An attorney in Bucks County, Pennsylvania has been indicted on charges that he stole almost $2 million from a deceased client’s estate. Prosecutors charged attorney Randolph Scott, 70, with mail fraud, aggravated identity theft, tax evasion and failure to file tax returns. If convicted on all the charges, he faces a minimum of 2 years […]
Internal Audit Post: Oneida Tribe Pays Property Taxes – Twice
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 […]
FBAR Post – IRS Crackdown on Foreign Retirement Plans
Bloomberg reports the IRS is setting its sights on unreported foreign retirement plans. Most of the world is finally catching on that the IRS is serious about unreported offshore bank accounts. Many other countries are racing towards greater exchange of financial information and transparency too. Unfortunately, compliance remains very low when dealing with foreign retirement […]
Rules For Expatriation? How About An Exit Tax!
As taxes continue to climb, more and more Americans are getting fed up. While its common to hear people in taverns and lunch counters across the country threaten to simply give up their citizenship, record numbers are actually doing so! Renouncing one’s citizenship and leaving the country is called expatriation. Of course many people who […]
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, […]
"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 […]
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 […]
Captive Insurance Companies & Diversified Insurance Company
by Brian Mahany Captive Insurance Companies are certainly on the IRS’ radar screen these days. Yesterday, a colleague forwarded me a copy of a summons from the IRS to a New York attorney seeking information on the lawyer’s clients who had done business with Diversified Insurance Company. While getting a summons from the IRS is […]