You can put this post in the thick file labeled “why I favor small government and oppose high taxation.” F.A. Hayek tells us why socialism (i.e. central planning) inevitably leads to totalitarianism (emphasis is mine): Planning leads to dictatorship because dictatorship is the most effective instrument of coercion and, as such, essential if central planning on a large [...]
According to court records, Augustine C. Ofili, 54, was the owner of Augustine Insurance Agency in Bridgeport. From 2004 to 2007, Ofili underreported on his federal income tax returns the insurance commission income he received from his insurance business. Ofili also failed to report capital gainsfrom the sale of real estate in 2006 and 2007, and wrongly claimed real estate losses in 2007. As a result, for the 2004 through 2007 tax years, Ofili underpaid his taxes in the total amount of $47,964.
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Ofili is required to pay back taxes, as well as applicable penalties and interest.
A businessman in Naugatuck, Conn., was sentenced to two years of probation for underpaying his federal income taxes.
French v. Board of Education, ___F.3d___(2d Cir. Nov. 3, 2011), is an interesting IDEA case. The issue was whether the student was entitled to compensatory education. Compensatory education involves services past age 21 and it requires a gross IDEA violation….
My favorite IRS employee has started a blog. Paul Caron reports: National Taxpayer Advocate Nina Olson has started a blog: Welcome to the National Taxpayer Advocateâs blog about taxpayer rights and taxpayer burden. For starters, let me explain that I use the term âtaxpayer rightsâ here to mean not only statutory rights but also the [...]
In
2008 Florida was second in the U.S. in motorcycle accident fatalities with 527 tragic
deaths. This number is not decreasing.
In fact motorcyclist deaths have increased by 26.92% since last year. Is
it time to reform the laws that protect our motorcyclists and penalize the
drivers causing these very accidents?
A
bill is sitting in the Florida Senate that, if passed would make it a criminal
offense to seriously injure a motorcyclist. This bill is known as the Stiffer
Penalties Bill. The current action being used is“Florida’s Motor Vehicle
No-Fault Law”, this law places liability of an injured passenger, also known as
bodily injury, on the driver of the passenger car during an accident, but this
law does not apply to motorcycles. Instead, a passenger or motorcyclist injured
in a motorcycle accident who seeks to claim damages must meet one or more of
Florida’s“Verbal Threshold Requirements”.
In order to presently gain damages for your injuries resulting from a
Florida motorcycle accident, the injuries must include serious impairment of a
body function, permanent serious disfigurement, or death.
The
Stiffer Penalties Bill states causing serious bodily injury translates to a
second degree misdemeanor, which includes paying a fine, incarceration, and a
loss of license. If the negligence by
the automobile driver results in the death of a motorcyclist, this will
constitute a first-degree misdemeanor, a higher fine, and potentially more time
behind bars. This bill will not only provide extra protection for
motorcyclists, but also for other drivers, bicyclists, and even pedestrians.
“Failure
to yield” is the most common ticket issued to drivers who initiate an accident
with motorcyclists, which results in a $166 ticket. I personally believe this
amount is too low a penalty and is an inadequate measure to force automobile
operators use more caution to locate motorcycles on the road.“In this state
you pretty much kill someone for $166 and get away with it. Its murder,” said
SWFL ABATE Chapter President Wayne Cerra. At the very least, motorcyclists are
asking drivers to stop distracted driving, and maybe save a life.
As
a (Clearwater based) greater Tampa Bay area motorcycle injury attorney, I
cannot stress to you the importance of documenting the accident as well as your
injuries. If you are injured as a result of a motorcycle accident it is
imperative you seek immediate medical treatment to determine the extent of your
injury as well as to document all complaints. It is essential you call
law enforcement to properly document the circumstances surrounding the
accident. If possible, please try to talk to drivers and/or pedestrians
who may have witnessed the accident and take down their contact
information. Further, please retain all medical records and bills as well
as keep track of any out of pocket expenses.
Insurance
carriers often try to take advantage of bikers and label them as carless or
reckless.
As
a Tampa Bay personal injury law firm, we regularly represent the interests
of a motorcycle accident victim who has
been treated unfairly by an insurance company. Whether you are the
motorcycle rider or the driver, Dolman Law Group is committed to handling your
injury claim and advancing the case into litigation if the insurance carrier
refuses to evaluate the claim in a fair and prudent manner.
Dolman Law Group is a personal injury and
civil trial law firm based in Clearwater, Florida. Located in central Pinellas
County (ten minutes from St. Petersburg and fifteen minutes from Tampa), the
attorneys at Dolman Law Group represent only greater Tampa Bay area consumers
and never will or have ever represented an insurance carrier. We routinely
litigate personal injury claims relating to an auto accident or motorcycle
accident throughout the State of Florida and actively represent plaintiffs in
Pinellas, Hillsborough, Pasco, Manatee, Sarasota and Polk County. Dolman Law
Group serves the following cities; Clearwater, Tampa, St. Petersburg, St.
Petersburg Beach, Treasure Island, Madeira Beach, Reddington Beach, Largo,
Seminole, Pinellas Park, Palm Harbor, Safety Harbor, Dunedin, Ozona, Tarpon
Springs, Carrolwood, New Tampa, Oldsmar, Trinity, New Port Richey, Port Richey,
Bradenton and Sarasota.
Paul Caron reports that nearly 280,000 current and former federal workers are delinquent in their tax obligations: Over 279,000 federal workers and retirees owed more than $3.4 billion in back income taxes in 2010 (up from $3.3 billion in 2009, $3.0 billion in 2008, and $2.7 billion in 2007). The cabinet departments with the largest percentages of [...]
One of the first rules of debate is that you should endeavor to understand your opponent’s argument – both the strong and weak points – better than he does. The pro-tax left is, apparently, unaware of this rule. Count left-leaning economist Robert H. Frank among those who simply do not understand why many conservative Americans, the [...]
Ever wonder what the cost of First Grade is at a private school in NYC? Its pushing $40,000. Details are discussed in this Jan. 27, 2012 New York Times article. Now, does anyone seriously think this is reasonable? Mitchell H….
Matter of Cunningham v. NYS Dep’t of Labor, ___A.D.3d___(3d Dep’t. Nov. 23, 2011), is an important case. The issue in the case was whether the data from a GPS device placed in a public employer’s private car was admissible in…
Please bear with me on this one. If Warren Buffett really does pay taxes at a lower rate than his secretary does, it is a fairer result than if he paid taxes at a higher rate.¹ Here’s why: Warren Buffett employs his secretary. Debbie Bosanek employs no one Warren Buffett, directly and indirectly, employs hundreds of thousands of workers. Debbie [...]
Parenting is hard work and co-parenting is even more
work because you have the added layer of complexity of parenting from two
separate households. This does not mean
that co-parenting is impossible. There
are some common sense tips to making co-parenting easier for the parents and
the children.
1. Check your anger and keep your children’s
best interest number one. Breaking
up with your ex is a painful process that brings on anger and resentment
towards your ex. One of the most
damaging things you can do to your children is to ruin their relationship with
their mother/father because you are angry with your ex. Children need both parents even if their
parents are not meant to be together.
2. Learn to communicate with your ex. Communication is key to co-parenting
successfully. Life is unpredictable and
co-parenting is no exception. Events in
life will occur that will interfere with your usual routine of co-parenting and
emergencies arise. Being able to easily
communicate with your ex in order to find a reasonable solution will make it
much easier for you to co-parent and make it easier on the children. Communicate whatever way best for you and
your ex whether it be by telephone, text messages, or email. Just keep the lines of communication open.
3. Don’t disparage your ex to your children. Turning your children against their other
parent and damaging that important relationship does no good to your
children. Further, children are able to
recognize that this is happening the older they get and will come to resent you
for damaging the relationship. This is a
no-win strategy in co-parenting.
For your divorce or child custody consultation, contact
Atlanta Divorce Attorney, Shalamar J. Parham at 678-439-1482 /
www.atlantaattorneydivorce.com / PARHAM LAW FIRM, LLC
The IRS is issuing information to all taxpayers to stay on the lookout for fraudulent emails and correspondences claiming to be the IRS this tax season. Each year the IRS receives thousands of reports about suspicious calls, emails, faxes and notices claiming to be from the IRS. The goal of these fraudulent notices is an attempt to collect your personal information for identity theft or to take your money!
The IRS is sharing tips on how toavoid problems with these IRS cyber scams and internet phishing on their website. Youcan read some tips below:
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To learn more about IRS tax scams go to the Suspicious e-Mails and Identity Theft page on the IRS website. And remember, to keep yourself out of tax trouble make sure you use a certified tax relief professional to help with your filing needs this tax season.
A Dora, Ala., woman has been charged with tax fraud for her role at a medical clinic she managed and partly owned. Carol Twilley, 43, allegedly failed to account for and payto the IRS the federal income taxes withheld and Federal Insurance Contributions Act taxes due to the United States on behalf of Horse Creek Family Medicine Inc. and its employees from November 2004 to January 2006. She faces up to five years in prison on each of the six tax fraud counts.
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The IRS insists that its disclosure program is voluntary and that taxpayers won’t be treated in a negative fashion just because they opt out of the program. It is unclear whether IRS agents will be given more guidance in whether they can lower penalties for those who remain in the disclosure program. Some attorneys even reported stalling until more guidance is issued by the IRS commissioner.
The most current voluntary disclosure program comes at a time when the IRS is aggressively pursuing investigations into Swiss banks that it suspects are harboring bank accounts which facilitate U.S. tax evasion. New rules are also being drafted for overseas banks which will make it easier to determine whether U.S. persons have a financial interest in foreign accounts.
Source: Bloomberg, “IRS Called Easy on Criminal Tax Evaders in Watchdog’s Critique,” Jan. 17, 2012
In our last post we discussed new concerns being raised by Nina Olson, the National Taxpayer Advocate, regarding the IRS’ administration of the offshore disclosure initiatives. Olson says that she is concerned that taxpayers who unintentionally failed to disclose assets are being disproportionately punished while criminal tax evaders are receiving slaps on the wrist.
Attorneys say that they are worried about clients who signed up for the voluntary disclosure initiative only to find that it was unfavorable. Cases in which it may make sense for a taxpayer to opt out include situations where the taxpayer didn’t report income but also does not have a deficiency.
“The IRS is trying to coerce people,” one attorney said. “The problem with the opt-out is the taxpayer almost certainly faces an examination and certainly faces a skeptical IRS agent reviewing their file.”
On Jan. 27, 2012, the BLS released its annual set of statistics on unions. For those of us supportive of unions the news continues to not be good. Overall union membership declined to 11.8% from 11.9%. Public sector union membership…
In his post Lying About Tax Myths Professor Maule responds point by point to my recent post More Lies About Tax Lies. I have published Maule’s entire post below. After each of his assertions, I give my rebuttal. 1. Maule’s Assertion: Peter Pappas is at it again. My Rebuttal: I agree, I am at it again. “It” being the [...]
To characterize the filing of a Federal Disability Retirement application under FERS or CSRS, from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, in terms of the percentage chances of"winning" is a natural occurrence. While not strictly or metaphorically similar to a sports event, or a duel or challenge between two opponents, nevertheless, to obtain an approval is considered a"win" and to be denied throughout the entire administrative process is considered a"loss". Thus, attorneys also view their careers in such terms — of placing each case either in the"win" column, or its only polar opposite, the"loss" column. This is a competitive society; one in which most things are characterized in such a way, and to bemoan the reality of viewing it that way would be a waste of energy, time and focus. To win, then, is the ultimate goal (obviously), and therefore one must attempt to quantitatively increase one’s chances that the Federal or Postal employee will"win" a Federal Disability Retirement application under FERS or CSRS. Yet, the approach and methodology of too many Federal and Postal employees who prepare, formulate and compile his or her Federal Disability Retirement application, reflects the very opposite approach. To"win", as in every other competitive arena of life, requires preparation, planning and purposeful strategies. For a Federal Disability Retirement application, it requires proper and effective medical documentation; a narrative stated in"connecting the dots"; and a readiness to reply to the legal challenges which are likely to be forthcoming. If the Federal or Postal employee is going to characterize a Federal Disability Retirement application in terms of being a competitive activity, then it needs to be approached as such.
Sincerely, Robert R. McGill, Esquire
Parents of children and those with dependents should keep in mind the tax relief benefits and deductions available to them this tax season. The IRS has issued a brief reminder to all parents to keep these tax relief tips in mind as they file their 2011 taxes:
If you are a parent or have dependents you can take advantage of tax relief deductions by staying up to date on tax news. The IRS website at irs.gov is full of incredibly helpful tax tips and news to keep you out of IRS tax problems and away from back taxes.
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Now that tax season is here, many of us will be searching for tax filing advice to avoid headaches on tax day. I recommend bookmarking 10 common tax mistakes to avoid on CBS Money watch and following those tips carefully.
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Barack Obama’s State of theUnion address combined with the Mitt Romney tax returns reignited an ongoing debate this week about our current tax code and raising taxes on the wealthiest 2% in an effort to reduce our country’s overwhelming debt.  I enjoyed reading this recap on Forbes, Taxes and the State of the Union by  Kelly Phillips Erb.
Its Friday, and that means time for my weekly tax news round up. Here’s a look at some of the IRS and tax related stories that caughtmy eye this week.
Being audited by the IRS is no laughing matter and I want to help taxpayers avoid it whenever possible. I was very happy to be quoted in How to Avoid an IRS Audit in US News World and Report. I also shared my tips on avoiding an IRS Audit in the Big Biz Show Blog, 5 Tax Return âRed Flagsâ that Could Trigger an IRS Audit.
Lets begin with one of my favorite topics: Avoiding an IRS Audit.
Perhaps Washington needs to examine their own employees first. Â Â In the Washington Post article, Amid calls for tax fairness, government report shows federal workers owe $3.4B in back taxes, IRS data shows more than 279,000 federal employees (some of them working for the Senate and House of Representatives) collectively owe $3.4 billion in back income taxes as of Sept. 30, 2010. Hmmmmm.
There it is, my weekly round-up, I hope you will let me know which tax stories caught yourattention this week!
Shenita Nicole James, 33, of Montgomery, Ala., pleaded guilty to preparing and filing false and fraudulent federal income tax returns. James was employed as an office manager and income tax preparer at We Finance Auto Sales in Montgomery in 2008 and 2009. We Finance Auto Sales prepared income tax returns for individuals who could choose to use their tax refunds to purchase or make down payments for automobiles.
On or about Feb. 3, 2009, James prepared and filed an individual income tax return for an individual identified as J.W. for the calendar year 2008. James put on this fraudulent return that J.W. earned $13,444 in household help income, that J.W. was entitled to a first-time home buyer credit of $7,500, and that J.W. was entitled to an earned income credit in the amount of $4,824.
She faces up to three years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
This fraudulent return generated a refund to J.W. of $13,666. James filed this return despite the fact that she knew that J.W. did not earn that amount of household help income, was not entitled to a first-time home buyer credit, was not entitled to said earned income credit, and was not entitled to the refund in the claimed amount.
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