TAXLITIGATOR Blog

Posted by Hochman Salkin Toscher Perez P.C. Posted on Thursday, February 01, 2018

The Federal Sentencing Commission keeps track of sentencing in federal criminal cases. Its recently released Data Report gives an idea of sentences in criminal tax cases and how they stack up against sentencing in other types of federal criminal cases.  First, some basics. The report is for the fourth quarter of 2017. Since the U.S. […] Read More…

Posted by Hochman Salkin Toscher Perez P.C. Posted on Friday, January 19, 2018

On November 20, 2017, the Tax Court issued its opinion in Graev v. Commissioner, 149 T.C. __, reversing a prior decision that sustained a 20% accuracy penalty.  The issue before the Court was whether the IRS has to prove that it complied with Internal Revenue Code §6751(b)(1) in order to sustain a penalty in a deficiency […] Read More…

Posted by Hochman Salkin Toscher Perez P.C. Posted on Friday, January 19, 2018

New IRS Scrutiny of Cryptocurrency Reporting: Filing Requirements and Exchange Treatment Strafford  February 15, 2018 – 10:00 a.m. – 11:30 p.m. (Pacific) On February 15 Steven Toscher and Michel Stein will be hosting a Strafford Webinar “New IRS Scrutiny of Cryptocurrency Reporting: Filing Requirements and Exchange Treatment”   The panel will provide tax counsel, accountants and other advisers with […] Read More…

Posted by Hochman Salkin Toscher Perez P.C. Posted on Friday, January 19, 2018

FBAR 2018 Update: Mastering FinCen Form 114 Deadlines, Extension, Penalty Resolution and Waiver Provisions Strafford  February 1, 2018 – 10:00 a.m. – 11:50 p.m. (Pacific) On February 1 Michel Stein will be hosting a Strafford Webinar “FBAR 2018 Update: Mastering FinCen Form 114, Deadlines, Extension, Penalty Resolution and Waiver Provisions”  The IRS announced more changes to the filing requirements […] Read More…

Posted by Hochman Salkin Toscher Perez P.C. Posted on Tuesday, January 16, 2018

As part of its crackdown on taxpayers who were not reporting income from overseas assets, in 2010 Congress enacted Internal Revenue Code sec. 6038D. That section requires a taxpayer to provide information about “specified foreign financial assets.”  It applies to tax years beginning after March 18, 2010.  The IRS developed Form 8938, Statement of Specified […] Read More…

Posted by Hochman Salkin Toscher Perez P.C. Posted on Thursday, January 11, 2018

This is the first in a series of blogs that will analyze the IRS’s Fiscal Year 2017 Annual Report. This blog will focus on the shift away from easy cases in favor of harder cases such as foreign-account and hidden-income cases that most consider the core of IRS criminal enforcement. Later blogs will take a […] Read More…

Posted by Hochman Salkin Toscher Perez P.C. Posted on Tuesday, January 09, 2018

If you’re planning a vacation overseas in 2018 and you owe more than $50,000 in taxes, penalties and interest to the IRS, you have another thing coming. Beginning January 2018 the IRS will start implementing Internal Revenue Code section 7345.  That section was enacted in December 2015.  It says “If the Secretary receives certification by […] Read More…

Posted by Hochman Salkin Toscher Perez P.C. Posted on Wednesday, January 03, 2018

The Perils of Civil and Criminal Tax Penalties: What You Need to Know The Knowledge Group   January 11, 2018 – Noon – 1:30 pm (Pacific) On January 11 at Steve Toscher, Curtis Elliott, Jr. and Steve Mather will be hosting a Knowledge Group Webinar “The Perils of Civil and Criminal Tax Penalties: What You Need to Know.” The Internal […] Read More…

Posted by Hochman Salkin Toscher Perez P.C. Posted on Wednesday, December 20, 2017

A question that frequently arises in tax cases is whether a transaction is debt or equity. As Judge Alex Kosinski recently noted in Hewlett-Packard, Inc. v Commissioner, Dkt. 14-73047 (9th Cir., Nov. 14, 2016), https://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2017/11/09/14-73047.pdf, it is a “timeless and tiresome question of American tax law”.  In arriving at the answer, which was “we defer to the […] Read More…

Posted by Hochman Salkin Toscher Perez P.C. Posted on Monday, December 18, 2017

As the holidays approach, it is a great time to think about your clients who have had difficulty paying their taxes. Below is a Top 5 list of enforced collection issues to think about this December. Collection Moratorium / Current Compliance – Although it is not an official policy position, during most of December the […] Read More…

Posted by Hochman Salkin Toscher Perez P.C. Posted on Friday, December 15, 2017

A U.S. person with foreign financial accounts worth over $10,000 during the calendar year is required to file a Foreign Bank Account Report (FBAR). Failing to file can result in either a “non-willful” or a “willful” penalty under 31 USC §5321(a)(5).  If the failure is non-willful, the person can avoid liability under the reasonable cause […] Read More…

Posted by Hochman Salkin Toscher Perez P.C. Posted on Tuesday, December 12, 2017

A defendant convicted of a tax crime can be ordered by the district court to pay the IRS restitution equal to the amount of the tax loss. As part of the 2010 Firearms Excise Tax Improvement Tax, Congress added sec. 6201(a)(4) to the Internal Revenue Code.  That section authorizes the IRS to “assess and collect […] Read More…