Page 74 - August 2015 Life In Naples Magazine

FINANCE
TAX NEWSAN ASSORTMENT OF
by Michael Wiener, E.A.
A fter a long and grueling tax season this year, I thought
I would put forth a few interesting tax related news
stories for your reading pleasure.
• Joe Armstrong, the Democratic state Representative of
Tennessee, plans to plead not guilty to indictment charges of
fraud and tax evasion. According to the indictment, Armstrong
began a scheme back in 2006 to take advantage of the state’s
increase in cigarette tax. Armstrong allegedly bought tax stamps
at the 20 cent rate and then sold them
after the tax was increased to 62 cents where they inflated clients’ federal returns by falsifying business
per pack. According to the lawsuit,
Armstrong failed to report more than
$318,000 of his income from the
scheme.
• Michael Gardner of California
had 80 percent of his state tax refund
garnished because of approximately
$200 in outstanding parking tickets.
What is the problem with this? The
parking tickets were for a car that he
does not own and were from a city that he had never visited.
When Gardner contacted the California State Franchise Tax
Board, he was told that it would take up to four months to
receive his money, though fortunately it only took about two
weeks.The Tax Board was supposed to send a notice to Gardner
at least 30 days before they seized his refund so that he could
contest the seizure, but the Board says it was sent to the wrong
address. According to the Tax Board, they have only garnished
the wrong person’s wages four times within the last two years.
• The Internal Revenue Service has signed a $2.2 million
contract with the Quinn Emanuel law firm in Washington D.C,
who is paid $1,000 per hour to perform an audit of Microsoft.
Senator Orrin Hatch, Senate Finance Committee chairman,
wrote a letter to the IRS commissioner relating his concerns
about the contract.Hatch stated that he had three main concerns
about the contract: he thought the contract violated laws that
prohibit the IRS from sharing taxpayer information with
third-parties, that the contract removes taxpayer protections
by permitting private contractors to perform inherently
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governmental functions, and that the contract calls the IRS’s use
of limited resources into question. Shortly after the law firm was
hired, the Treasury Department and IRS issued a temporary
regulation, without a notice and comment period, that allows
private contractors to question witnesses under oath, and gives
them access to confidential taxpayer information.
• Angela Miller and Lee Lynwood were charged and
sentenced by the US District Court in Macon, Georgia for a
conspiracy to defraud the United States. From January 2008
to March 2010 the women operated a tax preparation business
income and loss amounts and claiming deductions and credits
that the clients were not eligible to receive. When the Internal
Revenue Service tried to shut down the company’s ability to
electronically file tax returns in 2008 by revoking their Electronic
Filing Number (EFIN), the women had an acquaintance apply
for another EFIN and then opened a new business and a new
bank account under the acquaintance’s name. The women
pleaded guilty to the charges, and were each sentenced to 12
months and 1 day in prison, followed by one year of supervised
release, and were ordered to pay $44,214.62 in restitution.
In following issues, we will look forward to the 2015 tax
season, where I will give more information about different tax
rules and regulations.
If you should have a topic that you would like me to
discuss or if you should have a question, please feel free
to call 239.403.4410 or e-mail me at
mike@cctaxandaccounting.com.
An enrolled agent, licensed by the US Department
of the Treasury to represent taxpayers before the IRS
for audits, collections and appeals. To attain the
enrolled agent designation, candidates must demon-
strate expertise in taxation, fulfill continuing education
credits and adhere to a stringent code of ethics.
Life in Naples | August • September • October 2015