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IRS Still Muddling Around With The Identity Theft Problem
Victims of identity theft are still coming out on the short end of the stick insofar as the IRS is concerned. So says the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA). In an audit report released last week, TIGTA noted that IRS has not been providing quality customer service to identity theft victims, when
Consumption Tax On The Horizon?
Who’s to say? It could happen. So saith The Wall Street Journal, last week, quoting Senator Ben Cardin (D, MD), co-chairman of a Senate Finance Committee working group looking into this plan in the context of the often-mentioned overhaul of the tax system, which should come sooner rather than later. Cardin actually introduced legislation, last
IRS: Thou Shalt Not Skim!
That’s the message to taxpayers from the recent Tax Court decision in the Musa case. The story is that this bloke owned a restaurant, and decided to simply not report as revenue significant amounts of cash which he skimmed from the restaurant’s take. If that were not enough, he also apparently lied to his accountant
IRS Has Dough Waiting For You!
That’s right – they just can’t wait to send you money, if you’re one of the million or so blokes who hasn’t yet filed for the 2011 tax year and are entitled to a refund. And by IRS’ reckoning, those as yet unclaimed refunds total about a billion or so! In situations where a tax
Old Guys Rule
When it comes to Social Security, that is. So saith the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) Inspector General, who recently stumbled across the fact that something like 6.5 million folks, age 112 or older, have active Social Security Numbers! The audit, released in early March, concluded that SSA lacks the controls necessary to find out about
IRS Allows Breathing Room For Slot Players
A little good news from the Revenooers this week, for those of you who indulge in slot machine play. Here comes a proposed Revenue Procedure which, if finalized, would allow you to use an optional “safe harbor” in determining your wagering gains and losses. Longstanding IRS regulations say that gains from wagering transactions are included
Some IRA Early Distributions Escape Penalty Revenooer Rants
Generally speaking, distributions from IRAs before one reaches age 59-1/2 trigger a penalty for early withdrawal – the Revenooers want you to keep the dough in the account until you are truly long in the tooth and truly need the money to support yourself in retirement. But for any number of reasons, a bloke may
Revenooers Reveal the “Naughty 12” Revenooer Rants
Or is it the “Dirty Dozen?” In any case, beware of the IRS’ most worrisome tax scams, the more egregious of which are: Phone scams – These are aggressive and threatening phone calls by criminals impersonating IRS agents. The scam artists threaten police arrest, deportation, license revocation and other similar nasty results if you don’t
Taxpayer Advocate Not Happy Revenooer Rants
In her annual report to Congress, National Taxpayer Advocate Nina Olson paints a bleak picture of the IRS, in general, and its interaction with taxpayers. She emphasizes four broad areas of concern: The budget environment of the last five years has resulted in a “devastating erosion of taxpayer service.” (No argument from us on that
Some IRS Hires Not Choir Boy Candidates Revenooer Rants
So saith the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) anyway. Seems TIGTA recently found in one of its audits that between 2010 and 2013, hundreds of former employees were rehired for whom IRS records show performance and conduct issues associated with their previous IRS employment.