IRS

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 […]

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 […]

It’s hard to remember when the Internal Revenue Service has been so much in the spotlight of public scrutiny. And it appears that the likelihood is that it is only going to get more intense in the weeks and months ahead. The federal court in Washington, D.C., is beginning to see lawsuits coming through the […]

We who live in the Washington, D.C., area know it is a cosmopolitan place. There are many people who live throughout the District and suburban Maryland and Virginia who are new immigrants or first-generation citizens. Any who work and make a living here have the obligation of filing their yearly income tax returns. But there […]

It’s been a tough week for the current administration in the White House. The State Department is under fire over what some are calling a cover-up over the consulate attack in Libya that left four Americans dead back in September. And the Internal Revenue Service is under the gun for apparently targeting some tax-exempt organizations […]

Groundbreaking technology is amazing stuff (when it works). As with anything that is cutting edge, though, new technology often represents a double-edged sword. With all the apparent benefits come the risks that the tech tools will be used for nefarious purposes. And sometimes the good guys misuse the tools as readily as the bad guys. […]

As we have noted in past posts, the prospect of an audit is not one that is looked upon with relish. At the same time, it’s not something that most readers in the Maryland, Virginia and District of Columbia areas necessarily need to be too worried about. Only a small percentage of all returns are […]

As long as Congress is undertaking efforts to reform the U.S. tax code, why not repeal the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act. That’s the suggestion that’s being made by the group American Citizens Abroad. The recommendation addressing this particular tax controversy was made in the form of a statement sent to Washington, D.C., this week […]