Washington D.C. Tax Law Blog

There are a lot of ways that a person might wind up on the Internal Revenue Service’s version of a watch list. How it happens, though, is perhaps less important than what can happen if no action is taken when it does happen. Action is called for and it’s always best to do it with […]

The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act is a looming reality in 2014. This is the year it takes effect. Under the provisions of the law, the Internal Revenue Service has the capacity to financially penalize foreign banks that fail to report if they have accounts held by U.S. taxpayers. Many experts, whether in Washington or […]

Although there are many legal strategies that can be used to minimize tax obligations, every year many Washington, D.C., residents are accused of using unlawful methods to get out of paying taxes. Whether the Internal Revenue Service claims that a taxpayer made a mistake or took intentional actions to avoid taxes, the consequences can be […]

Not all criminal investigations by the Internal Revenue Service wind up in criminal prosecution. The processes that the IRS follows for pursuing the case can involve many twists and turns. All of that can take time and each step may provide opportunities for limiting exposure to prosecutorial action. An experienced tax attorney’s help can be […]

Officials tasked with implementation of the U.S. Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act appear to be making solid headway in their efforts to get other nations aligned with the requirements. Treasury Department officials recently confirmed they have reached agreements with 12 governments. Bloomberg also reports they also have agreements in substance with 17 other foreign governments […]

As we have noted often, the Treasury Department has been expanding its efforts related to funds held by Americans in foreign bank accounts. The concern, of course, is that many taxpayers haven’t reported those funds as income, which means that there may be taxes owed. In these tight fiscal times, the government seeks to shore […]

The Affordable Care Act has been the target of a lot of negative press. Aside from the general political rhetoric from opponents of the measure, there have been the very obvious issues with the rollout of the online registration process. The latest red flag to be raised comes from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax […]

Black Friday has passed, as has the social outcry from many who accuse retailers of stripping Thanksgiving of its real meaning by starting the holiday shopping season early. Today, the limelight is on Cyber Monday. According to Forbes magazine, surveys of consumers indicate that some 86 percent of working folks are planning to spend some […]

Soul singer Tina Turner has voluntarily relinquished her U.S. citizenship. She reportedly signed the papers at the U.S Embassy in Bern, Switzerland, late last month. It probably didn’t come as a major surprise. She had announced her plans to do so back in January. Why did she do it? On the face of things it […]

We haven’t talked too much about the hot water the Internal Revenue Service found itself stewing in this year. Back in February, it was the Taxpayer Advocate Service who charged that the IRS adopted a snail’s-pace approach in fixing issues for taxpayers when it discovered hundreds of thousands of social security numbers had been stolen. […]