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Delinquent IRS Trust Fund Taxes Update

The Trust Fund Penalty for Delinquent IRS Trust Fund Taxes

Delinquent IRS Trust Fund Taxes Update. Avoiding the Trust Fund Recovery Penaly by properly classifying employees instead of independent contractorsIf you owe back payroll taxes, you should hire a capable Tax Attorney, who is experienced and familiar with the rules pertaining to the application of the Trust Fund Penalty. The IRS considers unpaid Trust Fund Taxes a serious matter and has made collection of these taxes a priority.

This is based upon two factors. First, as of September 2015, $59 Billion in payroll taxes remained outstanding.Second, approximately 69% of all taxes collected by the IRS are income taxes that are withheld from employers. The heightened scrutiny is evidenced by Assistant Attorney General, Caroline D. Ciraolo’s, statement made during a key note address at the American Bar Association’s 27th annual Philadelphia Tax Conference on November 2, 2016.

“Among our top priorities is civil and criminal employment tax enforcement. Employment tax violations represent $91 billion dollars of our country’s $458 billion dollar gross tax gap, and as of June 30, 2016 more than $59 billion reported on quarterly employment tax returns remained unpaid.”https://www.justice.gov/opa/speech/principal-deputy-assistant-attorney-general-caroline-d-ciraolo-delivers-keynote-address

In addition, recent prosecutions and convictions make clear that “the willful failure to comply with employment tax obligations is a crime – plain and simple.” https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/nevada-business-owner-and-bookkeeper-sentenced-employment-tax-crimes.

The following is representative sample of criminal prosecutions and convictions for unpaid employment taxes.

  1. On October 26, 2016, Michigan owners of sixteen adult foster care homes were indicted for failure to pay employment taxes. From September 2010 through 2014, the owners withheld payroll taxes from their employee paycheck, but failed to file employment tax returns and also failed to pay over the trust fund taxes they collected.https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/michigan-owners-sixteen-adult-foster-care-homes-indicted-failure-pay-employment-taxes
  1. On October 25, 2016, Kyle Archie was sentenced to 10 months in prison for failure to pay over employment taxes for the tax years 2003-2009 related several entities including Reno Rock, Inc., GKPA Inc. and D Rockeries, Inc. . https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/nevada-business-owner-and-bookkeeper-sentenced-employment-tax-crimes
  1. On October 18, 2016 two West Virginian business owners pled guilty for failing to pay employment taxes. The defendants operated a construction business from July 2007 through 2010. The defendants also failed to pay over $490,000 in employment taxes for a prior business. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/west-virginia-business-owners-plead-guilty-failing-pay-employment-taxes
  1. On September 15, 2016 a North Carolina man pled guilty to failing to pay employment taxes. The defendant operated an audio business in Burlington, North Carolina. From 2008-2011 the defendant failed to pay over employment taxes withheld from his employees. Instead, the defendant used the trust fund taxes https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/north-carolina-man-pleads-guilty-failing-pay-employment-taxes

In April of 2015 the IRS launched the Federal Tax Deposit X Coded Pilot Program.

The Program was designed to test the impact of alternate Alert treatments such as Soft Notices and Revenue Officer visits and identify which taxpayers benefit most from the alerts. In addition, In addition, the IRS plans to roll out Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (“EFTPS”) in 2017. According to the IRS, the EFTPS will modify the Federal Tax Deposit platform by creating a near real time system to identify variances in Federal Tax Deposits.  These initiatives are designed to improve collection case selection, assignment to agents, and enable the IRS to make data driven decisions regarding taxpayer contacts.

The takeaway here is that failure to pay Trust Fund Taxes can result in substantial penalties as well as imprisonment. If you have unpaid payroll taxes you should immediately contact a Tax Attorney.

© Anthony N. Verni, Attorney at Law, Certified Public Accountant

11/10/2016

 

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FBAR Collections Ten Billion and Counting

IRS Releases 2016 Offshore Voluntary Compliance Statistics

irs headquarters sign in washington d.c. a place for fbar reporting and becoming Fatca compliant

On October 21, 2016 the IRS released the latest statistics on Taxpayers who have made disclosures under the Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program (OVDP) or by using the Streamline Procedures.

According to the News Release, a total of 55,800 taxpayers have come into compliance since 2009, resulting in the collection of approximately $9.9 billion in taxes, interest and penalties.

An additional 48,000 Taxpayers have made disclosures using the Streamlined Procedures, paying $450 million in taxes, interest and penalties.

In its News Release, the IRS implies that IRS detection is inevitable for those who fail to come forward.

The foregoing is based upon Taxpayer information received by the IRS through a number of initiatives including:

(i) inter-governmental agreements (IGA’s) executed between the U.S. and its international partners under FATCA providing for the exchange of Taxpayer  financial information;

(ii) Taxpayer information provided by institutions participating in the  Swiss Bank Program;

(iii)  criminal prosecution of Foreign Financial Institutions, institution relationship managers, bank officers, attorneys and other facilitators;

(iv) information gathered in response to the issuance of a John Doe Summons;

(v) Taxpayer information obtained from IRS “Whistleblowers;” and

(vi) Taxpayer information gathered through IRS participation in various international task forces.

For those who elect to proceed under the Streamline Procedures, the bar to establish “non-willfulness” has been raised. The IRS will no longer accept Taxpayer applications under the Streamlined Procedures unless the Taxpayer provides a “narrative statement of facts,” pays the tax due, and submits the required information returns.

This statement must clarify why the particular party failed to disclose offshore assets. Accordingly, a request for relief that fails to contain a detailed explanation, in all likelihood, will result in a denial of relief.  Similarly, a statement that the Taxpayer was unaware of the filing and reporting requirements will not meet the threshold for non-willfulness.

Finally, taxpayers, who self prepared their returns and who answered “no” to questions 7a and 7b on Schedule B pertaining to the existence of an interest in or signatory authority over a foreign financial account, will find it difficult, if not impossible, to establish “non-willfulness.”

© Anthony N. Verni, Attorney At Law, Certified Public Accountant         10/23/2016

A press release from the IRS

https://www.irs.gov/uac/newsroom/offshore-voluntary-compliance-efforts-top-10-billion-more-than-100000-taxpayers-come-back-into-compliance

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Michigan Man Pleads Guilty To Tax Obstruction

“ANOTHER KNUCKLEHEAD BITES THE DUST”

fbar penalties for tax evasion can include imprisionment if the IRS seeks to criminally prosecute youThe definition of a Knucklehead is“someone considered to be of questionable intelligence.”

On October 7, 2016 a Michigan business man plead guilty to tax obstruction for filing a false amended tax return for the tax year 2008. The guilty plea echoes the sentiments of Chief Richard Weber of the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation that: “There are no safe havens for hiding money in secret bank accounts around the globe.” The case also makes clear that substance will always prevail over form for purposes of determining the true beneficial owner of a foreign financial account or asset and whether the income from any such account or asset is subject to U.S. tax. The following case is just one of many examples of the pervasive use by U.S. Taxpayers of abusive offshore tax avoidance schemes and the consequences of getting caught.

On or about November of 2004,  Robert Rumbold (“Rumbold” or the “Defendant”), a manager of a trust account owned by his parents, transferred $2.6m from his parents’ account into Credit Suisse Bank AG in Switzerland. In order to evade income tax and to conceal the identity of the beneficial owner, the Defendant arranged for the account to be held in the name of Wisdom City Limited, a Hong Kong company. Although Wisdom City Limited was set up to be the named the account holder, the Defendant effectively controlled and was the beneficial owner of the account until December 2008, when Rumbold transferred control to a relative.

Rumbold failed to report any interest, dividends or capital gains received from the Wisdom City Limited Credit Suisse account on the Defendant’s personal tax returns for the tax years 2006-2008. The Defendant also falsely stated on each of his three tax returns that he did not have an interest in any foreign financial account.  In 2010 the Defendant amended his 2008 income tax return, where he once again failed to report the income generated from the foreign financial account and failed to make any disclosure concerning his interest in the Wisdom City Limited Credit Suisse account.

The takeaways from this case are the following:

  1. A U.S. Taxpayer’s worldwide income is subject to federal income tax;
  2. Depending upon the circumstances, a U.S. Taxpayer may have to comply with certain financial reporting requirements under the Bank Secrecy Act and FATCA and may be required to make other financial disclosures;
  3. Irrespective of the form, abusive offshore tax avoidance schemes (“tax schemes”) are devised for the purpose of carrying out two objectives: First, to conceal the true identity of the owner of any foreign financial account or other foreign financial asset; and Second, to conceal income derived from those foreign assets that is subject to tax by the United States;
  4. These tax schemes may include, but are not limited to, the use of foreign trusts, foreign corporations, offshore partnerships, limited liability companies, and international business companies. The tax schemes can also include using anon-resident alien or maintaining funds in a foreign attorney’s trust fund account in order to carry out a taxpayer’s nefarious plan;
  5. The element of intent in a criminal tax prosecution more often than not is proven by circumstantial rather than direct evidence. Therefore, it logically follows that the more elaborate the tax scheme is, the easier it will be to establish intent. . Remember! “If it walks like a duck and talks like a duck, it’s probably a duck;” and
  6. Taxpayers, attempting to game the system, by creating and/or participating in these knucklehead schemes will eventually find themselves in deep trouble due to recent global tax enforcement initiatives and the financial reporting requirements established under the Bank Secrecy Act, FATCA, the Common Reporting Standards and other protocols.

If you are the architect, principal or a participant in such a tax scheme, you are either aware or should be aware that what you are doing is illegal. If you do not think what you are doing is illegal, you are probably in a state of denial. You only need ask yourself: “Does it pass the smell test?”

Any path to redemption with the IRS involves taking personal responsibility, making a conscious decision to right the ship and thereafter taking remedial action.  Remember, you can generally recover from a financial setback. In contrast, imprisonment and the financial and emotional toll to you and your family may be insurmountable.

The immediate action should start with your speaking with a tax attorney to discuss your particular situation and evaluating whether making an offshore voluntary disclosure is a viable option for you.

© Anthony N. Verni, Attorney at Law, Certified Public Accountant   10/13/2016

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Tax Resolution Firms – Scams and Scoundrels

There are many reasons why clients with Tax issues with the IRS should avoid the use of Tax Resolution firms.

Tax Resolution Firms can help represent your case to the Internal Revenue Service

The “Tax Resolution Company“, a relatively recent development, has become a serious problem for consumers in our country and is not dissimilar to those companies that promise to solve your credit card debt, student loans, or help you save your home from foreclosure.

The Tax Resolution business model looks something like this:

  1. Tax resolution firms typically advertise heavily and/or may have a significant organic presence on leading search sites, offering to settle Federal tax obligations for a fraction of the amount owed.  These claims are for the most part false
  2. Tax resolution companies typically claim to have tax attorneys, CPAs, and enrolled agents within their employ, when in many cases, no such personnel exist or professional licenses are merely “parked” for appearance purposes
  3. The principals of many tax resolution companies are rarely, if ever, disclosed in any organization document filed with either the state of incorporation or with any state where the Firm conducts business. Ownership is usually in the form of a limited liability company whose members include either other entities or individuals (spouses, relatives, etc.) who have nothing to do with the firm. There are two reasons for this. One is to limit liability. The second reason is to prevent the client from uncovering prior unfavorable history about the Firm’s undisclosed principals
  4. Tax Resolution Companies may also attempt to pass themselves off as either a non-profit consumer group or a Christian business. This is simply another tactic to suck the consumer in
  5. A taxpayer who calls the Tax Resolution Firm is generally greeted by a high-pressure salesperson, who has neither the tax knowledge nor the experience to appropriately assess a particular tax situation. This should be the first signal to run!  These individuals will say anything to force you to part with your hard earned money since their compensation is strictly commission based
  6. Tax resolution firms take large retainers, typically $5,000-$10,000.

The settlement of any tax debt for less than its face value is based upon a myriad of factors, including but not limited to, the financial condition of the taxpayer and collectability, the number of years remaining on the statute of limitations for collections, and whether the tax debt was created based upon the IRS filing of substitute returns.

While reputable Tax Resolution Firms do exist, there are other reasons why hiring a reputable tax attorney is always the preferred choice.

  1. First, Enrolled Agents and CPAs cannot litigate tax cases. A reputable tax lawyer who is also a certified public accountant, and/or who has an LLM in tax law is the best combination of credentials to look for.   Tax attorneys focus their practices on tax law and are trained in the art of advocacy. Most tax attorneys also focus their continuing legal education on relevant tax topics and actively participate in organizations focusing on tax matters.
  2. Next, attorneys are licensed professionals, and as such, are subject to disciplinary authority of their state bar. Tax Resolution Firms are not subject to any professional licensure or professional regulation. An aggrieved client’s only recourse is to file a complaint with the relevant State Attorney General’s Office, the Federal Trade Commission, or to file a lawsuit against the Firm.
  3. Finally, communications between a client and his attorney are privileged. This generally means that neither the attorney nor the client can be forced to divulge those communications, unless the privilege has been waived.  No such privilege exists in the case of communication between an accountant, enrolled agent, or other Tax Resolution personnel and the client.

For the above reasons, any client looking to settle a tax debt for less than its face value should steer clear of any business operating under the Tax Resolution Firm model and hire a reputable tax attorney.

 

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FATCA, Transparency Efforts Curb Offshore Tax Evasion

Everyone’s Getting FATCA Compliant

FATCA NewsThe worldwide landscape of transparency is changing as the United States works with other nations to increase information sharing around the world. Work to implement Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) is headlining these efforts to fight tax evasion.

Enacted in 2010, FATCA requires foreign financial institutions to tell the Internal Revenue Service about their U.S.-owned accounts or face, in some cases, a 30 percent withholding tax on certain U.S.-source payments that are made to them.

The Treasury Department is engaged in negotiating dozens of pacts, known as intergovernmental agreements (IGAs), that would allow financial institutions to report the information to their own governments, which then would share the information with the United States.

So far, FATCA has proved successful.

“Countries worldwide have demonstrated a strong interest in becoming transparent on that level,” Robert B. Stack, Treasury Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Tax Affairs, told Bloomberg BNA. “This interest shows how seriously countries around the world are taking this. FATCA has pushed that effort further and is rapidly becoming the global standard for exchange of information.”

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Global Tax Transparency Rises as FATCA, OECD Initiatives Gain Momentum

As the growth of global tax transparency rises, individual taxpayers and financial institutions must exercise new levels of caution.

tax fraud and tax evasion from foreign offshore accounts

With more than 100 intergovernmental agreements (IGA) under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) and many countries participating in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD), a new level of transparency is emerging.

“I think the world’s changing,” said Alan Granwell, of counsel with Sharp Partners PA. “The significant issue is global transparency. Look at where we were a few years ago. We were nowhere. I think the difference is really incredible.”

Many practitioners have noted that banks and financial institutions have made a concerted effort to prepare for the next stage of reporting expected in 2015.

“I think many institutions are in pretty good shape,” said Jonathan Jacket, a partner at Burt, Staples, & Maner. “They had a plan and they worked through their plan. Many are on schedule and they’ve done what they need to do.” The question remains, however, “Is it the best version? Is it as good as it could be?” he told Bloomberg BNA. “We won’t find that out for sure until we’ve gone through a few cycles of reporting.”

March 15 kicked off the staggered implementation of several new phases of reporting, a major point in global tax transparency. “It’s the real start,” said Susan Grbic, a tax partner at WeiserMazars LLP. “It’s exciting that it’s happening. This is the beginning of real FATCA, of fully implementing and working out wrinkles and discrepancies between the different types of reporting that will be required.”

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IRS Clarifies Rules on FATCA Announcement

irs headquarters sign in washington d.c.In a Dec. 1 2014 update, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) stated that jurisdictions can continue to be treated as though they have an intergovernmental agreement (“IGA”) after Dec. 31, 2014, as long as the Treasury Department determines they are making efforts to finalize the agreement as soon as possible.

In a Dec. 22 update, the IRS clarified that foreign financial institutions still must have a certificate identifying them as being compliant with the international tax law to avoid certain withholdings. Those in jurisdictions that are treated as having IGAs must obtain a Global Intermediary Identification Number.

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FBAR Failure Leads Connecticut Executive to Plead Guilty to $8.4 Million Tax Evasion

Prosecutors announced Jan. 20 that a Connecticut business executive has pleaded guilty to willfully failing to report offshore bank accounts to the IRS.

Tax Evasion, Offshore Account filing taxes with the IRSAs part of his plea, which was entered Jan. 16 2015 before Magistrate Judge Debra Freeman of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, George Landegger of Ridgefield, Conn., agreed to pay a civil penalty of more than $4.2 million and more than $71,000 in back taxes.

According to the charges in a criminal information, Landegger maintained undeclared accounts at an unidentified Swiss bank based in Zurich from at least the early 2000s until 2010. His undeclared assets reached a high value of over $8.4 million in that period.

If you have a financial interest in or signature authority over a foreign financial account, including a bank account, brokerage account, mutual fund, trust, or other type of foreign financial account, exceeding certain thresholds, the Bank Secrecy Act may require you to report the account yearly to the Department of Treasury by electronically filing a Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) 114, Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR).

According to prosecutors, a representative of the Swiss bank referred Landegger to a Zurich-based attorney, Edgar Paltzer, to form a sham entity to hold his undeclared accounts. In April 2009, Landegger met with the bank representative and another individual to discuss the future of his undeclared accounts in light of the news about a U.S. investigation into hidden accounts at another Swiss bank, UBS AG, according to the charges.

At the meeting, prosecutors said, Landegger affirmatively rejected the possibility of disclosing his undeclared accounts to the IRS through its Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program or otherwise. Instead, he shifted the assets out of Switzerland into a new, declared account in Canada and an account kept by another person in Hong Kong.

“The benefits of citizenship or residency in the United States come with certain obligations, including, as George Landegger well knew, the legal requirement to report foreign bank accounts,” U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said. “He will now pay for his illegal conduct.”

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Secret Foreign Bank Accounts Are Not Secret Anymore…

Secret Foreign Bank Accounts

Secret Foreign Bank Accounts are not secret anymoreSecret foreign bank accounts have been at the center of money laundering. This is especially with reference to offshore bank accounts.  It is very common for people to hide money in secret foreign bank accounts in other countries in an effort to avoid paying taxes on the monies.

A Case Where a Businessmen & Attorney Collude to Hide Money in Secret Foreign Bank Accounts

In the case, United States v. Kerr, D. Ariz., No. 2:11-cr-02385, which Bloomberg reports, two businessmen and an attorney were charged in U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona for hiding more than $8,000 million in assets in foreign bank accounts that were kept a secret.

The prominent Phoenix businessmen, Stephen M. Kerr & Michael Quiel, solicited the services of a former San Diego attorney in committing this crime.

The attorney, Christopher M. Rusch, assisted the two businessmen to set up secret foreign bank accounts Switzerland. The Swiss accounts were set up in the name of nominee entities concealing the identity of Kerr and Quiel as the owners of the bank accounts. They then went ahead and deposited millions in these secret foreign bank accounts from sale of stock they had concealed their ownership in acquiring. All this while, Rusch acted as a signatory authority to these secret accounts. He carried out all the transactions on these accounts on behalf of Kerr and Quiel.

The Role of the Attorney

Rusch, focused on criminal and civil tax defense, creating and maintaining offshore accounts among other things. He was a master in setting up these offshore accounts and was not left out in using them too. He also maintained secret foreign bank accounts in Switzerland and Panama. He went against the statement “preach water and drink wine.” He actually preached the water and drank it, or how else can you convince clients to hide money in secret foreign bank accounts.  At one point, he helped Kerr to purchase a golf course in Colorado from his secret accounts. He actually did this using his nominee Panamanian entity. As if that was not enough, he helped Kerr and Queil to use the hidden money in the secret foreign bank accounts at their comfort back in the U.S. by transferring funds to them through his client trust account.

Charges

You cannot hide from the law for so long.  Rusch was sure they will never be found or may be the deal he got from this two business men was too sweet to be ignored.  Either way, he was at the center of breaking the law by aiding money laundering and in the promoting tax evasion. IRS and the government proved too smart to be outsmarted when they caught up with the three.

 Kerr and Queil were each convicted of two counts of filing false individual tax returns for 2007 and 2008. In addition, Kerr was charged with failing to file FBARs (Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts) for 2007 and 2008.  Rusch, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the government and failing to file an FBAR.

In case you have found yourself in the above situation, contact us for help. It is getting hard to run from the law with the IRS intensifying its search on these secret foreign bank accounts.

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