Internet Tax Lawyers

YouTube: The IRS has its own YouTube channel that offers short, informative videos, (available in English and a variety of foreign languages) on several tax-related topics.

Twitter: Following @IRSnews can provide tweets on tax-related announcements, news for taxpayers and tax professionals and updates for those seeking employment.

IRS2GO: This mobile application (for the iPhone, iPod Touch and Android) was designed to make IRS interaction with the IRS easy by giving refund status and tax updates.

iTunes podcasts: The IRS has created short audio recordings (available on iTunes) that provide useful information onone tax-related topic per podcast. Transcripts of the podcasts are also available.

Facebook: Yes, the IRS has a Facebook page that provides the latest news and information.  Just “like” the page to receive recent updates.

Related posts:

1. How to Get IRS Tax Relief from Back Taxes or Unfiled Tax Returns
2. Do You Owe Back Taxes? Are Under Audit? Don’t Hide from the IRS Anymore, Get Tax Relief Now!
3. Tax Resolution Tip On Filing Your 2010 Returns

According to their latest announcement in the Meridian Patch article entitled IRS Stays in Touch With Twitter, YouTube, Apps, the IRS outlined these new IRS communication methods and briefly explained what each tax help platform offers.  IRS Commissioner Douglas Schulman acknowledges the Agency’s necessity to use new communication methods like social media to get information out.   “This new smart phone app reflects our commitment to modernizing the agency and engaging taxpayers where they want when they want it,” said Shulman. “As technology evolves and younger taxpayers get their information in new ways, we will keep innovating to make it easy for all taxpayers to access helpful information.”

Being able to get general information or updates on return status will be useful to those who don’t have any tax issues with the IRS. For those that do, the idea of dealing with a complicated, intimidating government entity can be overwhelming.If this is your situation, you are advised to contact a tax attorney or certified tax resolution specialist to resolve your IRS tax problems on your behalf to get you back in the game.

Most of us do everything online. From paying the mortgage to posting on Facebook, our lives are increasingly more apt to be managed by a computer or a mobile device. Socialmedia has become a major player in how we gather information and communicate; a fact that even IRS has become quite aware of. As a result of this ubiquity, the IRS recently began providing the latest tax information, new initiatives, products and services and IRS tax help to taxpayers through their favorite social media platforms.

Here are some of the new social media features:

Florida’s Rexall recalls vitamins over shellfish fears

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Do you want to be next?

In fact, all numbers released bythe government this year suggest the risk of getting caught cheating is up — way up. IRS audits are up. Tax liens are up. Investigations are up.

As you may know, the IRS has for several years targeted companies that help U.S. taxpayers conceal assets overseas. Those companies have included major credit card issuers and even Swiss bank HSBC, which in an unprecedented move provided customer account information to the IRS and U.S. Department of Justice.

The Internal Revenue Service is “turning up the pressure” on tax cheats.

The IRS’s aggressive moves are meant to bring in missing tax revenue, Shulman said. But there’s an added benefit. Tax cheats, whether hiding assets overseas or simply not declaring assets they have here in the United States, observe these aggressive enforcement actions and must solicit themselves: “Is it worth it?”

Information from the credit cardcompanies and the Swiss bank is now being used to investigate and prosecute tax cheats here in the United States.

“Indeed, we have been scouring the vast quantity of data we received from all of our different offshore programs and other sources,” Shulman said. “This data mining has already proved invaluable in supplementing and corroborating prior leads, as well as developing new leads, involving numerous banks, advisors and promoters from around the world. I can tell you that we now have additional cases and banks in our sights.”

“We have changed the risk calculus,” Shulman said. “Americans now understand that if they try to hide assets overseas, the chances of being caught will only continue to grow.”

Related posts:

1. Tax Cheater Warning: Odds Are Against You
2. IRS Tax Audits Catch Most Tax Cheats and Tax Cheats Most Often Face Prison Time
3. Tax Help News: IRS Continues To Zoom In on Tax Cheats in the Millionaire Category

Every week there are new cases of tax cheats going to jail.

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That is, is it worth cheating on your taxes?

The IRS will direct much of the pressure at taxpayers hiding assets and money overseas to avoid paying federal taxes.

• The government slapped former model Christie Brinkley with a $500,000 tax lien. Read more …

• An Arizona woman is going to jail for six and a half years for trying to evade $3 million in taxes. Read more …

• A lawyer in Michigan will spend two years in jail for diverting money from his law firm and not paying taxes.

The head of the Internal Revenue Service described how the tax-collecting agency will place more pressure on tax cheats and companies thatfacilitate cheating. It’s time for tax cheats to worry.

It’s no time to be cheating on your taxes. Take a look, for example, at three recent IRS successes:

Those were the exact words from IRS Commissioner Douglas H. Shulman when he spoke in December at the IRS/George Washington University 24th Annual Institute.

Source: IRS, “Don’t be Scammed by Cyber Criminals,” IRS TAX TIP 2012-08, January 12, 2012

It is important to remember that the IRS does not initiate contact to taxpayers through email to request financial or personal information. Any emails claiming to be from the IRS should be considered suspicious and forwarded to phishing@irs.gov. Remember notto reply to these emails, click on any links, or open any attachments.

The IRS recently warned of a wave of suspicious communications being made on its behalf. Apparently criminals are pretending to be the IRS and soliciting personal information to steal an individual’s identity. These schemes are known as “phishing” scams and result in millions of dollars in theft losses every year. Many of the criminals involved in these scams even use the IRS logo or names of officials to make their communications seem more authentic.

Being contacted by the IRS is a scary thing especially if you have done nothing wrong. Unfortunately, many taxpayers feel harassed by the IRS every year because they have fallen victim to identity theft. Identity theft is increasingly being used to file fraudulent returns which can result in an audit when a taxpayer files his or her legitimate return. It is important to have an experienced California tax attorney on your side to help you deal with the IRS and restore your good standing with the government.

Typically the IRS mails a letter or calls to contact a taxpayer. Letters or calls from the IRS usually mean that a taxpayer is under investigation and that it is time to call a tax attorney. If you receive a call and are unsure whether the person on the phone is a legitimate IRS employee then it is best to either contact your tax attorney or call the IRS directly at 1-800-829-1040 to determine whether the IRS actually contacted you.

On Jan. 17, 2012, here, the Supremes denied cert. in two widely watched student internet free speech cases. Education Week provides a short summary of these cases and states: The appeal in Blue Mountain School District v. Snyder (No. 11-502)…

While it may seem somewhat illogical, when someone who has suffered a
traumatic brain injury undergoes surgery, it could actually be a
positive development.  That’s because there are many traumatic brain
injuries that are inoperable because the harm was inflicted on a portion
of the brain that cannot be reached by surgeons.  However, these
surgeries are not only risky but also extremely expensive, and many
people may not be able to afford them even if they have health
insurance.

Anyone who has been forced into this difficult position because of
the faulty actions of someone else needs to take steps to attempt to
recover the costs that are incurred as a result of the harm that was
done.  If this includes you or someone you love, contact theSan Diego traumatic brain injury lawyersatMitchell | Gilleontoday to schedule a free initial consultation.

Surgeries

Whether someone who has suffered a traumatic brain injury undergoes
surgery or not, that person will likely need an extended hospital stay. 
These hospital stays can and do add up in terms of costs very quickly,
and they often rise to the point where someone would be unable to pay
the costs of them even with top-level health insurance coverage.  Some
who suffer a traumatic brain injury remain in the hospital for months.

Hospital Stays

Therefore, when a person suffers a traumatic brain injury because of
the negligence, recklessness or the intentional conduct of someone else,
that person needs to seek the help ofexperienced San Diego traumatic brain injury lawyers
as soon as possible.  There are many reasons for this need, and below
are just a few examples of the possible ongoing medical needs that could
be encountered by someone who has suffered this type of an injury.

Rehabilitation

During and after an extended hospital stay, a person who has suffered atraumatic brain injury
will likely need rehabilitation that could be physical or mental in
nature.  These types of rehabilitation help a patient regain motor and
mental functions that may have been damaged or lost altogether in an
accident.

Contact San Diego Traumatic Brain Injury Lawyers

When someone suffers a traumatic brain injury, that person faces a
long and difficult road to recovery, if a full recovery is even
possible.  Many times, people who suffer this type of injury can only
work and fight towards recovering as much of their mental and physical
capabilities as possible.

Continue reading”San Diego Traumatic Brain Injury Lawyers and Possible Medical Needs”

In a 2007 blog post appearing in The American Stephen Moore reported that the top one percent of American income earners pay 37% of the federal income tax: The latest data show that a big portion of the federal income tax burden is shoul­dered by a small group of the very richest Americans. The wealthiest 1 percent of the population earn 19 [...]

Reuters reports that three explosive devices blew up outside the Naples offices of Equitalia, a state agency that collects overdue taxes and fines, breaking windows but injuring no one on Monday night, a police official told Reuters: Police said no group had claimed responsibility for the attack on the building on Corso Meridionale near Naples central [...]

Let’s look deeper into who these non-compliant taxpayers are; typically wealthy Americans hiding overseas assets and the self- employed, and you’ll see why the IRS is currently laser focused on exposing them into coming forward. Tax Cheats beware: you are going to need IRS tax relief to win this one.

If you are one of the Americans facing the IRS and under-reported income, at this stage,you are wise to hire a tax attorney or certified tax resolution specialist to help you understand IRS enforcement practices and to inform you of options for an IRS tax settlement.

Related posts:

1. Your Unfiled Delinquent Tax Return Checklist: Stop the IRS Now and Avoid Steep Interest and Penalties from Accumulating
2. Tax Help News: IRS Enforcement to Get Priority, Big Bucks in 2010
3. Do You Owe Back Taxes? Are Under Audit? Don’t Hide from the IRS Anymore, Get Tax Relief Now!

With amounts subject to little or no IRS information reporting, they showed a 56 percent net misreporting rate in 2006. This under reporting of taxes becomes a major contributing factor to the tax gap; the difference between the amount of taxes reported and the amount of taxes the government actually collects. If you are a small business owner with IRS tax problems or have yet to report your offshore accounts to the IRS, know that it won’t take long before the IRS is knocking on your door to collect from you. It’s best to know your options.

A Forbes article called New IRS Tax Gap Report: Cheating Still Rampant shows taxpayers have an 83.1% compliance rate. That means that the 17% of American taxpayers who are under-reporting their taxes are contributing more to widening the tax gap, and as a result, will face the wrath of the IRS (and their stepped up, often aggressive collection efforts!).

A sluggish economy has the IRS looking to find revenue where it can,often from those it may not have focused on before. This narrowed approach goes after the people and the practices that could cause severe IRS tax issues, been lax about regulations and non-compliance, and who in the past, have gone unchecked and allowed to flourish.

The IRS just released a study showing a rise of under-reporting by American taxpayers to the tune of $450 billion dollars in 2006; that’s up $105 billion from the last IRS study that was conducted in 2001.

• Unscrupulous tax return preparers: A continued crack down on unscrupulous tax return preparers and by registering all paid return preparers.
• Cost basis reporting for stock brokers and mutual fund companies: Brokerage firms will be required to report costs basis information on stocks and mutual funds to investors and the IRS, and will make incorrect reporting much harder if not impossible to do.
• New merchant card reporting requirements: Helps IRS to spot businesses that are either underreporting receipts or not reporting at all.
• U.S. individuals with financial accounts overseas: Continued monitoring will help the IRS keep raps on offshoretax avoidance and bring American citizens overseas into FBAR compliance.

For non-compliance issues, the IRS will focus on the following areas:

According to this recent study, overall compliance is highest amongst regular wage earners who are beholden to third-party information reporting and/or withholding to the IRS on W-2 forms. As a result, the IRS reports a net of only 1 percent of wage and salary income was misreported.

For more information on the 2012 Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program or for more tax related legal concerns, contact Horowitz & Weinstein.

The IRS has announced the 2012 Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program for Foreign Accounts, Foreign Bank Accounts and FBAR filings.  The 2012 follows the pattern set by the 2009 IRS Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program and the 2011 Foreign Bank Account Voluntary Disclosure Programs.  The voluntary disclosure programs include reduction of penalties related to foreign accounts and assets but each new program has featured less of a reduction.  The 2012 OVDP uniquely does not have a deadline, but the IRS has reserved the right to increase penalties and change any other  terms of theprogram at any time.  Since 2009 the trend has been for terms to become less favorable.  The penalties have increased with each new offshore disclosure program, though they remain far less than what a taxpayer would face without the program.  Therefore it behooves the taxpayer to enter theprogram as quickly as possible so that they receive the most favorable terms.

Disclaimer.

In addition, Messa& Associates is proud to be a part of
community service efforts in the communities where our clients work and
live.  Recently, our attorneys and staff partnered with the Salvation
Army’s Angel Tree program as well as Toys for Tots to make the holiday
wishes of local families come true.  We also donate to various other
organizations throughout the year.

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”– Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Today we celebrate the life and
beliefs of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  In the spirit of justice and
service, values upon which Dr. King based his messages and life’s work,
our attorneys and staff continue to make every effort to impact the
lives of others.

Our firm is committed to representing everyday people who have been
injured to ensure they get the resolution they deserve.  We have
gainedverdicts and settlementsin catastrophicpersonal injurycases resulting frommedical malpractice,products liability,construction and workplace injuries,birth injuries,brain injuriesandvehicular accidents, includingairplanes,trucks,trainsand cars.  Our clients know when they call us; they can expect justice to be served.

ThePhiladelphia personal injury lawyersat
Messa& Associates are dedicated to seeking justice for our
clients, and serving our local communities.  If you have a personal
injury case resulting in serious, catastrophic injury you would like to
discuss or a community sponsorship you would like to tell us about,
please contact our offices at 1-877-MessaLaw orwww.messalaw.com.

Continue reading”Messa& Associates Encouraged by the Message of Dr. King”

Source: T.C. Memo. 2012-4, “Michael S. Oros v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue,” Docket No. 19400-009, Jan. 5, 2012

And although other employment doesn’t preclude the deduction of expenses associated with being an author, the fact that the taxpayer was a full-time employee and failed to write any books caused the court to determinethat the taxpayer did not show “some intent or effect on his part to engage in and continue in the writing field with substantial regularity and with the purpose of producing income and a livelihood.”

A related problem is that the taxpayer did not have the necessary receipts or documentationto support his deductions.

The problem that the taxpayer in the tax court case ran into is that he did not present evidence of “continuous or repeated activity as an author.” The tax court case was decided last week, nearly five years after the taxpayer’strip, and the taxpayer failed to author any books at all during this time.

1. Whether the taxpayer claiming business losses undertook the activity intending to earn a profit.
2. Whether the taxpayer is regularly and actively involved in the activity.
3. Whether the taxpayer’s activity has actually commenced.

business.” In the context of business expenses, one of the crucial questions that arises is whether a taxpayer is engaged in a tradeor business. This is determined by a three-part test which consists of the following questions:

Taxpayers are entitled to deduct all of the “ordinary and necessary business expenses paid or incurred during the taxable year in carrying on a trade or

We also discussed a recent tax court case that involved an author who claimed $19,140 in businesses losses associated with his worldwide trip that was taken to gather material for a book. The IRS disallowed the expenses and stated that the would-be author really had hobby losses, not business expenses.

The taxpayer was able to escape paying an accuracy-related penalty however because his decision to deduct the trip expenses was made on the advice of an experienced tax professional.

Last week we discussed the fact that sometimes business expenses are characterized as hobby losses by the IRS. The line between business expenses and hobby losses is sometimes thin,especially in the context of new businesses.

Lancaster Symphony Orchestra, 357 NLRB No. 152 (Dec. 23, 2011), is an interesting case. I bring it to your attention because the Board extensively analyzes the distinction between independent contractor and employee, holding that the petitioned for musicians were indeed…

Two pro-business groups, including the National Right To Work Foundation, are challenging President Obama’s recess appointments to the NLRB. As can be expected, Obama’s Justice Department issued a formal opinion which concluded that such appointments were appropriate. A copy of…

by: Roy J. Smith, IV, The Smith Family Law Firm, P.A., 815 Orienta Ave., Suite 2050, Altamonte Springs, FL, 32701. phone 407 790 4800, www.LessStressDivorce.com

RMC, Grandmother v. D.C. Father (January 6, 2012)  1^st DCA

RECUSAL OF JUDGE : BLANKET MOTIONS :

After trial court judge in adoption proceeding made assertions regarding Petitioner’s counsel going to the media, counsel moved to recuse the judge in the instant case and several other cases (in separate motions alleging the same facts).  Trial court entered three more orders in the adoption case, then recused himself from the adoption case but denied the motions to recuse in the other case.

On appeal, First DCA denied petitioner’s request for writ of prohibition to quash the three orders entered prior to recusal as“[p]rohibition is a preventative, rather than corrective remedy; it acts only to prevent the commission of an act, and is not an appropriate remedy to revoke an order already issued.”

The denial of the other motions to recuse were also upheld as“[a]lthough petitioner’s attorneys deny filing a blanket motion for recusal, that is in effect what has been done by filing a motion to recuse in every single pending case in which the trial judge is presiding and the attorneys are counsel of record.”

BAUDANZA v. BAUDANZA (January 11, 2012) 4^th DCA

SUBJECT MATTER JURISDICTION : ADOPTION : CONTINUING RIGHTS

An interesting case from a factual standpoint regarding the parties’ attempts to maintain a right to see children on one side and the right to acquire child support payments on the other side even after parental rights are terminated through adoption.  Unfortunately, a discussion of the merits of the interesting portions of the case are not at issue in this opinion.  The opinion merely finds that subject matter is still with the Circuit Court as opposed to adoption case where post-judgment agreement was adopted by circuit court which retained jurisdiction and adoption court subsequently entered adoption order but retained no further jurisdiction as to the issues.

ROSS v. ROSS (January 11, 2012) 4^th DCA

JUDGE DISQUALIFICATION : EXCEPTIONS

In this matter, trial judge granted husband’s motion to recuse.  However, the judge  then held a telephone conference with the parties and directed the husband to submit his objections to a previously provided proposed order.  While a recused judge is prohibited from taking any action in a case once disqualified, there is an exception wherein a judge can still reduce to writing a previously provided oral ruling.  However, any substantive change in the ruling would not be a ministerial act.  In this case, the actions of the trial judge were inappropriate as considering objections to a proposed order would go beyond the realm of the court reducing its prior oral order to written form.

KHAN v. KHAN (January 11, 2012) 4^th DCA

MSA LANGUAGE OF NO TEMPORARY ALIMONY DURING SECOND DIVORCE VIOLATES PUBLIC POLICY

Case continued the long standing position that an agreement of the parties that waives or limits the right to request temporary support and attorney’s fees to a spouse in need in a pending dissolution action is a violation of public policy.  This case is distinguishable as it dealt with a prior Marital Settlement Agreement which had such an agreement and the parties remarried (and were seeking divorce again).  However, the result was the same…it still violates public policy.

And while it was during the break, we wanted to direct you to an important case handled by a friend of the firm, Robert A. Segal of Melbourne, Florida.

TMH v. DMT (December 23, 2011) 5^th DCA

In this case of first impression, the parties were a lesbian couple who had a child from an egg donated by one (the biological mother)  to be carried to birth by the other (the birth mother).  The issue is whether both shared parental rights and responsibilities regarding the child.  The child was born in 2004.  However, when the couple’s relationship fell apart and the birth mother moved to Australia with the child.  The biological mother ultimately served the birth mother with the lawsuit.  The trial court entered summary judgment against the biological mother but stated to the birth mother,“[i]f you appeal this, I hope I’m wrong.”

The Fifth DCA found that the trial court was indeed incorrect and found that both had parental rights and responsibilities.  However, the following question has been certified to The Florida Supreme Court as one of great public importance:

Does application of section 742.14 deprive parental rights to a lesbian woman who provided her ova to her lesbian partner so both women could have a child to raise together as equal parental partners and who did parent the child for several years after its birth render the statute unconstitutional under the Equal Protection and Privacy clauses of the Federal and State Constitutions?

A Gilbert, Ariz., woman was sentenced to 78 months in prison for evading more than $3 million in taxes on income earned from real estate commissions and land sales.

“The defendant went to great lengths to avoid paying more than $3 million in taxes, including lying to IRS employees and attending offshore seminars to conceal assets,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Ann Birmingham Scheel.  “At her sentencing, she was promptly taken into custody and now will face the consequences of her actions.”

Sue J. Taylor, 67, was found guilty by a federal jury on April 28, 2011, of four felony counts of tax evasion and four misdemeanor counts of willful failure to file tax returns. Taylor was taken into custody at the conclusion of the hearing and will begin serving her sentence.   

Related posts:

1. Classic Case of Tax Evasion: Under Reporting Income Gets Florida Man 51 Months in Prison

Evidence at trial showed that Taylor began filing false income tax returns in 1997, and later simply failed to file any income tax returns or report any income earned through her real estate brokerage, National Landbank. She also affirmatively concealed information from the IRS by hiding her income and assets in numerous fictitious business entities; lying to IRS employees; and structuring her financial transactions to avoid bank reporting requirements. Taylor previously served more than two years in prison for contempt of court in a separate civil case for refusingto produce records to the IRS.

Matter of McNeil v Commissioner of Labor, ____A.D.3d____(3d Dep’t Nov. 17, 2011). As the court states: An employee’s failure to abide by an employer’s established policy can constitute disqualifying misconduct, particularly when it has a detrimental effect on the employer’s…