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Former IRS-CI Special Agent Sentenced to Prison for Filing False Tax Returns – REALLY?

According to the DoJ, a former special agent for the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation was sentenced to serve 51 months in prison for filing false tax returns, obstruction of justice, and stealing government money.

 
According to the evidence introduced at trial, Alena Aleykina, 45, who is also a Certified Public Accountant and holds a master’s degree in business administration, filed six false tax returns – three personal tax returns for years 2009, 2010, and 2011, and three in the names of trusts she created for years 2010 and 2011.  
 
  • On her personal tax returns, Aleykina fraudulently claimed the head of household filing status, listed false dependents, and claimed deductions for education expenses to which she was not entitled.
  • Aleykina also obtained a fraudulent legal separation decree from the California Superior Court for Yolo County so that she and her husband could claim rental real estate loss deductions to which they were not entitled. 

  • Further, on a trust tax return, she falsely claimed to be paying wages to her mother and her sister to care for her son and father. 
  • Additionally, Aleykina stole government funds and obstructed justice during the investigation. 
  • She stole from the IRS’s Tuition Assistance Program, a program created to allow IRS employees to take job-related classes from local colleges and educational institutions.
  • Aleykina falsely claimed to be taking English classes from a trust registered to her sister.
  • As a result of these fake classes, Aleykina recieved $4,000 in tuition reimbursement from the Tuition Assistance Program.  

When criminal investigators approached Aleykina to retrieve her government laptop, Aleykina lied to the agents about the location of the laptop and deleted dozens of files from the computer after the agents left. 

The total loss to the government from Aleykina’s conduct is more than $50,000.

Aleykina was previously convicted in June after a two-week federal jury trial in the Eastern District of California of filing false tax returns, destroying records in a federal investigation, and theft of government money.
In addition to the term of prison imposed, Aleykina was also ordered to serve one year of supervised release and to pay $4,000 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). 
 Have a Tax Problem?

 
Contact the Tax Lawyers at 
Marini & Associates, P.A.
 
for a FREE Tax Consultation contact us at
or Toll Free at 888-8TaxAid (888 882-9243)
 
 

Read more at: Tax Times blog

Qualified Opportunity Fund Benefits Foreign Investors Also.

IRS has issued proposed regs that describe and clarify the requirements that must be met by a taxpayer in order to defer the recognition of gains by investing in a qualified opportunity fund (QOF) under Code Sec. 1400Z-2, as added by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA, P.L. 115-97; 12/22/2017).

The proposed regs provide rules allowing a corporation or partnership to self-certify as a QOF and provide initial proposed rules on some of the requirements that must be met by a corporation or partnership in order to qualify as a QOF.

Taxpayer may rely on these regs as indicated in the regs.  (Preamble to Prop Reg REG-115420-18, Proposed Reg § 1.1400Z-2(a)-1, Proposed Reg § 1.1400Z-2(c)-1, Proposed Reg § 1.1400Z-2(d)-1, Proposed Reg § 1.1400Z-2(e)-1; IR 2018-206, 10/19/2018)

 
The basic concepts of the QOF provisions can be summarized as follows:
 

Step 1:  A QO Fund is formed and certified by the Department of Treasury.

Step 2:  An investor with a recently realized CG elects to invest this gain into the QO Fund, taking stock or a partnership interest in return.  By so doing, the investor gets to defer including the CG in income.

Step 3:  The QO Fund uses the investment to acquire “qualified opportunity zone property.”  This investment represents the QO Fund’s interest in the underlying business in the low-income community.
Step 4:  The investor holds the interest for as long as he desires or for some period of time as may be stipulated in the investment agreement with the QO Fund.
Step 5:  If the investor sells or exchanges his QO Fund interest before Dec. 31, 2026, he will recognize the deferred CG.  If the holding period is at least 5 years, the investor gets a basis allocation that will offset some of his CG (there is more basis allocation if the holding period is at least 7 years).
Step 6.  In any event, the investor’s CG deferral period ends on Dec. 31, 2026, and so if the investment is still outstanding, the deferred CG must be recognized then.  The holding periods noted in Step 5 are taken into account at this point.
Step 7:  If the investor holds his interest in the QO Fund for at least 10 years, he is entitled to a major fair market value (“FMV”) basis step-up so that any appreciation in the value of his interest can be excluded from income.
 
The QO Zone provisions give incentive to potential investors in QO Funds by allowing for:
 
(a) temporary deferral of CG recognition,
(b) a possible step-up in the basis of their investment, and
(c) possible permanent exclusion of CG from the growth of the QO Fund investment if the holding period is at least 10 years.
 

  

 Need Help Forming A
Qualified Opportunity Fund (QOF)?
 
 
Contact the Tax Lawyers at
Marini & Associates, P.A. 
 
 for a FREE Tax Consultation Contact us at: 
or Toll Free at 888-8TaxAid (888 882-9243). 


 

 

Read more at: Tax Times blog

OVDP Ended Sept. 28 – So Now What?

We originally posted on March 13, 2018 IRS to End OVDP Sept. 28 - Last Chance for Taxpayers With Undisclosed Foreign Assets! where we discussed that the Internal Revenue Service announced in IR-2018-52 that it will begin to ramp down the 2014 Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program (OVDP) and close the program on Sept. 28, 2018.

The number of taxpayer disclosures under the OVDP peaked in 2011, when about 18,000 people came forward. The number steadily declined through the years, falling to only 600 disclosures in 2017. 

The IRS will maintain a pathway for taxpayers who may have committed criminal acts to voluntarily disclose their past actions and come into compliance with the tax system.

1. Voluntary Disclosure

Taxpayers who willfully failed to report income and assets will no longer be able to use OVDP but should be able to comply through updated IRS compliance procedures. The IRS is in the process of reviewing the Internal Revenue Manual (“IRM”) Voluntary Disclosure Practice. Taxpayers who want more information about IRS's Voluntary Disclosure Practice can click Internal Revenue Manual (IRM) 9.5.11.9Taxpayers who made non-willful mistakes or omissions on their tax returns should file amended returns or delinquent returns as soon as possible. 

2. Streamlined Filing Compliance
FAQ#6. Are there any changes to the Streamlined Filing Compliance Procedures with the closure of the 2014 OVDP? No. The Streamlined Filing Compliance Procedures will remain available after the 2014 OVDP closes. The IRS encourages taxpayers who have offshore compliance issues and meet all of the qualifications of the Streamlined Filing Compliance Procedures to use these procedures while they are available.  Only taxpayers that can certify under penalties of perjury that their conduct was non-willful may use the Streamlined Filing Compliance Procedures. 

 


3. Delinquent FBAR Submission 
 
   




FAQ#9. Will the delinquent FBAR submission procedures and the delinquent international information return submission procedures remain available after the 2014 OVDP closes? Yes.  The delinquent FBAR procedures and the delinquent international information return procedures will remain available for eligible taxpayers after September 28, 2018. Both procedures are for taxpayers that have information reporting failures but no tax noncompliance
















4. Late Returns With Reasonable Cause Statement

Taxpayers who do not need to use the OVDP or the Streamlined Filing Compliance Procedures to file delinquent or amended tax returns to report and pay additional tax, but who:

  • have not filed one or more required international information returns,
  • have reasonable cause for not timely filing the information returns,
  • are not under a civil examination or a criminal investigation by the IRS, and
  • have not already been contacted by the IRS about the delinquent information returns

should file the delinquent information returns with a statement of all facts establishing reasonable cause for the failure to file.

 
You Should Rectify Any Unreported Offshore Accounts NOW!


As the IRS continues to combat offshore tax avoidance and evasion using: 

Click How Will the IRS Know About My Foreign Account? to learn the answers about "How will they (IRS) know about my Foreign Account?;" that noncompliant US taxpayers ask when they are considering how (or whether) to come clean and inform the IRS about their previously undisclosed foreign financial accounts.

1,545 TAXPAYERS
Have Been Indicted Related To International Activities
Through The Work Of IRS
Criminal Investigation Since 2009.

The implementation of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) and the ongoing efforts of the IRS and the Department of Justice to ensure compliance by those with U.S. tax obligations have raised awareness of U.S. tax and information reporting obligations related to undisclosed foreign financial assets. 

 
 Do You Have Undeclared Income From An Offshore Banks
 or Financial Advisors?
 
 
Is Your Name Being Handed Over to the IRS?
  
Want to Know Which Remaining IRS Program is Right for You? 
 
Contact the Tax Lawyers at 
Marini & Associates, P.A.   
 
 
for a FREE Tax Consultation contact us at:
Toll Free at 888-8TaxAid (888) 882-9243
 

 

Read more at: Tax Times blog

The IRS Whistleblower Reward Program

The IRS estimates that the United States loses $450 billion per year to tax evasion. In 2006, Congress enacted legislation providing robust incentives for whistleblowers to report tax fraud.  Under 26 USC § 7623(b), the IRS is required to issue an award to tax whistleblowers of 15% to 30% of proceeds collected from tax fraud or tax underpayments
 
Who can get an award?
 

The IRS may pay awards to people who provide specific and credible information to the IRS if the information results in the collection of taxes, penalties, interest or other amounts from the noncompliant taxpayer.

The IRS is looking for solid information, not an “educated guess” or unsupported speculation. We are also looking for a significant Federal tax issue - this is not a program for resolving personal problems or disputes about a business relationship.

What are the rules for getting an award?

The law provides for two types of awards. If the taxes, penalties, interest and other amounts in dispute exceed $2 million, and a few other qualifications are met, the IRS will pay 15 percent to 30 percent of the amount collected. If the case deals with an individual, his or her annual gross income must be more than $200,000. If the whistleblower disagrees with the outcome of the claim, he or she can appeal to the Tax Court. These rules are found at Internal Revenue Code IRC Section 7623(b) - Whistleblower Rules.
 
The IRS also has an award program for other whistleblowers - generally those who do not meet the dollar thresholds of $2 million in dispute or cases involving individual taxpayers with gross income of less that $200,000.

The awards through this program are less, with a maximum award of 15 percent up to $10 million. In addition, the awards are discretionary and the informant cannot dispute the outcome of the claim in Tax Court.

The rules for these cases are found at Internal Revenue Code IRC Section 7623(a) - Informant Claims Program, and some of the rules are different from those that apply to cases involving more than $2 million. 

If a whistleblower meets the requirements above, the whistleblower may be able to receive 15% to 30% of proceeds collected from tax fraud or tax underpayments.
 

To discuss potential representation in a tax fraud whistleblower case, click here

Want a Reward of Between 15- 30% of
Underpaid IRS Tax Liabilities for
Blowing the Whistle on a Tax Cheat? 
_____
____
 
Contact the Tax Lawyers at
Marini & Associates, P.A.
 
for a FREE Tax Consultation
or Toll Free at 888-8TaxAid (888 882-9243).

 

Read more at: Tax Times blog

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