The criminal tax conviction of a New Jersey couple (the DeMuros) for failure to pay payroll taxes to the IRS was affirmed by the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, United States v. DeMuro (3d Cir. 2012). The willful failure to pay payroll taxes is a violation Internal Revenue Code (IRC)…
Our tax litigation attorneys are often asked whether failing to report income is tax fraud. We explain that there are various “badges of tax fraud,” and a simple omission of income may not be tax fraud. A recent Tax Court case illustrates that when coupled with other badges of tax…
The failure to file a Foreign Bank Account Report TD F 90-22.1 (FBAR) for an offshore bank account has led to the seizure of an Alaska plastic surgeon’s $4.6 million dollar account at a Seattle branch of Bank of America. According to the complaint filed in District Court Alaska plastic…
Tax fraud penalties were recently upheld against Miguel Robleto of Oregon by the 9th circuit. These were civil tax fraud penalties pursuant to IRC Section 6663, not criminal tax evasion charges under IRC Section 7201. The difference is that although you can wind up paying a lot of money if…
Recently the Supreme Court held in Kawashima v. Holder (Feb. 21, 2012) that filing a false tax return in violation of IRC Section 7206(1) as well as other criminal tax offenses are aggravated felonies which can result in deportation of a resident alien. Just over two years ago we blogged…
In January I appeared on a panel with several other tax lawyers at the 2012 University of Southern California Tax Institute. One of the topics was Quick Tips on Offshore Bank and Financial Accounts. The presentation was intended for tax attorneys, CPAs, and other tax professionals. However, anyone who has…
Last month, while most people were preparing their Christmas lists, Louis Alba, a New York contractor, plead guilty to criminal tax charges of failing to pay over to IRS employment taxes withheld from employee wages in the amount of almost $780,000 over approximately six years. Failure to pay over payroll…
In a little noticed development, Switzerland’s oldest private bank Clariden Leu has informed some of its U.S. clients that it has been ordered to turn over their names, and offshore bank account information to the IRS. Clariden Leu posted a notice on its website dated Nov. 29, 2011 to that…
The California State Board of Equalization (BOE or SBE) announced almost one year ago that medical marijuana dispensaries are not exempt from collecting and paying tax attorneys are fielding inquiries from a number of medical marijuana dispensaries who are undergoing sales tax audits by the BOE. The M.O. of the…
In IRS Notice IR 2012-3 the IRS announced that innocent spouse defenses pursuant to IRC Section 6015(f) will become a little easier. Generally there are three different kinds of innocent spouse defenses, each with its own rules and exceptions. IRS Notice 2012-8, which somewhat confusingly was announced in IRS Notice…