Tax litigation in the United States Tax Court (Tax Court) would be affected by proposed changes to the Tax Court’s Rules of Practice and Procedure (Tax Court’s Rules). Several of the changes are intended to conform the Tax Court’s Rules with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure which govern tax…
Once investors get over their initial shock that they were being bilked by Bernard Madoff in a massive Ponzi scheme they will be looking for ways lessen the impact. One of those ways is through the tax laws. Our tax attorneys have identified at least two possibilities. The first is…
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has revised Form 90-22.1, Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts, also known as an “FBAR.” Although the FBAR was released in October, it is only required to be used for FBAR filed after Dec. 31, 2008. The purpose of an FBAR is to report…
On Dec. 8, 2008 Lichtenstein entered into a tax treaty, which will allow the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) access to foreign bank account information even though there is no evidence of tax fraud. The treaty, which is known as a Tax Information Exchange Agreement (TIEA), will provide the United States…
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has released IRS Publication 1779 with guidance for workers to help them determine whether they are employees or independent contractors. Interestingly IRS Publication 1779, which is only two pages does not specifically mention the 20 factor test set forth in IRS Revenue Ruling 87-41, 1987-1…
Australian actor Paul Hogan, better known as Mick Dundee from the popular Crocodile Dundee movies, apparently has tax problems in Australia. He recently filed a motion in the Central District of California to fight a move by the Australian Tax Office (ATO) to have the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) collect…
Swiss banks have long held a reputation for being the place to go for secrecy. The mystique may, however be crumbling. Last month a District Court judge in Miami, Florida granted an Internal Revenue Service John Doe summons request. The court ordered UBS to turn over records with the names…
Michael Fuller, an accountant from Florida, and Carl Perry, a food broker from Greenville, South Carolina, were sentenced on May 5, 2008 in federal court for tax evasion. Fuller was found guilty by a jury in July of 2007 and Perry pleaded guilty in May 2007 for conspiracy to defraud…
The United States Tax Court (Tax Court) granted innocent spouse relief to Chrystina Nihser, overturning a decision by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) . Nihser v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo 2008-135. Ms. Nihser had applied for innocent spouse relief under Internal Revenue Code § 6015(f), so called “equitable relief.” This is,…
The United States Tax Court (Tax Court) has held that in innocent spouse cases under Internal Revenue Code (IRC) § 6015 it will consider evidence at trial that was not part of the administrative record. Porter v. Commissioner, 130 T.C. No. 10 (2008). The innocent spouse ruling in Porter was…