By Robert W. Wood, Contributor
For the IRS, the hits just keep on coming. The no longer obscure watchdog known as the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration has a new bestseller: Analysis of Executive Travel Within the Internal Revenue Service. Ever since the Tea Party scandal, this inspector’s reports are pretty important. …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Forbes Latest
By The Huffington Post News Editors
By Mark Felsenthal and Roberta Rampton
WASHINGTON, July 22 (Reuters) – President Barack Obama told supporters on Monday that he plans to focus his agenda clearly on the economic challenges of the middle class, a theme he will lay out in a speech on Wednesday and follow up with detailed proposals in the coming months.
“There is no more important question for this country than how do we create an economy in which everybody who works hard feels like they can get ahead?” Obama told a small group of donors to Organizing for Action, an advocacy group led by some of his former advisers.
“I’m excited about the speech – not because I think the speech is going to change any minds – but because it gives us an opportunity to refocus attention on the thing that the American people sent me to focus on,” he said.
The White House started heralding this week’s speech – in Galesburg, Illinois – with an email Sunday night from senior advisor Dan Pfeiffer saying he had “just finished reading” a draft and wanted to explain “why it’s one worth checking out.”
Obama has focused much of his energy in the first six months of his second term on an array of domestic and foreign issues. But on Monday, he told a gathering at a downtown Washington hotel that economic issues would now take priority over others, specifically mentioning gun violence and his plan to address climate change.
“So many of the issues that we care about are more likely to progress if people feel good about their own lives and their economic situation,” he said.
The White House has been buffeted recently by controversies over surveillance of citizens’ phone and Internet activity by U.S. intelligence agencies and Internal Revenue Service targeting of conservatives groups seeking tax-exempt status.
Obama and his advisers have been frustrated with the attention on what spokesman Jay Carney cast as “fake scandals” and want to take back the offensive. …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Huffington Post
WASHINGTON — The investigator who wrote a scathing report about the Internal Revenue Service targeting tea party groups says he is “disturbed” the agency withheld newly released documents showing progressive groups may also have been singled out for additional scrutiny.
IRS Inspector General J. Russell George told a congressional panel Thursday the IRS did not provide the documents to his office during a yearlong audit. George said he just received the documents last week.
George issued a report in May that said IRS agents in a Cincinnati office improperly singled out groups with “tea party” and other conservative labels for additional scrutiny when they applied for tax-exempt status during the 2010 and 2012 elections.
George’s report blamed ineffective management for allowing the practice to continue for more than 18 months, delaying hundreds of applications for more than a year.
Since the revelations were made public, three congressional committees and the Justice Department launched investigations and much of the top leadership was replaced, including the acting commissioner.
Read more at Official Wire. By Stephen Ohlemacher.
Rep. Darrell Issa likes to show visitors to his office a bullet-riddled body-armor plate that was manufactured in his district.
He holds up a new model that offers better protection for soldiers, but cautions that even the latest prototypes have limits.
“Ultimately, these things are not bulletproof,” Issa said as he examined a shield. “When you are getting riveted, you’ve got to get out of there. You don’t stand there like one of those movie stars, taking bullets in the chest forever.”
It’s a fitting metaphor for Issa, Republican chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, whose aggressive style of taking on government agencies, most recently the Internal Revenue Service, has drawn a barrage of hit pieces in the news media.
Read More at The Washington Examiner . By Susan Ferrechio.
By The Huffington Post News Editors
WASHINGTON, July 16 (Reuters) – The U.S. Internal Revenue Service said it was cancelling an agency shutdown that had been scheduled for Monday and required by federal budget cuts.
Internal cost-cutting efforts offset the need for IRS employees to take a mandatory furlough day on Monday, the IRS said in a statement on Tuesday.
In April, the IRS said its 90,000 employees would need to take five furlough days this year as part of across-the-board “sequester” budget cuts. The IRS has closed call centers and other taxpayer services on furlough days.
The sequester went into force on March 1 after President Barack Obama and Congress failed to agree to a deficit-cutting plan, requiring government agencies to cut spending by $85 billion for the rest of the fiscal year. (Reporting By Patrick Temple-West; Editing by Stacey Joyce)
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Huffington Post
A former Internal Revenue Service examiner was sentenced today to three years of probation for illegally disclosing information about an audit of Commerzbank AG and for seeking a job at the U.S. unit of that German bank even as he was still negotiating a $210 settlement with it over $1 billion in underreported income. U.S. Sentencing Commission Guidelines called for Dennis M. Lerner, 60, to get four to 10 months in prison. In a pre-sentencing memo, U.S. Attorney for Southern New York Preet Bharara had argued Lerner should get that prison time to “deter other similarly-situated public servants from engaging in similar behavior” and because his actions had “threatened to undermine the public’s trust in the IRS.” Before letting Lerner off with probation and a $10,000 fine, U.S. District Judge John Keenan told him, according to a Reuters report, that despite his Masters degree in taxation and intelligence he had shown ” the judgment that some teenager would.” …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Forbes Latest
A government watchdog has found for the first time that confidential tax records of several political candidates and campaign donors were improperly scrutinized by government officials, but the Justice Department has declined to prosecute any of the cases.
Its investigators also are probing two allegations that the Internal Revenue Service “targeted for audit candidates for public office,” the Treasury’s inspector general for tax administration, J. Russell George, has privately told Sen. Chuck Grassley.
In a written response to a request by Mr. Grassley, the ranking Republican on the Judiciary Committee, Mr. George said a review turned up four cases since 2006 in which unidentified government officials took part in “unauthorized access or disclosure of tax records of political donors or candidates,” including one case he described as “willful.” In four additional cases, Mr. George said, allegations of improper access of IRS records were not substantiated by the evidence.
Mr. Grassley has asked Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. to explain why the Justice Department chose not to prosecute any of the cases. The Iowa Republican told The Washington Times that the IRS “is required to act with neutrality and professionalism, not political bias.”
The investigation did not name the government officials who obtained the IRS records improperly, nor did it reveal the identities or political parties of the people whose tax records were compromised. By law, taxpayer records at the IRS are supposed to be confidential.
Read More at The Washington Times . By Dave Boyer and Ben Wolfgang.
By Kelly Phillips Erb, Contributor
Things just keep getting worse for the Internal Revenue Service. Last week, a House Appropriations subcommittee proposed to slash the tax agency’s budget by nearly 25% for the next fiscal year. The cuts would bring the agency’s budget to the lowest level in more than ten years. …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Forbes Latest
By Stephen J. Dunn, Contributor Over the years many taxpayers have come to me having been scammed by a tax resolution artist. The cases follow a similar pattern. Income tax is assessed which the taxpayer cannot currently pay. As a result, a tax lien arises against all of the taxpayer’s property, then owned or acquired in the ensuing period of the collection statute of limitations. A third party who buys the taxpayer’s property or lends money upon it without notice of the tax lien could have a higher priority than the taxing authority in the property as a “bona fide purchaser for value.” To protect the taxing authority’s interest in the property from such a claim, the taxing authority records notice of its tax lien in the register of deeds’ office of the county of the taxpayer’s residence. This effectively disables the taxpayer from selling or mortgaging an interest in real property. Usually the taxing authority is the Internal Revenue Service. Sometimes it is a state. …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Forbes Latest
By The Huffington Post News Editors
* Delay will give foreign banks more time to comply -Treasury
* FATCA law has drawn complaints from many foreign banks
* Agreements reached with UK, Switzerland, Germany other countries (Adds details of postponement, background)
By Patrick Temple-West
July 12 (Reuters) – The U.S. Treasury Department said on Friday it will postpone enforcement of a new law that cracks down on offshore tax avoidance by Americans by six months until July 1, 2014, giving foreign banks more time to determine how to comply.
The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, or FATCA, requires foreign banks and other institutions to supply information to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service about Americans’ offshore accounts worth more than $50,000.
The law, approved by Congress in 2010, stipulates that foreign financial institutions that fail to comply can effectively by frozen out of U.S. capital markets.
Since the law was passed, foreign banks and other businesses have complained about the costs of FATCA and its scope, saying in some cases that it conflicts with home-country banking laws that shield account holder information.
To help banks in countries with legal issues, Treasury and the IRS have been working on agreements that will let the home-country governments of foreign banks act as information-disclosing intermediaries to deal with the IRS.
“We are providing an additional six months to complete agreements with countries and jurisdictions across the globe,” said Robert Stack, Treasury deputy assistant secretary for international tax affairs, in a statement.
The United States has finalized intergovernmental agreements for FATCA compliance with Germany, Spain, Norway, Switzerland, Ireland, Mexico, Denmark and the United Kingdom. Dozens more of these pacts are in negotiation.
A new registration website for banks to sign up with the IRS and ensure they are complying with FATCA is now set to open on Aug. 19, Treasury said in its statement. The portal …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Huffington Post
By The Huffington Post News Editors
WASHINGTON — Rejecting the Medicaid expansion in the federal health care law could have unexpected consequences for states where Republican lawmakers remain steadfastly opposed to what they scorn as “Obamacare.”
It could mean exposing businesses to Internal Revenue Service penalties and leaving low-income citizens unable to afford coverage even as legal immigrants get financial aid for their premiums. For the poorest people, it could virtually guarantee that they will remain uninsured and dependent on the emergency room at local hospitals that already face federal cutbacks.
Read More…
More on Health Care
From: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/22/medicaid-expansion-rejection_n_3130702.html
Filed under: Health Care, U.S. Government, Barack Obama, Health Insurance, People
By RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR
WASHINGTON — Rejecting the Medicaid expansion in the federal health care law could have unexpected consequences for states where Republican lawmakers remain steadfastly opposed to what they scorn as “Obamacare.”
It could mean exposing businesses to Internal Revenue Service penalties and leaving low-income citizens unable to afford coverage even as legal immigrants get financial aid for their premiums. For the poorest people, it could virtually guarantee that they will remain uninsured and dependent on the emergency room at local hospitals that already face federal cutbacks.
Concern about such consequences helped forge a deal in Arkansas last week. The Republican-controlled Legislature endorsed a plan by Democratic Gov. Mike Beebe to accept additional Medicaid money under the federal law, but to use the new dollars to buy private insurance for eligible residents.
One of the main arguments for the private option was that it would help businesses avoid tax penalties.
The Obama administration hasn’t signed off on the Arkansas deal, and it’s unclear how many other states will use it as a model. But it reflects a pragmatic streak in American politics that’s still the exception in the polarized health care debate.
“The biggest lesson out of Arkansas is not so much the exact structure of what they are doing,” said Alan Weil, executive director of the nonpartisan National Academy for State Health Policy. “Part of it is just a message of creativity, that they can look at it and say, ‘How can we do this in a way that works for us?'”
About half the nearly 30 million uninsured people expected to gain coverage under President Barack Obama‘s health care overhaul would do so through Medicaid. Its expansion would cover low-income people making up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level, about $15,860 for an individual.
Middle-class people who don’t have coverage at their jobs will be able to purchase private insurance in new state markets, helped by new federal tax credits. The big push to sign up the uninsured starts this fall, and coverage takes effect Jan. 1.
As originally written, the Affordable Care Act required states to accept the Medicaid expansion as a condition of staying in the program. Last summer’s Supreme Court decision gave each state the right to decide. While that pleased many governors, it also created complications by opening the door to unintended consequences.
So far, 20 mostly blue states, plus the District of Columbia, have accepted the expansion.
Thirteen GOP-led states have declined. They say Medicaid already is too costly, and they don’t trust Washington to keep its promise of generous funding for
From: http://www.dailyfinance.com/2013/04/22/medicaid-expansion/
By Kelly Phillips Erb, Contributor
One week. That’s all it took. One week after Tax Day came and went, the Internal Revenue Service will send out furlough notices to its entire workforce. According to a press release from the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU), those notices will identify five days when the IRS will be shut down entirely – with another two possibly in the works.
Federal prosecutors say 24 current and former Internal Revenue Service employees have been charged with stealing government benefits.
From: http://feeds.foxnews.com/~r/foxnews/politics/~3/FvLI1j6oGF8/
Federal prosecutors say 24 current and former Internal Revenue Service employees have been charged with stealing government benefits.
The U.S. attorney’s office in Memphis said Wednesday that the employees were indicted on charges that they fraudulently received more than $250,000 in benefits including unemployment insurance payments, food stamps, welfare, and housing vouchers.
Prosecutors say 13 of the IRS employees face federal charges of lying about being unemployed while applying for or recertifying their government benefits. Eleven others face state charges of theft of property over $1,000.
U.S. Attorney Edward Stanton says the workers stole from American taxpayers.
Prosecutors canceled a news conference to announce the indictments. U.S. attorney’s office spokesman Rodney King says that was due to “unforeseen events.” He did not elaborate.
From: http://feeds.foxnews.com/~r/foxnews/national/~3/oNRg2jZecaE/
A truck stop company owned by the family of Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam and Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam says it is under criminal investigation after an FBI raid.
Jimmy Haslam, the CEO of Pilot Flying J, said Tuesday in Knoxville that the investigation appears to involve what he called a small number of trucking customers who were owed rebates that weren’t paid.
Jimmy Haslam, who owns the Cleveland Browns, says the company disputes that.
Bill Killian, the U.S. Attorney in Knoxville, told The Associated Press that four search warrants have been served on Pilot. He said the reasons for the warrants are sealed.
FBI and Internal Revenue Service agents locked down the Pilot Flying J headquarters Monday and ordered employees out of the building as they conducted their search.
From: http://feeds.foxnews.com/~r/foxnews/national/~3/r4QAkWjIecs/
By Wesseling, Chris After the FBI and Internal Revenue Service locked down the headquarters of Jimmy Haslam‘s company, the Cleveland Browns owner wants fans to it will be “business as usual” for his football team.
From: http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap1000000160301/article/jimmy-haslam-cleveland-browns-not-distracted
If tax economists ruled the world, April 15th would get a lot easier. The tax code would be simpler and the Internal Revenue Service would fill in much of your 1040 for you. But before you vote to fire your Congressman and put the geeks in charge, know this: your mortgage deduction would disappear, you’d pay sales tax on your tax prep bill and your energy bills would rise, thanks to a broad based carbon tax.
By The Huffington Post News Editors
WASHINGTON — Worried the Internal Revenue Service might target you for an audit? You probably should be if you own a small business in one of the wealthy suburbs of Los Angeles.
You might also be wary if you’re a small-business owner in one of dozens of communities near San Francisco, Houston, Atlanta or the District of Columbia.
Read More…
More on Tax Day 2013
From: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/15/tax-cheater_n_3083795.html
Filed under: Taxes, Audits, Income Tax, IRS
By STEPHEN OHLEMACHER
WASHINGTON (AP) – Worried the Internal Revenue Service might target you for an audit? You probably should be if you own a small business in one of the wealthy suburbs of Los Angeles.
You might also be wary if you’re a small-business owner in one of dozens of communities near San Francisco, Houston, Atlanta or the District of Columbia.
A new study by the National Taxpayer Advocate used confidential IRS data to show large clusters of potential tax cheats in these five metropolitan areas. The IRS uses the information to target taxpayers for audits.
The taxpayer advocate, Nina Olsen, runs an independent office within the IRS. She got access to the data as part of an effort to learn more about why some taxpayers are more likely to cheat than others.
The study also looked at tax compliance in different industries, and found that people who own construction companies or real estate rental firms may be more likely to fudge their taxes than business owners in other fields.
Many of the communities identified by the study are very wealthy, including Beverly Hills and Newport Beach in California. Others are more middle class, such as New Carrollton, Md., a Washington suburb, and College Park, Ga., home to a section of Atlanta’s massive airport.
Steve Rosansky, president and CEO of the Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce, said business owners in his city are probably targeted because many have high incomes. The likelihood of an audit does increase with income, according to IRS data.
“I imagine it’s just a matter of them going where they think the money’s at,” Rosansky said in an interview. “I guess if I was running the IRS I’d probably do the same thing.”
The study focused on small-business owners – sole proprietorships, to be specific – because they have more opportunity than the typical individual to cheat on their taxes. Many small businesses deal in cash while most individuals get paid in wages that are reported to the IRS.
The IRS only audits about 1 percent of tax returns each year, so the agency tries to pick returns that are most likely to yield additional tax money.
The IRS will not say much about how agents choose their targets. But as millions of procrastinators scramble to meet Monday’s deadline to file their taxes, the agency is running every tax return through a confidential computer program to determine the chances of collecting more money from an audit.
Each tax return is assigned a score. The higher your score, the more likely you are to get audited because, according to the IRS, the more likely you are cheating on your taxes.
The score is called the Discriminant Inventory Function, or DIF. A high DIF score does not guarantee you are a tax cheat but the
From: http://www.dailyfinance.com/2013/04/15/IRS-audits-south-west-tax-cheats/
