The tax code is a bloated tangle of inscrutable rules and regulations that is Greek to even some of the most highly trained professionals. That being the case, no one expects you to have a fully developed grasp of every way in which a divorce will affect your tax liability. But even without a complete […]

For many individuals who reside in the Washington, DC, metro area, completing their taxes one of the most stressful times of the year. While many likely heaved a sigh of relief once the documents were complete, the matter may not be over for some. According to president of Surevest Wealth Management, about 1 percent of […]

The big talk of the nation’s capitol today, at least from a business perspective, is the guilty plea that Credit Suisse has entered into to resolve U.S. criminal charges. Switzerland’s second-largest bank entered the plea yesterday in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia. The charge by prosecutors was that the company conspired for decades to help […]

Teddy Roosevelt was noted for pursuing a policy based on the phrase, “speak softly, and carry a big stick.” Back in the early 20th century, that stick tended to be the use of the military. Today, there are those in Washington who might argue that such gunboat diplomacy has been replaced by more subtle tactics, […]

We have made a point in recent months to highlight issues related to the U.S. government’s deep focus on thwarting suspected tax evasion through the use of foreign accounts. Our efforts have attempted to provide some clarity about the conditions under which taxpayers must submit a Foreign Bank and Financial Account Report (FBAR) as part […]

Due process is held out as one of the cornerstone guarantees of the U.S. Constitution. What it is generally understood to mean is that the government can’t exercise punitive action against a person merely on suspicion of wrongdoing. Under that concept, actions such as the seizure of money or assets should not happen unless the […]

The head of the Internal Revenue Service says his people will keep going after what he calls “the worst of the bad guys.” But the effort that has typically been put into doing that job is not going to be as vigorous as in most recent years. The agency says it’s going to have fewer […]

It may be a common assumption that if someone is under scrutiny from the Internal Revenue Service they must be guilty of something. The reality is that most individuals are not conscious committers of tax crimes. Very often, they simply have made errors of omission in filing their returns, either because of an oversight or […]

The tax information swapping network being created by FATCA, the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, took a big leap forward this week. The U.S. Treasury Department announced today that nearly 50 countries are now officially listed as “in compliance” with the law. More are expected to be added as the months of 2014 progress. FATCA […]

For all the rhetoric out of Capitol Hill about simplifying the tax code, there isn’t much action making it a reality. If anything, as the government scrambles to close purported leaks in the tax collection system, simplification appears to be just a pipe dream. Tax filing for the average person is already a significant chore. […]