Six years ago, the Government Accountability Office, the independent congressional watchdog tasked with helping “improve the performance and ensure the accountability of the federal government,” released a rather eye-opening report examining the feasibility of leveraging passports as a tax collection tool. Specifically, this GAO report determined that in 2008 alone, passports were issued to 224,000
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What’s the difference between income tax negligence and fraud?
While it might seem strange to be talking about the much-dreaded chore of doing your taxes with Thanksgiving only days away, it actually won’t be long until many people find themselves camped out in front of their computer or at their kitchen table trying to make sense of a myriad of arcane tax regulations. Given
Read MoreHow taxpayers can find much-needed relief via an offer in compromise – II
When a person enduring serious financial troubles receives a letter from the Internal Revenue Service demanding payment for a past-due tax debt, it can prove to be incredibly distressing. That’s because unlike the typical creditor, the IRS has both vast resources and significant enforcement options at its disposal. As we discussed in an earlier post,
Read MoreHow taxpayers can find much-needed relief via an offer in compromise
When a person is experiencing serious and sustained financial difficulties, chances are good that they will eventually start to see the pile of unpaid bills grow and the correspondence from creditors begin in earnest. As distressing as this reality is, consider how much more distressing it can be when one of these letters is from
Read MoreNew Law Limits Passports for People Who Owe Money to the IRS
The U.S. government will soon be able to revoke passports from those who haven’t paid their taxes, and prevent those who are delinquent from obtaining a new one. Congress will implement this new law in December, targeting those who owe $50,000 or more in unpaid taxes. There are some exceptions, however, for Americans travelling for
Read MoreMultiple Corporate Giants Under Fire for Tax Anomalies
If you’re online, you may be one of more than 1.39 billion people whose first website to check is Facebook. You may have the app downloaded on your phone or tablet, or you might have your phone set to notify you with any “likes”, comments, or messages. With so many Facebook users, it’s easy to
Read MoreDoes Tax Negligence Count as Tax Fraud?
After submitting their taxes to the IRS, many citizens breathe a sigh of relief that their taxes are done for another year. In some cases, those same people are gulping in despair when they open their mailboxes a few weeks or months later and find a letter from the IRS notifying them that there were
Read MoreBelize Banks Targeted in U.S. Tax Evasion Search
The Central American country Belize is the new target for United States officials in their search for tax evading American citizens. Many Americans utilize off-shore banks to hide their income and assets from the U.S. government, and banks such as Belize Bank International Limited and Belize Bank Limited are among the main targets of the
Read MoreTax Evasion: The Crime That Never Pays
We talk a LOT about how tax evasion is one of the worst choices you could ever make. It may seem like we’re beating it into your head, but the truth of the matter is that for every time you say, “I don’t evade my taxes; heck, I don’t even fudge them!” there’s someone out
Read MoreCan You Really Settle Your IRS Tax Debt for Less Than What You Owe?
One of the most common questions I get is whether IRS tax debts can be settled for less than the amount owed. The simple answer is yes…..if you qualify. The program that allows you to settle your tax debt is called the Offer in Compromise program. When you hear all these TV and radio ads
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