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 […]
Top Tax Scams – Are You On The IRS' Radar?
by Brian Mahany With just 2 weeks before taxes are due, the IRS has cranked up their publicity machine. Indictments, public service announcements and lots of information. One of the more interesting stories is the IRS “dirty dozen” tax scams. While identity theft occupies the number 1 spot again, several “scams” warrant special mention. Near […]
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 […]
Think No One Will Discover Your Offshore Account? Read This!
by Brian Mahany We are never surprised anymore when the feds announce a new wave of indictments against taxpayers with unreported accounts. Until 2008, the IRS didn’t look very hard and prosecutions were few. As the economy has soured, tax authorities around the world have become quite creative in finding new revenue streams. To enforce […]
Does The New FATCA Law Help Foreign Dictators?
by Brian Mahany Most of our posts are designed to help folks understand tax laws and to prevent people becoming victims of fraud. Although we often have strong opinions on tax policy, we try not to politicize this blog. Uncle Sam’s relentless pursuit of unreported foreign bank accounts and offshore income has generated many strong […]
Can I Sue an Accountant for Failing to Report My Offshore Accounts?
Accounting Malpractice Post The IRS Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Initiative (OVDI) and other foreign account amnesty programs are long over. Between the 2009 and 2011 tax amnesty programs, roughly 30,000 taxpayers have come forward and reported their offshore accounts. Most have paid severe penalties of 20 to 25% of the value of their offshore holdings. That […]
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 […]
America's Tax Gap – Who Is At Fault And What Should We Do About It
by Brian Mahany America’s tax gap – the difference between what the IRS collects and what it should collect. Estimates differ widely but everyone agrees that it is measured in the hundreds of billions of dollars annually. In the last comprehensive study, the IRS estimated it collects 84% of what is due each year. President […]
Tax Avoidance Schemes and Whistleblower Rewards
Hiding Money from Uncle Sam? Don’t! Every failed tax scheme started with folks who didn’t think they would get caught. And many of the people who end up in prison are pretty smart people. Doctors, lawyers, business executives and even billionaires. Each thought they had a foolproof idea. Many of those ideas involve tax avoidance […]
Allied Home Mortgage TERMINATED From HUD Program
[Ed. Note: When we first posted this article, the Justice Department’s investigation into Allied Home Mortgage and its owner, Jim Hodge, was well under way. A federal court in Houston would later sanction Allied Home Mortgage for over $300 million. That case was a whistleblower case and we are proud to have filed it. Because […]