TAXLITIGATOR Blog

Watch Out Crypto Exchanges and Hodlers! JONATHAN KALINSKI Quoted in Tax Notes Article

At a recent Stafford webinar on NFTs, Jonathan Kalinski of Hochman Salkin Toscher Perez PC advised practitioners to be cautious in their positions. Just because there is no law on a new cryptoasset question doesn’t mean that the IRS can’t argue that “you should have known better” down the road. Crypto audits are ramping up, […] Read More…

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John Who? The IRS’s Increasing Use of John Doe Summonses to Gather Data and Close the Tax Gap By: SANDRA BROWN

On July 28, 2021, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that it had obtained a Court Order authorizing summonses for records relating to U.S. Taxpayers who used Panama Offshore Service Providers (POLS) to hide assets and evade taxes.[i]   The issuance of these “John Doe” summonses will permit the IRS […] Read More…

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SAVE THE DATE – ABA – 38th Annual Institute on Criminal Tax Fraud – December 8-10, 2021

We are pleased to welcome everyone back to an in person meeting for the ABA 38th National Institute on Criminal Tax Fraud and Eleventh Civil Tax Controversy which will again take place in Las Vegas Nevada on December 8-10. We are all looking forward to getting together and continuing the long tradition of outstanding panelists and government […] Read More…

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JONATHAN KALINSKI to Speak at Upcoming Webinar on Tax Treatment of Non-Fungible Tokens: Applicable Tax Rules, Characterization Issues, Crypto Transactions

We are pleased to announce that Jonathan Kalinski along with Jordan Bass will be speaking at the upcoming Strafford webinar, “Tax Treatment of Non-Fungible Tokens: Applicable Tax Rules, Characterization Issues, Crypto Transactions” on Tuesday, August 10, 2021, 10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. (PST). This CLE/CPE webinar will provide tax counsel, accountants, and other advisers with […] Read More…

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SAVE THE DATE – UCLA – 37th Annual Tax Controversy Institute – October 21, 2021

We are pleased to welcome everyone back to an in person meeting for the 37th UCLA Extension Tax Controversy Institute which will be on held on October 21st, at the Beverly Hills Hotel in Beverly Hills, California. We have another great line up of esteemed panelists and government speakers who will presenting on a full […] Read More…

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Is there a Ray of Light in Willful FBAR Cases, or Am I Just a Cockeyed Optimist? by ROBERT S. HORWITZ

The Second Circuit recently joined the Fourth (United States v. Horowitz), Eleventh (United States v. Rum) and Federal Circuits (Norman v. United States) in holding that the 1987 regulation setting the maximum penalty for willful FBAR violations at $100,000 was invalid due to the 2004 statutory amendment that provides that Treasury may impose a maximum […] Read More…

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American Families Plan Tax Compliance Agenda By STEVE TOSCHER and SANDRA BROWN

American Families Plan Tax Compliance Agenda By STEVE TOSCHER and SANDRA BROWN

On May 20, 2021, the U.S. Treasury published a report entitled “The American Families Plan Tax Compliance Agenda.”[1]  The 22-page report reiterates previously-announced proposals by the Biden administration focused on increasing and improving tax compliance, including increasing information reporting by banks with respect to cryptocurrencies and additional financial transactions, and increasing the budget of the […] Read More…

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An LLC “Doing Business” in California by GARY MARKARIAN and ROBERT HORWITZ

At one point or another, you may have heard that California has an $800 per year tax for businesses in California. But what is this tax and to which business does it apply to? California has an annual franchise tax. Every corporation that: is incorporated under the laws of California; is qualified to transact intrastate […] Read More…

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MICHEL STEIN, ROBERT HORWITZ and JONATHAN KALINSKI to Speak at Upcoming Webinar on Partnership Examinations: What You Need To Know About New Partnership Rules

We are pleased to announce that Michel Stein, Robert Horwitz and Jonathan Kalinski will be speaking at the upcoming CalCPA webinar, “Partnership Examinations: What You Need to Know About New Partnership Rules” on Tuesday, July 27, 2021, 9:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. (PST). This webinar will cover practical considerations for partners and advisers to partnerships now operating under the new partnership […] Read More…

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DENNIS PEREZ AND MICHEL STEIN to Speak at Upcoming Webinar on Tax Practice and Procedures Update: Laws and Lessons Learned

We are pleased to announce that Dennis Perez and Michel Stein will be speaking at the upcoming CalCPA webinar, Tax Practice and Procedures Update: Laws and Lessons Learned” on Monday, July 28, 2021, 1:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. (PST). Dennis and Michel will be speaking on important practice and procedural issues facing practitioners, including IRS priorities and the new emphasis on […] Read More…

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Ninth Circuit Reverses Tax Court, Says Form Is More Important than Substance Where Congress Says So by ROBERT S. HORWITZ

It was refreshing to read a Ninth Circuit decision that states in its opening paragraph that “the Tax Court erred by invoking substance-over-form principles to effectively reverse that Congressional judgment and disallow what the statute plainly allowed.”  The decision is Mazzei v. Commissioner, 998 F.3d 1041 (9th Cir. 2021), rev’g 150 T.C. 138 (2018).  The […] Read More…

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The Long Arm of FBAR Enforcement and Collection by STEVEN TOSCHER, SANDRA BROWN and GARY MARKARIAN

Background Last year, our partner, Robert Horwitz, blogged about United States v. Schwarzbaum[1], and detailed Mr. Schwarzbaum’s willful failure to file FBARs for his Swiss and Costa Rican offshore bank accounts.[2] The Court in that case entered a judgment against Mr. Schwarzbaum of approximately $15.8 million in FBAR penalties, interest, and late-payment penalties. This blog […] Read More…

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