Justice Department Ramps Up Tax Avoidance & Fraud Investigations
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Justice Department Ramps Up Tax Avoidance & Fraud Investigations

Taxpayers are being urged to pay careful attention to the upcoming reporting and filing obligations according to the Department of Justice’s Tax Division. Willfully filing false tax returns or deliberate tax avoidance are serious criminal offenses. “Our criminal prosecutors are prepared for tax filing season too,” said Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg…

The Taxpayer Bill of Rights Series: The Right to Challenge the IRS’s Position and Be Heard
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The Taxpayer Bill of Rights Series: The Right to Challenge the IRS’s Position and Be Heard

[This article is the fourth in a series of articles covering the Taxpayer Bill of Rights.] The Taxpayer Bill of Rights is a cornerstone document that highlights the fundamental rights taxpayers have when dealing with the IRS. The IRS continues to publicly highlight these rights to taxpayers and regularly reminds its employees about these rights as it…

Collection Agencies Will Now Be Helping The IRS Collect Back Taxes
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Collection Agencies Will Now Be Helping The IRS Collect Back Taxes

Originally published at AVVO.com Pursuant to a law passed by Congress last year, the IRS has hired four private debt collection agencies to contact taxpayers about their back taxes. This is highly unusual, and can cause fear and confusion among citizens who owe tax, but also have heard of the many tax scams currently going…

Dangerous Traps for Tax Return Preparers
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Dangerous Traps for Tax Return Preparers

Originally published at AVVO.com Millions of tax returns are filed each year by return preparers, including Certified Public Accountants, Enrolled Agents, franchised tax return companies, and small companies with unregulated preparers. All of them should know that there are a lot of penalties should they violate the IRS rules. Due Diligence Penalties The Internal Revenue…