homes. The program supposedly focuses on people who ordinarily pay their taxes in full but “because of these extraordinary times are getting behind on their tax payments.”
IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman said that plan would speed up a process where financially distressed homeowners may request that a federal
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