by Brian Mahany
They say the devil is always in the details and that certainly applies to much of the recent financial reform legislation coming from Capitol Hill these days. Jilted lovers and disgruntled employees have reported billions of dollars of unpaid taxes since the IRS revamped it’s whistleblower program. Why have they done so? Congress …
Tag Archives: criminal tax
Business Owners Beware - Here Comes Another Whistleblower Program
When It Comes To Banking, “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” Is The Best Policy (offshore accounts)
by Brian Mahany
Government tax authorities asking banks and credit card companies for information on foreign account holders is hardly news these days. The I.R.S. does it, so do Germany, Britain and many other countries. Officials want to know when their citizens transfer wealth overseas or open foreign accounts. Generally the practice is legal if the …
250 Dead Taxpayers Seek Refund From IRS? Identity Theft Extends Into The Grave.
By Brian Mahany
Every year at election time someone jokes about “voting early and often.” Those jokes often refer to Chicago politicians and stories of dead people voting two or three times. For this story we head west to California where two men have bee indicted for filing 250 refund returns, all fraudulent and all for …
IRS Criminal Division Announces 2010 Investigation Targets
The IRS has announced its Criminal Investigation Annual Business Plan for FY2010. This year’s plan is part of the IRS’ larger 5 year strategic plan for 2009 - 2013. Those of us who are baby boomers remember the then Soviet Union’s “5 year plans.” Like the IRS strategic plan, those plans were big on …
Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force - Same Ole, Same Ole?
by Brian Mahany
In many ways, the United States government is more about public relations and propaganda and less about action. Take the recent press event in November announcing the creation of the Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force.
Facing rising public and political pressure in the aftermath of the last year’s financial meltdown, President Obama signed an …
From Tough On Crime To Tough On Spending? It Appears So.
by Brian Mahany
A new look at mandatory sentences? The answer is yes! A provision in a defense spending bill requires the United States Sentencing Commission to review mandatory prison sentences.
As a former lobbyist and Special Counsel to the Senate President, I know the real stories are often buried deep inside of legislation. We have become …
When Laws Become So Complex (or name a document longer than War & Peace)
by Brian Mahany
Just about everyone has an opinion on President Obama’s health care legislation. Some say it will bankrupt our nation. Others say the health care plan is badly needed. Whatever your opinion on the substance of the bill, I say that 99.9999% of Americans have not even read the bill. Unfortunately, the only …
There is a New Sheriff in Town. Make that 50 New Sheriffs.
by Brian Mahany
The U.S. Census Bureau does more than count people every 10 years, they also track state tax collections. And the most recent figures for the second quarter of 2009 shows that on average, state and local tax collections were down 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. More ominously, this is the …
FBARs or Prison Bars?
by Brian Mahany
The federal amnesty deadline for declaring foreign accounts to the IRS expired October 15th. After the highly publicized legal action against Swiss bank UBS began, the IRS offered an amnesty to Americans with assets in foreign accounts. According to federal money laundering laws and IRS regulations, businesses and individuals holding more than $10,000 …
Another One Bites the Dust - Monaco is No Longer a “Tax Haven”
Monaco as a Tax Haven? No More!
The dwindling list of tax havens in the world, that is countries without tax exchange agreements with the United States, just got smaller. Deputy U.S. Treasury Secretary Neal Wolin announced that the United States has signed a tax exchange agreement with the Principality of Monaco.
Under the terms of the …