It’s all champagne wishes and caviar dreams for some IRS employees, according to a recent Senate Finance Committee Report. The report found that in fiscal year 2015 alone, the IRS spent more than $1.4 million on long-term travel for only 27 employees, with the average cost of each trip amounting to approximately $52,800 of taxpayer money.
Read MoreAs the holiday season nears an end, many of us dread the impending tax season that follows on its heels. At least some taxpayers can look forward to receiving their refund from the IRS. Money is generally good motivation to file early.
Read MoreIf you are like the vast majority of Americans, you employ some tax “professional” to assist you in filing your taxes or in handling disputes with the IRS. However, have you ever stopped to consider whether the person you entrust with all of your financial information is actually worthy of that trust?
Read MoreIRS tax scammers are still at it. This time, Obamacare customers are being targeted as the enrollment for 2017 coverage under the Affordable Care Act has begun and despite the IRS's continued warnings to consumers about these tax scams and the penalties if people choose not have health insurance.
Read MoreIn recent years, the IRS’s delinquent collection rate has been abysmal. As the IRS’s performance continues to wane, the IRS just selected four private debt collection agencies to collect overdue tax debts that the IRS is not actively pursuing.[1] These agencies are:
Read MoreLast month, the IRS issued proposed regulations designed to close a tax loophole that has become indispensable to family owned businesses and their tax advisers.
Read MoreThings are shaking up at the IRS. As part of its efforts to reduce staffing by at least 8 percent, the 84,000-person agency plans on eliminating more than 7000 jobs associated with processing paper tax returns by 2024.
Read MoreAfter several House Republicans called for a vote to impeach Internal Revenue Service commissioner John Koskinen last week, a formal impeachment hearing before the House Judiciary Committee will begin on Wednesday.
Read MoreThe Securities and Exchange Commission’s recent astronomical $22 million award to a whistleblower[1] raises the question: will these awards continue to grow?
Read MoreIn June of 2015, IRS Commissioner John Koskinen told the Senate Finance Committee that 2.7 million taxpayers had their identities stolen, and pledged to make the tax filing system more secure by 2016.[1] Fast forward to August of 2016, also known as present day, and the problem has clearly been fixed.
Read MoreTax returns and return information have extensive privacy protection under federal law.[1] The Internal Revenue Code states that all returns are confidential and cannot be disclosed by government officials.
Read MoreFirst auditing Donald Trump, now investigating Hillary Clinton, it seems the IRS can’t help but get involved in this year’s presidential election.
Read MoreIf you were to ask someone a question, and they were to avoid answering it, how many times do you think you’d repeat yourself? Once more? Maybe twice more?
Read MoreIn a lengthy and unanimous ruling from the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, Judge David Sentelle scathingly wrote that as the IRS “cannot defend its discriminatory conduct on the merits.”
Read MoreCrypto, a.k.a. virtual, currency has been hailed as a very useful tool in the digital age. While it attracts skepticism in its sustainability as it exists only in cyberspace, is not backed by any government or bank, and its value fluctuates often, the use of virtual currency, such as Bitcoin, has gained enough popularity and use to be recognized and taxed by the Internal Revenue Service.
Read MoreThe night is dark and full of terrors. Well, this is true if by “night” George R. R. Martin meant filing your taxes. Back in February, when the IRS filing deadline was approaching for most peoples’ 2015 taxes and everyone was hard at work to avoid filing late, IRS scams were rampant, as was to be expected for the time.
Read MoreWhat would you do if someone stole your name? While some people may become enraged, I suspect the vast majority of people would not care. Indeed, for almost everyone in the world, there is already at least one other person alive with an identical name.
Read MoreAh, Independence Day. Just last week our nation celebrated its declaration of independence and the country that was borne from that historic decision, one of freedom, one of fairness, and one of justice.
Read MoreA recent Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals case emphasizes that taxpayers do not have an absolute right to access to government records. In practice, not only can the IRS choose which documents to disclose and potentially withhold some unless challenged.
Read MoreIf you are a tax preparer, what should you do right now to protect yourself from an IRS investigation later? First, retain electronic copies of your records; Second, train your employees concerning an IRS raid, and; Third, consider making changes to how you review a tax return with a taxpayer.
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