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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Tax practitioners who would like to develop skills to prevent and or resolve IRS collections are invited to join tax expert Eva Rosenberg, aka TaxMama® and yours truly for a complimentary webcast titled: “IRS Practice – Overview of Collection Issues. This course (part of the IRS Practice Series) provides an overview of the collections process and explores the numerous collection issues a practitioner may encounter including the
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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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The IRS recently released a bulletin warning victims and consumers wanting to donate to a disaster relief charity to be on the look-out for scams that pop up as a result of Hurricane Sandy. The IRS recommends four tips to avoiding disaster scams: (read the full bulletin for more details).

Only give donations to recognized charitable organizations.
Don’t be fooled by charities with
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If you have unreported foreign bank accounts and assets, you will want to rethink your current status when you see how high the IRS is raising the stakes. A recent Forbes article by Robert W. Wood titled “Forbes Undisclosed Foreign Bank Accounts? They’re Even More Explosive Now“ makes clear how the Agency is using its generous resources to go after and prosecute tax evaders who, in spite of several years
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Late last week, the IRS updated its filing and payment requirements for victims of Hurricane Sandy in an attempt to bring more tax relief to more people. I initially blogged about the IRS providing tax help to hurricane victims by extended filing and payment requirements for business owners and their tax preparers. Since then, the IRS has more broadly extended its tax relief efforts based on the Federal Emergency Management
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Happy Friday! Here’s a look at the top tax relief stories of the week:
Tax Scams, Tax Schemes and Identity Theft

New tax scams are appearing all the time these days – this week was no exception. The latest IRS announcement warns consumers NOT to fall for phony IRS websites including a new one that mimics the IRS e-Services online registration page and looks official. The tipoff: This email asks for personal
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Happy Friday! Here’s a look at tax relief news headlines we reported on this week:
Tax Scams and Schemes

Tax scams, tax schemes and identity theft are plaguing the IRS and taxpayers alike. This week’s tax scam warning advises taxpayers to lookout for an e-mail that appears to come from the IRS focused on confirming the EIN#’s of S and C-Corporations. Do not click on any links instead delete it entirely! Scammers
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The October 15 tax extension deadline is less than a week away and taxpayers facing IRS debt will want to resolve their tax issues sooner rather than later. When it comes to finding IRS tax relief against the most brutal collection agency on the planet – knowledge is power. But amongst  “helpful” information are tax relief myths that are incorrect and can make IRS tax issues worse. To avoid tax
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Happy Friday! Here’s a recap of the tax relief news that made headlines this week.
Celebrity Tax Issues, IRS Audits and Enforcement
It seems like there is always a celebrity in the news currently facing down the IRS or other tax authorities.  This is not by accident. Since the Great Recession tax revenues have been down so to increase collections, the IRS has been going after celebrities and wealthy Americans to help
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Hello and Happy Friday! This was a busy week that covered  a range of IRS tax relief topics.  Let’s round them up:

Offshore Tax issues: Swiss Bank UBS filed a lawsuit this week against one if it’s former billionaire clients, Igor Olenicoff for damages the bank incurred defending the 2008 suit Olenicoff filed against them. Janet Novack’s article @Forbes titled UBS Sues Billionaire Olenicoff in Offshore Tax Cheating Case explains this
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For those who owe the back taxes to the IRS, this summer is a great time to create a successful tax relief strategy. Here are ten taxpayer tips that can help to resolve tax debt and keep the Uncle Sam at bay:

Pay the IRS NOW – even if you have to secure a loan to do so.  Why? Because IRS penalties and interest are often higher than a bank
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It’s amazing to watch the Olympic athletes compete in the London Games. Especially gratifying is getting to see their hard work and talents result in the ultimate prize: an Olympic medal. However ,for many of the Team U.S.A. medal winners, this reward can also mean tax debt to the IRS if prize money is not properly reported.
A Huffington Post article titled Olympians Could Owe The IRS Thousands In Taxes On
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The government is focused on narrowing budget gaps and trying to find revenue from wherever it can. In recent years, the IRS has set its sights on small business and upped S-Corporation audits believing there was a good chance to collect on their non-tax compliance. However, a Reuters article titled Small business audits often find no more taxes due-IRS watchdog reports that IRS watchdog, Russell George criticized the high number
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When it comes to financial investments, we’ve all heard “if it sounds too good to be true, it usually is.” Yet in spite of that warning, every year thousands of Americans lose their entire life savings to Ponzi schemes. The most infamous is Bernie Madoff who is serving a 150 year prison term for running one of the biggest Ponzi schemes in history. His financial scam devastated thousands, many being
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