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. […]
Bad Tax Policy – California's Retroactive Tax Levy
We represent many businesses – everything from local “mom and pops” to a Fortune 150 company. What is the single biggest problem facing such a diverse group of business taxpayers? Bad tax policy; especially the lack of predictability and consistency. If you ask the general public what’s wrong with the tax system you are likely […]
Tax Evasion Update – HSBC Whistleblower In High Demand
Twice before we wrote about Herve Falciani, a former computer specialist for HSBC bank in Switzerland. Falciani is a fugitive from Swiss authorities but welcomed in other European countries. Why? Because he allegedly stole the names of 130,000 client names from his former employer; names that are probably responsible for billions in unreported foreign accounts and […]
C Corp, S Corp, LLC… REIT?
[Update: Did you lose money in a non-traded REIT investment? Visit our REIT fraud page to learn how to recover your losses.] Real Estate Investment Trusts (REIT for short) are the newest way some companies are seeking to avoid corporate income tax. According to a story published on June 8th in the Wall Street Journal, […]
300 Swiss Banks Debating Settlement WIth The IRS? (FBAR Post)
[With a July 2019 update] According to a wire story from Reuters, the Swiss government is considering a global settlement on behalf of hundreds of Swiss banks. Although the details of the settlement discussions were not revealed, U.S. Justice Department officials and the IRS are not likely to agree on any settlement absent full disclosures […]
Charges Against US Lawyer Proceeding – Red Flag For CPAs and Lawyers That Have Clients With Offshore Accounts
[Updated 2021] Previously we reported on California attorney Christopher Rusch after he was indicted and arrested for helping two clients establish unreported foreign accounts. Rusch initially denied the charges but court documents released this month suggest he may have cut a plea deal with prosecutors. The case is being closely watched by those with unreported […]
Battle of the Titans
by Brian Mahany We hear of many people making claims against their tax preparers for not properly advising them of their foreign account reporting requirements. Lately some taxpayers are suing Swiss banks for allegedly providing them bad advise – like, “don’t worry you won’t get caught.” Now in what may be the ultimate lawsuit, billionaire […]
Another Can’t Lose Strategy Hits The Market
by Brian Mahany It seems that more and more we are reporting on companies offering “bulletproof” asset protection products. Moving your assets offshore might beneficial for some but thinking that you can purchase complete protection from all creditors “for just one easy payment of $995” is crazy. We chuckled this morning when we received an […]
Feds Target CPA’s, Lawyers – IRS Whistleblower Post
[Post updated March 2021] When this post was written ten years earlier, the Justice Department had just convicted the former chairman of prominent CPA firm BDO Seidman as well as two attorneys from Jenkens and Gilchrist. The three were convicted for for their role in a massive scheme to promote abusive tax shelters. The government […]
IRS Pays CPA $4.5 Million For "Throwing Client Under The Bus"
For many people, that headline is probably quite disturbing. The IRS paid an in-house corporate accountant $4.5 million for turning in his or her own employer over an unreported tax debt. To add insult to the injury, the accountant’s identity is protected under the whistleblower rules. No one likes tax cheats but many folks are […]