Baseball superstar, “Miracle Met” Jerry Koosman went from being cheered by his fans to being escorted by the police to jail for not paying his back taxes for the years 2002-2004.
Between Koosman’s Major League Baseball pension, autographs, public appearances, and selling his stocks, he made around $754,950 over those years, out of which $80,000 belonged to the government.
In May, Koosman pleaded guilty to IRS tax evasion charges. “Like most people
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Recently I was a guest on Fox Business News with Brian Sullivan to talk about the latest increase in IRS enforcement and how taxpayers and small business owners can protect their financial well-being by seeking professional tax representation.
With the government struggling for funds to pay for economic stimulus plans such as the “Cash For Clunkers” program and the $800 billion stimulus package, the IRS is under high pressure to collect
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For self-employed taxpayers whose taxes are not automatically deducted by their employer, it is especially important that they stay on top of their tax returns to avoid IRS penalties. Income from interest and proceeds due to real estate and stock sales are considered taxable income. If you receive money from your real estate or stock sales and do not report these revenues as taxable income, you are inviting yourself
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Although there never was a “good” time to cheat on taxes, now is worse than ever for taxpayers and tax preparers to file fraudulent tax returns. With the IRS getting more funding and 800 more agents to collect taxes, taxpayers and CPAs who deliberately report fraudulent information on tax returns will be hit with severe IRS penalties.
If the IRS detects and proves beyond a reasonable doubt that fraudulence was deliberate,
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If you are being accused of tax evasion by the IRS but you have reasonable cause to fight the charges, you will need to provide concrete evidence to substantiate your claim. With IRS audits on the rise due to stricter enforcement, it will be wise to keep important records that may later help you prove your innocence to the IRS.
Due to a lack of substantial evidence, a highly educated CPA
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It can happen to any of us–you go through all the paperwork, fill in all the necessary information to the best of your abilities, and you drop the tax return in the mail. No sooner had you sent out your tax return did you remember that you forgot to add something from another W-2 or 1099. Now you have to file an amended tax return…
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Question: How do I go about
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IRS tax problems can be overwhelming and confusing. It’s always a pleasure to me to appear on radio shows and give free tax advice to regular taxpayers who may not be able to afford a tax lawyer.
Recently I sat down with Drew on the Money, Riches, and Wealth Radio Show to answer some questions average taxpayers had regarding back taxes and resolving IRS tax debt with or without the help
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Small business owners and sole proprietors have been identified as the largest group that is contributing to the increasing tax gap of $350 billion/year. It is extremely difficult for the IRS to investigate each small business owner to uncover tax evasion acts such as under-reporting income.
In the current economy, the astonishing yearly tax gap is alarming to policymakers who are desperately short of funds. They find that they cannot fulfill
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As part of recent efforts to collect unpaid taxes, the Senate Finance Committee has held a confirmation hearing on July 14 to consider the nomination of William Wilkins to be IRS Chief Counsel. Wilkins is expected to spearhead IRS efforts to close the $345 billion a year tax gap.
In this recession, the government feels more hard-pressed than ever to collect unpaid tax revenue in order to fund economically beneficial projects
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Principles and ideals of equal rights aside, the IRS will not allow you to file a joint tax return if your marital status is not legally recognized by the state in which you reside. Some same-sex marriage proponents have been refusing to file individual tax returns as an act of civil disobedience. However, the current climate is that the IRS only accepts joint returns from people whose marriages are legalized
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In an effort to more aggressively pursue tax evaders who hide assets in overseas accounts, the US Department of Justice, UBS AG (Swiss Bank), and the Swiss government are working together to reveal the identities of US depositors who use secret offshore accounts.
In order to aid Obama’s latest efforts to bring out tax cheats who take advantage of offshore tax havens, the government of Switzerland filed a brief in the
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The Obama Administration has given the IRS more financial and human resources to restrict tax evasion for the next couple of years–making it more difficult for tax cheats to escape unscathed. In an effort to bridge the enormous tax gap (most of which can be attributed to underreported income–$285 billion), the U.S. Treasury is working with the IRS to accomplish a number of stricter regulatory goals that would result in
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The IRS considers the assistance of filing false tax returns a severely criminal and punishable act. The IRS is able to utilize charts and summary data of national tax return statistics to determine the “normalcy” of a tax return. If your tax return is substantially higher than the national average, you will be a likely suspect for the IRS to investigate. If found guilty, you will be penalized by
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If you failed to file and pay taxes one year due to severe emotional or physical illness that disabled you from managing your finances, you may be able to escape paying the IRS tax penalties for that year–as long as you can prove the existence of a “reasonable cause” with strong evidence. If your illness incapacitated you from filing and paying taxes for multiple years, you may be eligible to
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When taxpayers file for bankruptcy, some taxes and penalties may be discharged–giving people a chance of obtaining tax relief.  When someone files for bankruptcy, the “automatic stay” stops taxing authorities from collection actions including seizures and wage garnishments. The extent of the tax relief from bankruptcy may depend on a few factors including: the kind of tax involved, the age of the tax, whether a return was filed, and the
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