The Oneida Tribe of Indians is a sovereign tribal government occupying 102 square miles of land near Green Bay, Wisconsin. Like most federally recognized tribes, The Oneidas are exempt from local property taxes. A recent internal audit stemming from the tribe’s housing authority revealed the tribal government had improperly paid county property taxes for years. […]
"Check The Box" Won’t Work For Foreign Financial Institutions – FATCA Compliance
by Brian Mahany I vividly remember a job application for a summer job at an oil refinery many years ago. One of the questions was, “Are you addicted to or take illegal narcotics?” You don’t have to be the brightest to work in a refinery but they didn’t clearly were concerned about stoners working around […]
Captive Insurance Scams
by Brian Mahany It didn’t take long. On July 18th we wrote about the new IRS audit push on captive insurance companies. Unless very carefully crafted, the IRS considers most to be abusive tax shelters. This means big penalties if you misuse one to avoid taxes. Unfortunately, the captive insurance market has attracted its fair […]
"Rat Thy Neighbor" Goes Mainstream
by Brian Mahany The headline on the front page of the Weekend Investor section of today’s Wall Street Journal reads “Should You Blow the Whistle on Your Neighbor?” Apparently some 10,000 people have done just that according to the IRS. Turning in tax cheats in the hopes of getting a cash reward is nothing new. […]
Islamic Banks Next Target of IRS? (IRS Whistleblower Rewards Post)
[Arabis translation below – الترجمة العربية أدناه] Beginning in 2007, the IRS began cracking down on Americans and other U.S. taxpayers with unreported foreign accounts. Owning an offshore account isn’t illegal but failing to report the account is. First, Swiss banks began to be the targets. The government accused UBS and several other Swiss banks […]
Uncle Sam Goes After Another Welfare Benefit Plan Scheme
by Brian Mahany The IRS and U.S. Department Justice Department have a special relationship with welfare benefit plan promoters and the brokers and insurance agents that sell them. They hate them. For over a decade, the IRS has declared that many welfare benefit plans are fraudulent and abusive tax shelters. Many of the promoters are […]