TAXLITIGATOR Blog

Posted by Hochman Salkin Toscher Perez P.C. Posted on Friday, July 20, 2018

Despite the fact that the new partnership audit rules are effective for tax years that began after December 31, 2017, TEFRA will remain relevant for a number of years, as can be seen by several recent decisions. Foster v United States, Dkt. 1:06-cv-00818 (W.D. TX June 19, 2018), involved a TEFRA partnership’s 1984 tax year.  […] Read More…

Posted by Hochman Salkin Toscher Perez P.C. Posted on Tuesday, July 17, 2018

Hochman Salkin Rettig Toscher & Perez, P.C. is pleased to announce that STEVEN TOSCHER is to receive the 2018 Richard Carpenter Excellence in Tax Award from the Third Annual USD School of Law – RJS LAW Tax Controversy Institute We are honored to announce Steve Toscher as the recipient of the 2018 Richard Carpenter Excellence […] Read More…

Posted by Hochman Salkin Toscher Perez P.C. Posted on Friday, July 13, 2018

The Fifth Circuit recently reversed summary judgment in favor of the Government in a $4.3 million trust fund recovery penalty (“TFRP”) case. McClendon v. United States, Dkt. No. 17-20174 (June 14, 2018), at  http://www.ca5.uscourts.gov/opinions/pub/17/17-20174-CV0.pdf  The TFRP, Internal Revenue Code §6672, allows the IRS to assess against any person responsible any withholding tax that was not collected, accounted […] Read More…

Posted by Hochman Salkin Toscher Perez P.C. Posted on Monday, July 09, 2018

Two weeks ago, the Supreme Court reinforced that a felon’s liberty interest outweighed inconveniencing the district court when the Court held that appellate courts must send cases back to the district court where the district court made a mistake in calculating the federal sentencing guidelines.  Rosales-Mireles v. United States, 585 U.S. ___ (2018), available at https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/585/16-9493/. In […] Read More…

Posted by Hochman Salkin Toscher Perez P.C. Posted on Wednesday, June 27, 2018

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…

Posted by Hochman Salkin Toscher Perez P.C. Posted on Wednesday, June 13, 2018

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…

Posted by Hochman Salkin Toscher Perez P.C. Posted on Wednesday, June 13, 2018

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…

Posted by Hochman Salkin Toscher Perez P.C. Posted on Wednesday, June 13, 2018

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…

Posted by Hochman Salkin Toscher Perez P.C. Posted on Monday, May 21, 2018

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…

Posted by Hochman Salkin Toscher Perez P.C. Posted on Wednesday, May 09, 2018

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…

Posted by Hochman Salkin Toscher Perez P.C. Posted on Wednesday, May 09, 2018

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…

Posted by Hochman Salkin Toscher Perez P.C. Posted on Friday, May 04, 2018

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…