Tax Relief BlogEven when you’re really careful about filing your income tax returns, something’s always bound to go wrong when you least expect it. It’s not uncommon to find even the most discerning and meticulous individuals and businesses to find themselves searching for tax relief assistance to get themselves out of their tax problems. The key is to obtaining efficient debt settlement help so you don’t have to spend most of your time trying to talk the IRS into hearing your side.
Articles Posted in Tax Controversy
Tax Relief Second Opinion
Thinking of hiring a $5000 tax attorney?
HOLD IT.
If you do not qualify for an IRS Offer in Compromise, an attorney CANNOT help you.
CEO Personally Liable for Unremitted Taxes
CEO of Long Distance Phone Service Reseller Personally Liable for Unremitted Taxes (Brinskele, FedCl)
An individual who was the chairman, president and CEO (“the CEO”) of a company that resold long distance telephone service had to pay the IRS an assessed penalty plus interest. The term “markup,” in the context of the litigation, referred to the margin between the price at which the company purchased long distance minutes and the higher price at which it resold them. The assessed penalty amount represented the portion of the Code Sec. 4251 communications excise tax collected by the company from its customers on the markup.
In the court’s previous opinion (2006-2 USTC 70,261), it held that the company had an obligation to pay over to the IRS any monies it collected for long distance telephone service even if that service was improperly taxed. Here, the “overwhelming evidence,” indicated that the company did in fact collect the Code Sec. 4251 tax on the markup but failed to remit it to the IRS. Further, the CEO was a responsible person for purposes of Code Sec. 6672. In addition to being the company’s CEO, he was its founder, at times its controlling shareholder, and for a period of time signed many of its checks. Finally, the CEO acted willfully in failing to pay the Code Sec. 4251 tax to the IRS; therefore, he was personally liable for the unpaid taxes. He both knew of his obligations to remit the tax collected on the markup and showed a reckless disregard of the company’s tax responsibilities by failing to do so.
IRS May Mine Mortgage Data To Flush Out Tax Cheats
IRS May Mine Mortgage Data To Flush Out Tax Cheats
Source: Dow Jones
WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- The Internal Revenue Service might scrutinize mortgage interest data more closely to help catch tax cheats, after prompting from an IRS auditor.
IRS Urgent Letters and Notices
IRS Urgent Letters and Notices That YOU MUST ATTEND TO
IRS Audit & Examination Letters
Letter 525 – General 30 Day Letter
This letter accompanies a report giving you a computation of the proposed adjustments to your tax return. It informs you of the courses of action to take if you do not agree with the proposed adjustments. The letter explains that if you agree with the adjustment, you sign and return the agreement form. If you do not agree, you can submit a request for appeal/protest to the office/individual that sent you the letter. The letter or referenced publications explain how to file a protest. You need to file your protest within 30 days from the date of this letter in order to appeal the proposed adjustments with the Office of Appeals.
Tax Crack Down on CASH ECONOMY
Hawaii Cash Economy Enforcement Act of 2009
On June 18, 2009, Governor Linda Lingle signed Senate Bill 972 SD2, HD1, CD1 into law as Act 134, the “Cash Economy Enforcement Act of 2009.”
This Act provides the department with additional resources and tools to target high-risk, cash-based transactions to shore up confidence in Hawaii’s tax system. In this regard, this measure ensures that all sectors of Hawaii’s economy, including those prone to substantial underreporting, are paying their fair share of taxes.
This Act focuses on the civil collection and enforcement nature of Hawaii’s tax laws, by establishing the Special Enforcement Section, a group of tax officials charged with handling sensitive and high-risk civil tax cases as directed by the director. This Act also provides various enforcement tools, including the authority to issue monetary fines and cease and desist citations.
FL State Collection
Florida Department of Revenue Administrative Collection Processing Fee Beginning September 1, 2009
Effective May 30, 2009, a new law imposes a 10 percent administrative collection processing fee on any outstanding debt older than 90 days. The fee is equal to 10 percent of the total amount of tax, penalty, and interest owed, or $10 for each collection event, whichever is greater. A “collection event” is defined as any time a taxpayer fails to:
• Timely file a complete return.
IRS List of Interest
IRS Releases List of Transactions of Interest (Notice 2009-55)
The IRS has provided a list of transactions that have been identified by the Service as “transactions of interest.” The IRS will consider transactions similar to any of the transactions on the list to be transactions of interest for purposes of Code Secs. 6111, 6112, 6662A, 6707, 6707A and 6708, and Reg. §1.6011-4(b)(6).
One transaction of interest (initially identified in Notice 2007-72, 2007-2 CB 544) involves taxpayers who purchase a remainder interest or similar successor member interest directly or indirectly in real property and then transfer such interest to a tax-exempt organization, claiming a charitable contribution deduction significantly higher than the amount paid for the interest. The Treasury and the IRS are concerned that taxpayers may be utilizing the contribution of such successor member interests to generate an excessive deduction.
Construction Industry Tax Problems
Construction Industry Tax Issues
Accumulated Earnings Tax
Closely held C corporations are more likely to accumulate earnings and profits beyond the reasonable needs of the business in order to avoid income taxes on its shareholders than are large C corporations. Each accumulated earnings case is unique. No pro forma guide for calculating a taxpayer’s reasonable needs can be prepared. Reasonable needs that would usually be considered in any accumulated earnings case are the need for sufficient net liquid assets to pay reasonably anticipated, normal operating costs through one business cycle and sufficient net liquid assets to pay reasonably anticipated, extraordinary expenses and capital improvement financing.
In addition, the following represents a non-exclusive list of specific items that should be considered for construction contractors:
Enrolled Agent vs. Tax Attorney
Enrolled Agent vs. Tax Attorney / Tax Lawyer
Dealing with tax problems entails a good amount of hard work and stress, which is why it is not advisable to deal with such problems on your own. It requires that you have a fair understanding not only of the taxation process but also of how the IRS operates. Trying to gain such understanding is quite stressful in itself; much more is attempting to apply it to resolve your tax issues with the Internal Revenue Service and get tax relief. The sheer complexity involved in taxation and tax problems is what drives a lot of individual taxpayers and businessmen to approach a tax lawyer for assistance. While it is commendable that these people accept the need to seek assistance with their tax problems, they don’t always ask for help from the right tax relief professional. A tax attorney is not always the best person to seek assistance from when it comes to tax problems. Since it’s not a legal problem, but a tax problem, the IRS and State simply wants to know when your delinquent tax returns are going to be filed and when & how your taxes are going to be paid. What you need is a professional advocate who has the knowledge of the enforcement and collection procedures of the IRS, the State Franchise Tax Board and who has the specialized experience to effectively resolve these tax issues in your best interest.
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