TAXLITIGATOR Blog

Financial Status Audit Techniques: Part Two – The Source and Application of Funds Method by Cory Stigile

This is the second of a six part series devoted to utilization of various indirect methods of determining the income of a taxpayer. Financial Status Audit Techniques. There are various audit and investigative techniques available to corroborate or refute a taxpayer’s claim about their business operations or nature of doing business. Audit or investigative techniques for […] Read More…

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Another FBAR Willfulness Decision Favors the Government-So What Are the Courts Missing? by Robert S. Horwitz

It seems like discussions of burden of proof and the definition of “willful” in FBAR cases are getting to be as routine as discussions of what it means to be a “responsible person” and to act “willfully” for the trust fund recovery penalty under Internal Revenue Code sec. 6672.  And the courts have so far […] Read More…

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Financial Status Audit Techniques: Part One – Audits of Cash Intensive Businesses by Cory Stigile

This is the first of a six part series devoted to sensitive issue examinations of cash intensive businesses. In these situations, examiners frequently utilize various indirect methods of determining the income of a taxpayer. Financial Status Audit Techniques (FSAT). FAST’s include various audit and investigative techniques available to corroborate or refute a taxpayer’s claim about their […] Read More…

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Use of a Kovel Accountant in Indirect Method Audits by Cory Stigile

In civil tax audits that include potentially sensitive issues, counsel will often engage a team of representatives, including a forensic accountant. Engagement of the accountant by counsel should be carefully designed to extend the attorney-client privilege to communications with the accountant pursuant to the engagement by counsel. The Kovel Accountant. Although Code Section 7525 extends common law protections […] Read More…

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Court Holds FBAR Penalty Over $100,000 Is Illegal by Robert S. Horwitz

Section 5321(a)(5)(A) provides that the Secretary of Treasury “may impose a civil money penalty” on anyone who violates the FBAR reporting requirements.  Originally, the penalty for willful violation was the greater of the amount in the account (not to exceed $100,000) or $25,000. In 2004, Congress amended the FBAR penalty provision to increase the maximum willful […] Read More…

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The New Section 162(q) of the 2017 Tax Cuts & Jobs Act: The Price of Confidentiality in Sexual Harassment Cases, #NoDeduction by Sandra R. Brown

In the wake of numerous allegations of sexual assault and sexual harassment involving well-known entertainment and media notables such as producer Harvey Weinstein, actors Kevin Spacey and James Franco, NBC News anchor Matt Lauer, CBS News host and journalist Charlie Rose, and Hip Hop mogul and producer Russell Simmons, just to name a few, the […] Read More…

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International Penalties Beware of Modified Form 872, Consent to Extend Time to Assess By EDWARD M. ROBBINS, Jr.

Beware: some IRS Agents are modifying Form 872 (Consent to Extend the Time to Assess Tax) to include additional language for international penalties and blown statutes.  Although, the forms appears to be the standard preapproved Form 872, reflecting “last revised in July of 2014” or “last revised January 2018”, the altered form contains an additional […] Read More…

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Whistleblower Developments from the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 by Cory Stigile

The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 (“BBA”) President Trump signed into law on February 9, 2018 contains two provisions that clarify and expand whistleblower rights for certain taxpayers. First, Congress broadened the definition of “collected proceeds” for tax whistleblowers under IRC Section 7623(b) to include criminal fines and civil forfeitures.  This definition is relevant for […] Read More…

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STRAFFORD SEMINAR Presented by Steven Toscher and Michel R. Stein: Tax Law 2018: New Challenges and Opportunities: New IRS Scrutiny on Cryptocurrency Reporting: Filing Requirements & Exchange Treatment

Thursday, May 10, 2018, New York City 10:45 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. Eastern Time Steven Toscher and Michel Stein will be speaking in New York City at an upcoming Strafford seminar/webinar, New IRS Scrutiny on Cryptocurrency Reporting: Filing Requirements and Exchange Treatment scheduled for Thursday, May 10th, 10:45 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. EST. Tax reform and […] Read More…

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PRESENTATION: Beverly Hills Bar Association: Cryptocurrency and IRS Tax Enforcement presented by Steven Toscher and Michel Stein

Steven Toscher and Michel Stein will be speaking at an upcoming Beverly Hills Bar Association presentation, “Cryptocurrency and IRS Tax Enforcement” scheduled for Thursday, May 17th at noon.  Presentation from 12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. The presentation will provide tax professionals with a critical first look at new IRS initiatives on taxpayer compliance and reporting […] Read More…

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Tax Problem for Departing Aliens by Steven Toscher

The regulations[1] require that no alien, whether resident or non-resident, can depart from the United States unless he or she first procures a certificate that he or she has complied with the obligations imposed upon him or her by the income tax laws.[2]Failure to do so may result in a termination assessment. Certain types of individuals, […] Read More…

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Tax Court Limits IRS’s Time to Assess Unreported Income from Undisclosed Foreign Accounts by Sandra R. Brown

Generally, when a taxpayer files a tax return, the federal tax laws afford the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) with a limit of only three-years within which it must act to examine and assess additional taxes and penalties on any unreported income. While the Internal Revenue Code provides various exceptions to this three-year limit[i], on January 2, 2018, the Tax […] Read More…

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