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Posted by Hochman Salkin Rettig Toscher & Perez, P.C. Posted on Tuesday, January 26, 2016

A recent opinion by the U.S. District Court in the Northern District of Georgia in Dileng v. Commissioner, 1:15-CV-1777-WSD (ND GA) (January 15, 2016), suggests a new era in international tax enforcement.  The opinion discusses the Internal Revenue Service’s (“IRS”) effort to collect Danish taxes pursuant to the Convention for the Avoidance of Double Taxation … Continue reading Uncle Sam Collects Danish Taxes-The World is Becoming a Smaller Place By Steven Toscher and Robert Horwitz

Posted by Hochman Salkin Rettig Toscher & Perez, P.C. Posted on Thursday, January 21, 2016

AGOSTINO & ASSOCIATES –To download a great article prepared by our very close friends at the Law Firm of Agostino & Associates in Hackensack, NJ ( www.agostinolaw.com ), see the Agostino & Associates January Newsletter – https://files.ctctcdn.com/f7d16a55201/11d1f7e4-92e8-45c9-bcf0-a1c696aa823a.pdf EVALUATING COLLECTION ALTERNATIVES: WHETHER TO FILE FOR BANKRUPTCY OR REQUEST AN OFFER IN COMPROMISE by By Frank Agostino, … Continue reading AGOSTINO & ASSOCIATES NEWSLETTER – EVALUATING COLLECTION ALTERNATIVES

Posted by Hochman Salkin Rettig Toscher & Perez, P.C. Posted on Friday, January 15, 2016

In most cases in which a person pleads guilty to a tax-related crime in federal district court, the U.S. Attorney’s Office will require him to agree that the district court can order the payment of restitution to the IRS for the years for which he pleads guilty plus any years constituting relevant conduct. Following conviction … Continue reading THE TAX COURT ISSUES A REMINDER THAT YOU CANNOT COMPROMISE CRIMINAL TAX RESTITUTION by Robert S. Horwitz

Posted by Hochman Salkin Rettig Toscher & Perez, P.C. Posted on Friday, January 01, 2016

The IRS recently gave unexpected Chanukah and Christmas presents to tax cheats and other assorted ne’er do wells. The present came from an unexpected source, Criminal Investigation (CI), in the form of CI’s 2015 Annual Report, released at the beginning of December, in time for holiday shopping. All you need to know about the current … Continue reading It’s the Holidays – Say “Thank you” to Santa IRS-CI. By Robert S. Horwitz

Posted by Hochman Salkin Rettig Toscher & Perez, P.C. Posted on Thursday, December 24, 2015

Section 2503(b) of the Internal Revenue Code provides the annual exclusion, which excludes from taxable gifts the first $10,000 (adjusted for inflation) of “present interest” gifts. The current annual exclusion amount is $14,000. Crummey v. Comm’r, 397 F.2d 82 (9th Cir. 1968) supplies the rule for present interest gifts in trust. In order to have … Continue reading No Contest Clause Did Not Defeat Annual Exclusion Gifts by Krista Hartwell

Posted by Hochman Salkin Rettig Toscher & Perez, P.C. Posted on Monday, December 21, 2015

Section 481 provides that where a taxpayer’s taxable income for a tax year is computed under a method of accounting different from that previously used, an adjustment will be made to prevent amounts from being duplicated or omitted solely by reason of the change in accounting method.[i]  Section 481 applies regardless of whether the change … Continue reading Section 481: What Is a Change in Accounting Method and What Is Not? by LACEY STRACHAN

Posted by Hochman Salkin Rettig Toscher & Perez, P.C. Posted on Monday, December 14, 2015

Thinking of vacationing outside the United States when you owe the IRS money?  Think again. Congress recently enacted Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (“FAST”) Act, which President Obama signed into law on December 4.  Section 32101 of the Act (which is almost 500 pages in length) adds sec. 7345 to the Internal Revenue Code.  It is … Continue reading If you don’t pay your taxes, you not be able to travel by ROBERT S. HORWITZ

Posted by Hochman Salkin Rettig Toscher & Perez, P.C. Posted on Tuesday, December 01, 2015

ABA 2015 National Institute on Criminal Tax Fraud and Tax Controversy, December 9-11, Encore Hotel, Las Vegas. We are closing in on a full house for the ABA 2015 National Institute on Criminal Tax Fraud and Tax Controversy, December 9-11, Encore Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada.  If you are interested in attending and have not yet … Continue reading National Institutes on Criminal Tax Fraud and Tax Controversy, December 9-11

Posted by Hochman Salkin Rettig Toscher & Perez, P.C. Posted on Monday, November 30, 2015

On November 23, 2015, the District Court for the Western District of Washington issued its decision in one of the most closely watched summons enforcement cases in recent years: United States v. Microsoft Corp., Case No. C15-00102-RSM.  The case drew attention not only because of the taxpayer involved, Microsoft Corporation, but also because Microsoft challenged … Continue reading MICROSOFT DECISION EMPHASIZES THE HEAVY BURDEN A TAXPAYER MUST BEAR TO DEFEAT ENFORCEMENT OF A SUMMONS by ROBERT S. HORWITZ

Posted by Hochman Salkin Rettig Toscher & Perez, P.C. Posted on Wednesday, November 25, 2015

In Dennis M. Powers v. Comm’r, TC Memo 2015-210, the Tax Court Granted the government’s motion for summary judgement against a pro se Taxpayer who petitioned the Tax Court to dispute the underlying liability set forth on a substitute return prepared by the IRS.  While the Taxpayer left the IRS and subsequent Court little choice … Continue reading Disputing the Underlying Liability in CDP Following a Substitute For Return (SFR) by CORY STIGILE

Posted by Hochman Salkin Rettig Toscher & Perez, P.C. Posted on Saturday, November 21, 2015

The failure of businesses to collect and pay to the IRS employee withholding taxes (income, and the employee portion of social security and Medicare) has been a major problem since the institution of withholding taxes. The tax does not get paid to the IRS.  At the same time, the employee is credited with having paid … Continue reading DOJ PUTS EMPLOYMENT WITHHOLDING TAX VIOLATIONS IN ITS CROSSHAIRS by Robert S. Horwitz

Posted by Hochman Salkin Rettig Toscher & Perez, P.C. Posted on Wednesday, November 18, 2015

A Federal District Court in Idaho recently held that the sole shareholder and president of a company that sold tractors was liable for federal income and social security taxes withheld from the wages of the employees finding that he was a responsible person despite having delegated his authority to a manager who embezzled funds and … Continue reading WITHHELD TAXES AND THE TRUST FUND RECOVERY PENALTY