Category Archives: criminal tax law

The IRS made changes in April 2022 that will positively impact taxpayers who are submitting an Offer in Compromise to resolve their outstanding tax liabilities.

1. These include revisions to the Collection Financial Standards that the IRS uses to determine a taxpayer's reasonable collection potential and
2. Changes to the information and documentation a taxpayer must provide when applying for an Offer in Compromise.

Collection Financial Standards

The Collection Financial Standards set by the IRS are used to determine an individual taxpayer's necessary monthly expenses, based on the taxpayer's age, geographic location, and family size. These necessary expenses include food, clothing, housing and utilities, out-of-pocket healthcare, transportation, and other miscellaneous items.

The IRS Has Increased These Standards as of 4/25/2022 in an Effort To Relieve Some Pressure From Taxpayers Who Are Struggling To Cope With The 40-Year High Inflation Rate.

This is great news for taxpayers with an outstanding tax liability with the IRS! These increases will help taxpayers who are seeking to enter into a Payment Arrangement or Offer in Compromise, with the IRS to resolve an outstanding tax liability.

The IRS also uses these Collection Financial Standards by comparing them to a taxpayer's household income and expenses, with the remaining amount considered as what the IRS will wants the taxpayer to remit each month.

Offer in Compromise

There are two big changes to the program:

1. The first change is in relation to the IRS's traditional policy of keeping a taxpayer's tax refund through the year in which the taxpayer's Offer in Compromise is accepted. This means that if a taxpayer had an offer accepted in 2021 for a tax debt from 2018, the taxpayer would not see their 2021 refund. Now, however, the IRS will no longer adhere to this policy, and submitting an Offer in Compromise for a previous year will not jeopardize the taxpayer's current year's refund.
2. The second change may require a taxpayer to submit much more information and documentation than what was previously necessary when submitting an Offer in Compromise. However, this only applies to taxpayers who have an ownership interest in a business.

Previously, if a taxpayer had an ownership interest in a business but the taxpayer's tax debt was strictly personal (e.g., 1040 Income), the taxpayer need only submit Form 433-A (OIC), Form 656, and all relevant documentation. Now, that same taxpayer with the same personal tax liability must submit Form 433-B in addition to the other forms. This would require the taxpayer to provide the profit and loss information of the business for 6 to 12 months prior to submitting the Offer in Compromise, as well as the business's bank statements, loan statements, notes and accounts receivable, and other pertinent documentation.

Have an IRS Tax Problem?

Contact the Tax Lawyers at
Marini& Associates, P.A. 

for a FREE Tax HELP Contact Us at:
www.TaxAid.com or www.OVDPLaw.com
orToll Free at 888-8TaxAid (888) 882-9243

According to Law360, The U.S. Supreme Court agreed this month to review a tax-related case on attorney-client privilege, and practitioners hope the court will use the occasion to take a broad approach toward privilege that acknowledges the importance of tax advice. 

The Case, Known As In Re: Grand Jury, Will Likely Have Wide-Reaching Implications For How Lawyers Manage Client Communications Containing Both Legal And Nonlegal Advice.

In the case, an unnamed law firm is challenging a Ninth Circuit decision finding it had to comply with grand jury subpoenas for communications and other materials related to a client's expatriation and tax return preparation. The firm's petition to the Supreme Court, filed in May, argued that the justices should clarify the law concerning when attorney-client privilege protects such mixed-use communications.

The controversy partly stems from uneven treatment in the federal courts on what is considered private tax information. Some have held that attorney-client privilege doesn't apply to communications that deal with a client's tax return preparation, while it does for tax controversy and tax planning issues.

Complicating matters is a split among the federal circuit courts on how far attorney-client privilege can protect communications that serve multiple purposes. Many business and legal groups prefer the more expansive privilege test set by the D.C. Circuit in 2014. In that case, known as In re: Kellogg Brown & Root Inc , the appeals court held in an opinion authored by then-U.S. Circuit Judge Brett Kavanaugh that multipurpose communications should be protected if one of the reasons for them was to obtain or provide legal advice.

Then, last year, the Ninth Circuit roiled tax attorneys with its decision in the In re: Grand Jury case, which said the primary purpose of the communications must be legal advice in order for them to remain confidential.

In A Footnote, The Court Said "Normal Tax Advice, Even Coming From Lawyers, Is Generally Not Privileged, And Courts Should Be Careful To Not Accidentally Create An Accountant's Privilege Where None Is Supposed To Exist."

Although the Ninth Circuit amended the footnote to change "tax advice" to "tax preparation assistance," the court's sentiment was troubling, said John Colvin of Seattle-based Colvin & Hallett.

The decision portrayed the tax legal practice as merely tax preparation service and "not real attorney work," he said. 

But nothing is further from the truth, Colvin said, because people specifically seek advice from tax attorneys to help them interpret complicated tax laws, including U.S. Department of Treasury regulations and court opinions, that apply to their own circumstances.

When Clients Come To Tax Attorneys, "We Know That Some Or All Of The Legal Advice Is Going To End Up In A Tax Return," He Said.

The Supreme Court agreed to examine the case at the request of the unnamed law firm that has been fighting to keep confidential tax expatriation documents, in the name of attorney-client privilege and work-product doctrine, from disclosure to a grand jury investigating a client.

The firm wants the justices to review the Ninth Circuit decision, which ordered the disclosure of client documents that the firm described as "dual purpose communications" with "tax advice."

The Ninth Circuit Said The Documents Were Not Privileged Because Their "Primary Purpose" Was Seeking
Tax Advice Rather Than Legal Advice.

The Washington Legal Foundation, a pro-business public interest law firm and policy center, also recognized the challenges of identifying what constitutes a tax issue in a May amicus brief endorsing Supreme Court review of the case. The group said the Ninth Circuit's narrow view of attorney-client privilege creates "tax-specific rules that conflict with rules that govern other areas of law."

That's why the Supreme Court in the In re: Grand Jury case should create uniform federal attorney-client standards in tax communications, the brief said, arguing that doing so would help compliance and enforcement.

Have an IRS Tax Problem?

Contact the Tax Lawyers at
Marini & Associates, P.A.

for a FREE Tax HELP Contact us at:
www.TaxAid.com or www.OVDPLaw.com
or Toll Free at 888 8TAXAID (888-882-9243)

The Treasury inspector general for tax administration, has submitted a memorandum to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen offering the internal watchdog's "perspective on the most serious management and performance challenges confronting the IRS" for fiscal year 2023. (Memorandum dated October 13, 2022)

TIGTA emphasized the effect the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (PL 117-269), with its $80 billion in agency funding and numerous tax provisions, will have on the IRS.

"It will be a significant challenge for the IRS to administer these provisions and effectively use the additional funding to address the challenges of improving taxpayer service, modernizing outdated technological infrastructure, and increasing equity in the tax system through added enforcement actions," the memorandum stated.

For FY 2023, TIGTA identified the following as the IRS' top management challenges:

1. The IRS had more than 14 million individual and business paper returns waiting to be processed, As of August 12, 2022. The number of calls answered and Level of Service on toll-free telephone lines remain at far-from-acceptable levels.
2. Protecting Taxpayer Data and IRS Resources. "The proliferation of stolen Personally Identifiable Information poses a significant threat to tax administration by making it difficult for the IRS to distinguish legitimate taxpayers from fraudsters," according to the memorandum.
3. Modernizing IRS Operations. Successful modernization of systems and the development and implementation of new information technology applications are critical to meeting the IRS' evolving business needs and enhancing services provided to taxpayers. The agency uses different legacy case management systems that vary widely in complexity, size, and customization to support tax administration. "Modernizing the IRS' computer systems has been a persistent challenge for many years and will likely remain a challenge for the foreseeable future," George wrote.
4. Administering Tax Law Changes. "One of the continuing challenges the IRS faces each year in processing tax returns is the implementation of new tax law changes as well as changes resulting from expired tax provisions," the memorandum stated.

5. Increasing Domestic and International Tax Compliance and Enforcement. "The IRS has indicated that insufficient funding remains a constraint to address its operations," George stated. Although increased funding provided for in the Inflation Redution Act will assist the IRS in replacing employees lost through attrition, onboarding, training, and assimilating large numbers of employees will create its own challenges for the IRS, the memorandum stressed.
   
   
   Over The Next Six Years, The IRS Estimates It
   Will Need To Hire 52,000 Employees Just
   To Maintain Its Current Staffing Levels.

6. Reducing Tax Fraud and Improper Payments. While the IRS continues to increase the number of fraudulent tax returns detected and stopped from entering the tax processing system, the problem remains persistent, both with individual and business tax returns. To combat business identity theft, the IRS should adopt "successful taxpayer detection and assistance options, similar to what it provides individual taxpayers." The IRS continues "not to be in compliance with the goal of reducing the overall improper payment rate for the Earned Income Tax Credit, the Additional Child Tax Credit, and the American Opportunity Tax Credit to less than 10%."

Although not listed separately, human capital is also a significant concern, and it affects the IRS' ability to address the above challenges."

The likelihood of a significant improvement in the IRS and increased ability to audit sufficient taxpayers who are causing the tax gap, is just not likely, given these facts.

So, for the near future, expect make more the same from the IRS, despite the additional $45.6 billion in enforcement funding, as part of a nearly $80 billion funding increase included in the Inflation Redution Act. 😥

Have an IRS Tax Problem?

Contact the Tax Lawyers at
Marini & Associates, P.A.

for a FREE Tax HELP Contact us at:
www.TaxAid.com or www.OVDPLaw.com
or Toll Free at 888 8TAXAID (888-882-9243)

In IR-2022-185, issued on October 19, 2022, the IRS reminds taxpayers affected by Hurricane Ian in areas covered by certain Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) disaster declarations they may have more time to file their returns to qualify for the penalty relief under Notice 2022-36 for their 2019 and 2020 tax returns.

On October 4, 2022 we posted IAN Tax Relief May Have Extended Penalty Relief To Fla LLCs Until February 15 to File Their Late 2019 & 2020 Form 5472, where we discussed that FL–2022–19 which provides victims of hurricane IAN until February 15, 2023 to file returns for deadlines falling on or after September 23, 2022 and before February 15, 2023, may also extend the time for single member LLC to file their Form 1120, with the associated Form 5472, pursuant to Notice 2022 – 36 provides penalty relief for 2019 & 2020 where tax returns that were filed on or before September 30, 2022.  

This notice confirms that taxpayers affected by Hurricane Ian in areas covered by certain Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) disaster declarations they may have more time to file their returns to qualify for the penalty relief under Notice 2022-36 for their 2019 and 2020 tax returns.

Have an IRS Tax Problem?

Contact the Tax Lawyers at
Marini & Associates, P.A.

for a FREE Tax HELP Contact us at:
www.TaxAid.com or www.OVDPLaw.com
or Toll Free at 888 8TAXAID (888-882-9243)