December 7, 2018
¡Feliz Navidad y Prospero Año Nuevo!
Read more at: Tax Times blog
December 5, 2018
According to IR-2018-237 on November 30, 2018 the Internal Revenue Service announced its debut on Instagram, adding this platform to its social media portfolio.
The IRSNews account (https://www.instagram.com/irsnews) will provide taxpayers the latest information on a variety of topics as taxpayers face numerous tax law changes for the upcoming 2019 filing season related to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. The IRS Instagram account will share taxpayer-friendly information to help people Get Ready for the upcoming tax season. And it will provide the latest tax scam information to help support the Security Summit initiative, a joint effort between the IRS, states and the nation’s tax industry to combat tax-related identity theft.
“The addition of Instagram is another step for the IRS to share information more widely and reach additional taxpayers,” said IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig. “This platform will help make people aware of important options they have during the upcoming filing season as well as other tax information they might not be aware. The IRS will continue to work with and help taxpayers in as many ways possible.”
Research shows that more than 70 percent of U.S. young adults between 18 and 24 are active on Instagram. The IRS plans to use Instagram to better serve this segment of the population, sharing content on tax topics that affect all taxpayers.
The IRS Instagram account will also periodically share information in Spanish and other languages.
Read more at: Tax Times blog
December 5, 2018
The Supreme Court has declined to review the DC Circuit's affirmance of a Tax Court decision that, for purposes of determining whether IRS has met the requirement in Code Sec. 6330(a) that it notify the taxpayer by mail no less than 30 days before the date of a levy that the taxpayer has the right to a collection due process (CDP) hearing, the 30 days is measured from the mailing date of the IRS notice.
IRS generally may not levy against a person's property or right to property unless it gives the person a notification in writing of his right to, and the opportunity for, a pre-levy CDP hearing with IRS. (Code Sec. 6330(a)(1), Reg. § 301.6330-1(a)(1)).
One way in which that notice may be made is by sending the notice by certified or registered mail at least 30 days before the day of the first levy with respect to the unpaid tax for the tax period. Hand delivery within that same time frame is also allowed. (Code Sec. 6330(a)(2)).
In an effort to collect the taxpayer's Mr. Weiss's unpaid tax liabilities by levy, IRS attempted to hand-deliver the notice at Weiss's residence during a field call on February 11 but, deterred by Weiss's dog, was unsuccessful.
Two days later, IRS initiated the mailing of the notice by certified mail to Weiss's last known address. IRS did not generate a new levy notice dated February 13 but rather enclosed in the envelope the original notice dated February 11.
The taxpayer challenged the timeliness of the levy notice in the Tax Court. The Court held that the mailing date, February 13, was the relevant date from which the 30-day period was measured.
The Circuit Court for the District of Columbia, affirming the Tax Court, has held that the mailing date, February 13, controlled the issue. The Court reasoned that the statute looks to the date the notice is sent; in the context of a mailed notice, "sent" means "mailed."
On Dec. 3, 2018, the Supreme Court refused to review the DC Circuit's decision. Accordingly, that decision is now final.
Read more at: Tax Times blog
December 5, 2018
Law enforcement officials described the charges against attorney Ramses Owens, who remains at large, and investment manager Dirk Brauer, accountant Richard Gaffey and businessman Harald Joachim von der Goltz, all of whom have been arrested, as a warning to would-be tax criminals and those who would help them. The defendants could face decades in prison.
“Law firms, asset managers and accountants play key roles enabling entry into the global financial system,” Assistant Attorney General Brian Benczkowski said in a statement.
With help from Mossack Fonseca, the government claims, clients like von der Goltz used shell companies in offshore jurisdictions with strict financial secrecy laws that were technically owned by sham foundations to hide untold amounts of money from the IRS. Von der Goltz falsely told prosecutors that his 102-year-old mother, who lives in Guatemala, was the beneficial owner of companies linked to him, the government claims.
The defendants, who range in age from 50 to 81, face a total of 11 counts. Two of the counts are against von der Goltz alone for allegedly providing false statements to the government after an unnamed representative of a U.S. law firm reached out to the U.S. Department of Justice after the Panama Papers disclosure and offered to set the record straight, according to the indictment.
Read more at: Tax Times blog