Washington D.C. Tax Law Blog

First it was taken to task for apparently targeting conservative nonprofits for undue scrutiny of their tax-free applications. Now, lawmakers on Capitol Hill are wondering if the Internal Revenue Service isn’t being somewhat heavy handed in going after some small businesses. The source of the concern stems from a letter that was sent out to […]

The extent to which federal agencies cooperate with each other to advance their particular agendas is getting a bit more media attention this week. The Internal Revenue Service is smack in the middle of it again. The information being revealed is raising more than a few eyebrows inside and outside of Washington, D.C. According to […]

It’s no big secret that the United State government has been working diligently to close the lid on suspected American tax evaders. Foreign bank accounts have been the big targets. Anyone who is found to have not completed a Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts, informally known as an FBAR, runs the risk of […]

The Internal Revenue Service says tax fraud, tax evasion and tax underpayment costs the federal government about $385 billion a year. With an ocean of red ink that deep it should come as no surprise that federal officials in Washington, D.C., and tax collectors at the state level have begun turning to computer software to […]

ne of the largest initiatives by the Internal Revenue Service and U.S. Justice Department to enforce tax laws may be about to get a boost. According to recent reports, there are a number of large Swiss banks lining up to cooperate with U.S. efforts in identifying Americans who may hold funds in non-compliant foreign bank […]

One of the largest initiatives by the Internal Revenue Service and U.S. Justice Department to enforce tax laws may be about to get a boost. According to recent reports, there are a number of large Swiss banks lining up to cooperate with U.S. efforts in identifying Americans who may hold funds in non-compliant foreign bank […]

When the federal government goes after an individual for tax crimes the process usually occurs in stages. Each stage represents an instance during which opportunities may exist for mitigating the effects and perhaps reducing the chances of a case coming to full prosecution. Whether the person under investigation is somewhere in the Washington, D.C., area […]

In January of 2012, the IRS began another Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program (OVDP) designed to collect taxes on unreported foreign assets. The OVDP was similar to those that the agency had announced in 2009 and 2011. The program offers individuals a chance to self-report income, which minimizes the potential criminal or civil penalties that they […]

The government recently announced the clampdown on three tax preparers in Prince George’s County, Maryland. By virtue of orders issued by two separate federal judges, a father, a son and the father’s ex-wife have been permanently scrubbed from the roles of individuals who can file tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service on behalf of […]

A federal judge in Washington, D.C., is pondering suggestions from the prosecution and the defense regarding sentencing in the cases of former Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. and his wife, Sandra Jackson. Jackson, who is the son of the elder civil rights activist and politician of the same name, had served as a Democratic congressman from […]