TAXLITIGATOR Blog

Posted by Hochman Salkin Toscher Perez P.C. Posted on Saturday, August 03, 2013

President Obama recently announced his nomination of John Koskinen as the next Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service for the term expiring on November 12, 2017. President Obama stated, “John is an expert at turning around institutions in need of reform.  With decades of experience, in both the private and public sectors, John knows how to […] Read More…

Posted by Hochman Salkin Toscher Perez P.C. Posted on Friday, July 12, 2013

We applaud the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) for releasing information regarding professional responsibility and the Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts Reports (“FBAR”).  The FBAR reporting requirements have gain much attention in the past five years and have produced a whole host of ethical and legal concerns not historically considered by practitioners. There have been ongoing […] Read More…

Posted by Hochman Salkin Toscher Perez P.C. Posted on Sunday, July 07, 2013

Every year the IRS sends millions of letters and notices to taxpayers for a variety of reasons. Many of these letters and notices are for informational purposes only and do not need a taxpayer response.  Many more of these letters and notices are benign and can be dealt with simply, without having to call or […] Read More…

Posted by Hochman Salkin Toscher Perez P.C. Posted on Monday, July 01, 2013

Prior to 2001, the answer was generally “No.”  Today, the answer is unclear. In 1950, there were a series of cases, that all had similar facts, where the Tax Court addressed the issue of whether the fraud of the preparer could be imputed to the taxpayer for the purposes of the fraud penalty under IRC […] Read More…

Posted by Hochman Salkin Toscher Perez P.C. Posted on Thursday, June 20, 2013

If you had any interest in a foreign financial account at any time during calendar year 2012, you may have an obligation to file an FBAR by June 30, 2013! U.S. persons having a financial interest in or signature authority over a foreign financial account, including a bank account, brokerage account, mutual fund, trust, or […] Read More…

Posted by Hochman Salkin Toscher Perez P.C. Posted on Saturday, June 15, 2013

Numerous U.S. taxpayers with previously undisclosed interests in foreign financial accounts and assets continue to analyze and seek advice regarding the most appropriate methods of coming into compliance with their filing and reporting obligations. Many U.S. taxpayers are pursuing participation in the current IRS offshore voluntary disclosure program (the OVDP which began in 2012), modeled […] Read More…

Posted by Hochman Salkin Toscher Perez P.C. Posted on Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Taxpayers participating in the IRS Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program (OVDP – see www.irs.gov for OVPD information and guidance) generally agree to  an “FBAR-related” penalty (in lieu of all other potentially applicable penalties associated with a foreign financial account or entity) of 27.5% of the highest account value that existed at any time during the prior eight […] Read More…

Posted by Hochman Salkin Toscher Perez P.C. Posted on Wednesday, June 12, 2013

The IRS has operated four offshore voluntary disclosure programs (OVDP) since 2003 offering various incentives for taxpayers to disclose their offshore financial accounts and pay delinquent taxes, interest, and penalties. As of December 2012, the combined OVDPs resulted in more than 39,000 disclosures by taxpayers and over $5.5 billion in revenues received.[i] Beyond revenue generation, […] Read More…

Posted by Hochman Salkin Toscher Perez P.C. Posted on Wednesday, June 12, 2013

The IRS Small Business/Self-Employed (SB/SE) Division maintains an anti-money laundering (AML) territory manager in each of its 16 Areas, together with 33 AML compliance groups and approximately 350 full-time examiners. IRS Criminal Investigation’s Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) review teams in each of their 35 field offices focus on detecting money laundering activities as well as […] Read More…

Posted by Hochman Salkin Toscher Perez P.C. Posted on Tuesday, September 18, 2012

The IRS recently announced a Streamlined Filing Procedure (SFP), that became effective September 1, 2012, intended to entice current non-residents and dual citizens who have not filed U.S. income tax and information returns to file their delinquent returns back into filing and reporting compliance. Since 2009, many non-residents began participating in various IRS offshore voluntary […] Read More…

Posted by Hochman Salkin Toscher Perez P.C. Posted on Wednesday, June 27, 2012

For years, the IRS has been pursuing – with mixed success – the disclosure of information regarding undeclared interests of U.S. taxpayers (or those who ought to be U.S. taxpayers) in foreign financial accounts. On June 26, 2012 the IRS released IR-2012-64/65 and updated Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) providing updated guidance regarding the currently pending […] Read More…

Posted by Hochman Salkin Toscher Perez P.C. Posted on Wednesday, May 23, 2012

The IRS Whistleblower Office processes financial awards to people who provide information about the tax indiscretions of others. If the IRS uses information provided by the whistleblower, based on recently finalized Treasury Regulations the whistleblower can receive up to 30 percent of the additional tax, penalty and other amounts collected or refund denied! Statutory Limitations. […] Read More…