7 Takeaways from IRS Commissioner Rettig’s Keynote Speech to MSBA
Frost & Associates, LLC was pleased to be among the sponsors for this year’s Annual Irving Shulbank Memorial Dinner and Program. Highlights of the program included announcing the recipients of the 2019 Tax Excellence Award and The J. Ronald Shiff Memorial Pro Bono Award, as well as a presentation by keynote speaker, IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig.
Significantly, Commissioner Rettig’s coverage of a number of hot topics, left attendees with the following takeaways:
- The highly anticipated publication of a Revenue Ruling regarding cryptocurrency is just weeks away.
- The IRS continues to pursue and enforce offshore matters.
- The Whistleblower program is more robust than ever.
- The IRS is increasing its efforts in civil and criminal employment tax enforcement-particularly targeting wealthy taxpayers with significant balances.
- Fraud referrals from the civil IRS division are dismally low at 7%. The IRS is committed to shifting resources in order to raise this percentage-even at the expense of IRS customer service.
- The IRS will increasingly scrutinize and pursue enforcement actions related to tax shelters, such as captive insurance and syndicated conservation easements.
- The IRS fully intends to increase the number of suits it files to reduce assessments to judgment in order to prevent the expiration of collection statue expiration dates.
In summary, the IRS is consolidating its efforts to increase enforcement and close the tax gap. Taxpayers will notice a significant increase in IRS criminal prosecutions and fraud referrals, with the goal being to motivate taxpayers to come into compliance and refrain from engaging in abusive practices. If you have concerns regarding your tax issues, contact Frost Law today at 410-497-5947.
