John Doe summonses were issued at the end of 2014 on eight entities to produce records that will assist the IRS in identifying U.S. taxpayers who, from 2005 through 2013, used Sovereign’s services to establish, maintain, operate or control of any foreign financial account or other assets; any foreign corporation, company, trust, foundation or other legal entity; or any foreign or domestic financial account in the name of such foreign entity.
Misrepresentation or erroneous reporting of tax deductions can quickly lead to an IRS audit. A key component that the IRS will look at if an audit is triggered is the separation of business and personal expenses. Keeping thorough, organized, and accurate records is essential for a taxpayer to protect him or herself from additional and unnecessary tax expenditures.
On the heels of the 100,000 names that were leaked from HSBC, there are 4,183 clients that are United States citizens. With this list the Department of Justice could cross-match these names to the results of the John Doe Summons issued in December 2014(see John Does Order) to determine a list of United States taxpayers that may be evading tax.
The Department of Justice Tax Division has been investigating HSBC in Switzerland since 2010. With the recent Swiss Leaks (team of journalists from 45 countries) that unearthed secret bank accounts maintained for criminals, traffickers, tax dodgers, politicians and celebrities, the Swiss government took action by raiding the Geneva office.
The Tax Division of the Department of Justice is prosecuting U.S. taxpayers that fail to voluntarily come forward and take advantage of programs like OVDP and Streamline Filing.
Impersonating the IRS is not as uncommon as one might think. IRS impersonators are generally calculating, convincing, and overly informed regarding intimate information about their victims.
This year at the 85th Annual Academy Awards, the nominees received swag bags with an estimated fair market value of $168,000. As we celebrate the best of the best for their contributions to cinema in 2014, it should be noted that these swag bags will be taxable as income on the nominees 2015 individual tax return (1040).
The article below makes a great point in regards to the trigger events that begin the clock for the Assessment Statute Expiration Date (ASED), normally three years.
For taxpayers, the fact that the IRS merely collects on laws they often did not promulgate can be used as leverage when negotiating with IRS, as they may not be quite so committed to their stance as they would be if they had created the law they are enforcing. This article in Forbes discusses some key points to keep in mind when negotiating any sort of settlement with the IRS.
The article below brings reality to several myths floating around about FATCA. It highlights something very important to those individuals dealing with banks requesting a W-8 series or W-9 series form to be filled out by the taxpayer.
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