Tax Blog/Blawg

Background:

Millions of Employee Retention Credit (ERC) claims have been filed with the IRS as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, with millions of taxpayers already receiving their refunds and others still waiting to receive refund checks. The IRS audits and Appeals work has commenced with a fury at a dizzying pace. While many appropriate ERC claims have been filed, the IRS has seen a number of erroneous claims as well. On December 21st, the IRS launched a new initiative to address the issue of erroneous ERC claims. The Voluntary Disclosure Program, part of a broader IRS effort to ...

Every five years the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) is required to collect information and compile statistics on the scale of foreign-owned business activities in the United States under the International Investment and Trade in Services Survey Act of 1976. This information is used by the federal government to analyze the impact of foreign investment on the U.S. economy. In general, with few exceptions, if a foreign person (an individual or an entity) owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, 10% or more of the voting securities in a U.S. entity at the end of the of the ...

When battling the IRS, knowledge is power.  Nowhere is this more true than in worker-classification cases, where the IRS often seems hell-bent on treating all workers as employees, regardless of the facts.  One bright spot for taxpayers under IRS scrutiny is an obscure provision, commonly known as Section 530, that grants taxpayers a brand of “civil immunity” if they meet three criteria.  One requirement is that taxpayers file Forms 1099 (Miscellaneous Income) for all workers considered to be independent contractors.

For over three decades, the IRS has taken the position that ...

Taxpayers with undisclosed foreign accounts wish it were not true, but the reality is that the U.S. government, after a long period of inactivity and ineffectiveness, has taken significant steps over the past few years to identify and punish failures to file Forms TD F 90-22.1 (Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts), or foreign bank account reports (“FBARs”) as they are commonly known.  These steps include enacting legislation obligating foreign institutions to automatically provide the IRS with information about U.S. account holders, paying handsome rewards to ...

Life isn't fair.  Neither is the IRS’s most recent settlement initiative designed to entice taxpayers to proactively resolve their international tax non-compliance, such as failing to report foreign income, foreign accounts, foreign entities, etc.  In both instances, some people win and some people lose, often with little or no regard to what is equitable.  Among those basking in the benefits of favored status lately are certain Canadians, residing either in the United States or the homeland, who have neglected their tax-related obligations with Uncle Sam.  Indeed, thanks to ...

The world of international tax enforcement is changing at a frenetic pace, especially when it comes to the rules about penalizing taxpayers who fail to file Forms TD F 90-22.1 (Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts), or foreign bank account reports (“FBARs”) as they are commonly known.  The latest installment in this area is United States v. Williams, a recent decision by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals holding that the taxpayer “willfully” violated his FBAR duties and thus deserved maximum sanctions.  This judicial opinion, already the subject of much criticism ...

Despite the recent increase in online commerce, traditional methods of moving product, such as so-called “direct selling,” are alive and well.  Indeed, according to a recent IRS study, direct selling is a significant industry, with annual sales of nearly $30 billion and more than 13 million salespersons in the United States alone.  The IRS has intensified worker-classification audits over the past few years, generally claiming that workers should be treated as employees instead of independent contractors.  Theoretically, these audits should cause little concern for direct ...

Concerned about the extent of international tax non-compliance, Congress enacted the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (“FATCA”).  Among other provisions found in FATCA was Section 6038D, which requires certain individuals to annually report to the IRS data about their interests in foreign financial assets.  Sounds simple enough, right?  Well, this seemingly straightforward obligation has been causing significant havoc for taxpayers and their advisors in 2012, as they wrestle for the first time with tricky new issues when deciding whether and/or how to complete Form 8938 ...

Life grants few chances at true redemption. The Internal Revenue Code, likewise, is not known for facilitating taxpayer salvation. Sure, under certain circumstances, taxpayers have an opportunity to file late tax-related elections to rectify an oversight, and other forms of clemency exist. However, the general rule is that taxpayers are stuck with a position once they take it on a tax return filed the IRS. One obscure exception to this rule is the qualified amended return (“QAR”), which can be a powerful self-help remedy for taxpayers who experience the “oh-shoot” moment ...

Change is inevitable, particularly in the tax arena.  The world evolves at such a quick pace that the IRS frequently finds itself playing catch up.  Examples of this abound, but a recent event of interest involves the IRS’s attempt to deprive certain taxpayers of losses because of their decision to conduct business through limited liability companies (“LLCs”).

Congress, focused on combating “tax shelters” in the 1980’s, passed Section 469(h)(2).  This provision creates a legal presumption that a taxpayer who owns an interest in a limited partnership, as a limited ...