Happy Friday! The common theme in last week’s news was aimed at giving tax relief advice to those who did not make the tax filing deadline of April 17.
Here are some of the highlights:

The IRS just released a video entitled Employee or Independent Contractor? aimed at getting employers to properly classify their workers as either an employee or independent contractor. Improper classification can result in steep IRS penalties but many
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Like clockwork, about a week or two after the April 17 tax deadline, I begin fielding taxpayer questions regarding what tax documents to keep and for how long.  A recent article in Forbes by Tax Girl Kelly Phillips Erb entitled How Long Should You Keep Records after Tax Day? provided good guidelines on the subject.
Here are seven basic recommendations for keeping tax documents both individuals and small businesses can follow:
In
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Most information dispensed last week was designed to give tax help to last minute filers attempting to complete their tax returns. But news agencies including the IRS are now busy reporting on a new tax story about how rampant IRS identity theft issues are for the Agency itself. Even after the filing deadline, taxpayers are asked to remain vigilant against these tax fraudsters who continue to dupe ordinary citizens. Here
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Countdown to Tax Day: 7 Days
On a previous episode of the TaxMan on the Big Biz Show, Sully and I discussed how small business owners sometimes make themselves targets for harmful IRS audits.  While many business people are great at getting clients, they fall down in the back office with duties such as proper accounting practices. This lack creates unnecessary IRS tax issues and can bring a great business to
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The Obama Administration and the Department of Treasury are continuing their aggressive efforts to catch tax evaders.  One strategy they are considering is a collaboration between the IRS and local law enforcement agencies to help catch people committing tax fraud, tax evasion and identity theft crimes.  Canada Free Press journalist Jim Kouri wrote an article entitled IRS may draft cops to catch tax cheats, official tells Senate to report on
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It’s nice to see that a tax scheme involving identity theft was thwarted. A recent article in the Miami Herald entitled Two South Florida Men Plead Guilty in IRS Tax-Refund Scheme reports that two men, Jean LaFrance, and Carlos Orozco used stolen social security records to submit false tax returns to the IRS over the past year. Both men were volunteers at the Pembroke Pines Social Security Office and had
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The IRS “Dirty Dozen” tax scam “Claiming Zero Wages” is a frivolous tax argument that alleges taxpayers do not have to pay taxes therefore, claim “zero” wages to prove their point even if there is a tax liability. As often found with the frivolous argument scam, taxpayers incorrectly interpret tax law and file a “phony return” in an attempt to lower the amount of taxes due. To the IRS, this
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The Chicago politician currently on the hot seat is Cook County Commissioner and former South Side alderman William Beavers. Beavers is facing indictment on tax fraud charges for keeping campaign funds and a county stipend without paying federal taxes on them. A Chicago Tribune article entitled William Beavers Indicted on Tax Fraud Charges reported on just how far Beavers is willing to go to protect his name and perceived political
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Some taxpayers have a tendency to overstate their income or expenses. The IRS “Dirty Dozen” Tax Scam # 6 – False and Inflated Income and Expenses makes this list annually simply because taxpayers still believe they can get away with it. What many don’t anticipate is that stepped-up IRS scrutiny of their flawed returns will yield not only IRS problems for them but also less money in their pockets as
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IRS commissioner Doug Schulman announced on Thursday its IRS “Dirty Dozen” List of tax scams and “phishing” expeditions to warn taxpayers about scams that range from identity theft to return preparer fraud. This annual list is meant to provide the most recent advice for consumers to prevent tax problems on a year round basis. However, as tax day draws near, scams and schemes tend to peak as people get their
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In a story straight out of a Hollywood movie, the estate of the late heiress, Huguette Clark has been shrouded in controversy since her death this May at age 104. Not only has her estate been slapped with $50 million in IRS penalties, her trusted financial advisors are facing allegations of tax fraud by the office of the public administrator of New York County. Born in 1906, the youngest child
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This month I came across a couple of interesting articles from my StumbleUpon I wanted to share with you. Here is a recap of tax news covering topics on all things tax, from news on Innocent Spouse relief, giving to charity, tax scams and more celebrities tax problems.
IRS does ‘the right thing’ for the ‘innocent spouse’ – Michelle Singletary discusses the IRS and their decision to remove the two-year limitation
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Today’s Tax Resolution Tip:
The BIGGEST red flag that results in triggering a tax audit for yourself or your business is claiming false business expenses. Don’t do it!
Read about IRS tax audits and what you should be doing to avoid them. Visit our tax relief FAQ page for more tips on audits and the red flags to be wary of.
For a daily dose of tax relief tips, check out 365 Ways to
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Leonid Zaltsberg has lived an extraordinary life. The 76-year-old from Milltown, N.J., played for the Soviet Union’s national soccer team, competed in the World Cup, and now works with Ukraine’s national team.
He’s also now part of another extraordinary group: U.S. tax cheats who’ve been convicted of evasion following the release of account information from Swiss bank UBS.
Zaltsberg pleaded guilty in New Jersey to subscribing to a false tax return, admitting that
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Every day, in cities across the country, people are being prosecuted or convicted of tax crimes. If you have IRS problems and are in need of tax relief, you should view these cases as warnings and act accordingly. If you’re struggling during these tough economic times, there are many options to consider for resolving your back taxes or other IRS woes.

Thomas and Brenda Ellis of Richmond, Va., had what
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