IRS

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 Today, there are those in Washington who might argue that such gunboat diplomacy has been replaced by more subtle tactics, […]

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. […]

Americans who have had to deal with the headaches resulting from enforcement of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act might tend to disagree with the assessment of the law issued this week by U.S. Senate investigators. The report came out on Tuesday and the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations doesn’t appear to pull its punches […]

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 […]

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 […]

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. […]

It is not common for the U.S. Supreme Court to hear tax-related cases. Certainly, the nine-member panel doesn’t typically get involved in questions over most audits or tax appeals. But sometimes, when it’s clear that there is no other way to resolve conflicting decisions made at lower jurisdictional levels, the high court deigns to weigh […]

In our last post we made note of the fact that audits by the Internal Revenue Service would be going into stasis during a government shutdown. What has not been suspended is tax collection, specifically in cases where taxes are collected electronically. What also has not been suspended is the filing deadline for individuals who […]

It doesn’t seem to matter which side of the aisle one sits on in Congress, or at what spot on the political spectrum a lawmaker stands; no one is coming out and saying they support the idea of a government shutdown. And yet, the prospects of avoiding such an event horizon don’t seem very likely. […]