According to National Taxpayer Advocate Nina Olson, the IRS Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS) handled more than 274,000 taxpayer assistance orders in FY 2008.
The TAS was created by Congress to help taxpayers resolve their tax problems with the IRS and ensuring that taxpayer rights are protected in each case. Olson also recently addressed the authority of the National Taxpayer Advocate to help taxpayers navigate their issues through the IRS. Olson revealed
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Last week, Sen. Carl Levin, chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, examined the recent deferred prosecution agreement between the Department of Justice and UBS AG Bank of Switzerland, as well as the DOJ’s ongoing attempts to force the bank to identify its U.S. customers with secret Swiss bank accounts.
Recently, a senior executive of a large Swiss bank was charged with conspiring with other
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I was recently asked to be the KLOS Tax Man! And as their go-to IRS expert, I give free tax tips to listeners who need help with their tax debt or IRS problems. Check it out!
Tax Tip # 28: More than ever, due to the current economy and the real estate meltdown, many hardworking Americans who never before qualified for tax relief, NOW QUALIFY.
Are you tired of those unfiled tax
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The government estimates that unclaimed refunds totaling approximately $1.3 billion are waiting to be claimed by about more than a million taxpayers who neglected to file a federal income tax return for 2005 and are eligible for refunds. However, to collect the money, a return for 2005 must be filed with an IRS office no later than Tuesday, April 15, 2009.
The IRS also estimates that about half of the taxpayers
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Today’s question comes from Doug P, an investment fraud victim interested in recovering his losses when he files his 2008 taxes…
In Dec. of 2007, I gave an independent broker some money to invest for me. About $30,000. Three weeks later  (first part of Jan 2008 ) he sends me a check for the amount I gave him and in the letter told me this money was never invested.
UHHHMMMMM. Ponzi gone
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The latest Obama administration nominee with tax troubles is Ron Kirk, the President’s choice to be U.S. trade representative. Kirk owes an estimated $10,000 in back taxes from earlier in the decade and has agreed to pay them. He has also agreed to file an amended tax return this week
According to reports, the former Dallas mayor failed to list speaking fees as income because he paid them directly to support
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The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act includes approximately $300 billion of net tax cuts. The new stimulus act includes tax provisions that may impact you and your small business. You will want to familiarize yourself with the plan’s new tax relief provisions.
Several key tax provisions include:

New 5-year net operating loss (NOL) carryback rule.
Deferral of certain income from the discharge of indebtedness
Extension of the existing bonus depreciation rules, which allows businesses
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The IRS is implementing tax-related provisions of this new program as quickly as possible. I recently blogged about how this new economic stimulus law could affect your tax bill, and how heightened tax compliance efforts could impact small businesses.
The IRS has outlined key highlights of the plan as follows:

COBRA: Health Insurance Continuation Subsidy. The IRS has extensive guidance for employers, including an updated Form 941, as well as information for qualifying
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I recently blogged about the new economic stimulus package and how it affects your IRS bill. In addition to funding deficit-reduction activities, the federal government is looking at ways to close the tax gap by taking a closer look at employment tax returns.
According to the most recent estimates, payroll tax mistakes cost the IRS $15 billion – and tax experts agree that today’s figure is much greater! For several years
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The federal economic-stimulus packaged includes tax provisions focused on cutting marginal tax rates and expanding tax incentives.  While the new tax agenda increases taxes on upper-income Americans, it also includes plenty of tax cuts.

To fund deficit-reduction and other federal projects, the new stimulus law would increase a range of taxes – which falls in line with President Obama’s pledge to cut taxes for the middle class while allowing tax cuts
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Last year, the government estimated that unclaimed refunds totaling approximately $1.2 billion were waiting to be claimed by about 1.3 million taxpayers who neglected to file a federal income tax return for 2004. While this year’s numbers haven’t been released yet, taxpayers still need to file their 2005 tax return with the IRS office no later than April 15, 2009 t0 be eligible for their tax refunds.
You will lose your
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I received an interesting newsletter from Kiplinger with a few tax tips that I wanted to share. I also encourage you tocheck out Kiplinger for the 11 most overlooked tax deductions.

And remember, if you can’t afford to pay you taxes this year, there are options like negotiating a tax settlement or a payment plan. You can also seek professional tax help so that your account is placed under “currently not
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With tax season quickly approaching, the IRS has announced that it will be providing help to those Americans struggling to meet their tax obligations this year. This means that distressed taxpayers plagued by mounting medical bills, heavy reliance on Social Security assistance, or recent job losses may now be eligible for a tax break. Struggling taxpayers may be eligible for relief as IRS eases enforcement and collection efforts to help
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In this challenging economy, more taxpayers are going to need tax help and will be hoping to pay their tax debt by negotiating payment plans with the IRS to pay their liabilities over time.
It is important to note that the IRS continues to add penalties and interest while you are making monthly payments. This may cause you to be paying what you consider a large monthly payment to the IRS
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Tax resolution specialists Michael Rozbruch and Brian Compton at Mind Your Own Business 2009, originally uploaded by taxresolution.com.
Brian and I attended Finance Day 2009 last weekend. The All-You-Need-To-Know-About-Your-Money Event was a big success. I conducted several seminars on strategies for alleviating tax debt. I was also featured on a panel with KFI’s Bill Handel, host of “Handel on the Law.”
But the best moment of the whole event by far, was
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