IRS

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. […]

Tipping is one of those interesting cultural things that can be hard to understand. Someone who has never worked as a wait person may be at a loss to appreciate what a hot button issue it can be. They may be equally at a loss to understand why a new rule by the Internal Revenue […]

You probably are among the vast majority of people who have never used it. But perhaps you have heard about it. And you can be sure that you will be hearing more about it going forward. We’re talking about a Bitcoin. And the reason it’s sure to be garnering a lot more public attention is […]

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 […]