IRS Obtains Injunctions Against Tax Schemes
With the help of the Department of Justice, the IRS has obtained more than
100 injunctions against tax scheme promoters. Some require that client
lists be turned over. Are you on the list?
By Stanley H. Block
More bad news for those who
participate in illegal tax-avoidance schemes.
The Internal Revenue Service,
working in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Justice, has obtained
more than 100 injunctions against promoters of tax-avoidance schemes.
Some the tactics these
schemes use to avoid taxes are changing the taxpayer’s name on trusts but
allowing him to have full access; the establishment of phony religious
organizations; and the filing of “zero income” returns.
The IRS discovered the tax
schemes a variety of ways, including from Internet and media research and
tips from tax professionals.
The Justice Department
investigated those leads, and if it found illegal behavior, the government
filed a lawsuit against the promoter. Some resulted in permanent
injunctions, other in temporary. So far, the courts have issued
injunctions against 99 abusive scheme promoters.
The government’s tactics were
aggressive. In fact, some of the injunctions ordered the tax-scheme
promoter to turn over a list of clients.
And the government isn’t
finished. According to an announcement from the IRS, the tax-collecting
agency is still investigating another 1,000 tax schemes.
“I encourage the public to
bring questionable promotions and abusive preparers to our attention,”
Kevin M. Brown, commissioner of the IRS Small Business/Self-Employed
Division, said in a statement.
In fact, the IRS recently set
up a hotline (1-800-829-0433) for tips. “We give serious attention to
every referral we receive,” Brown said.
Now, you might expect this
type of action from the local law-enforcement agency searching for a
missing girl — not from the IRS.
But that’s a grave
misconception. Dogged by a reputation that it is lax on tax enforcement,
the IRS over the past few years has become a virtual pit bull.
Identifying tax cheats and
tax-avoidance schemes have become top priorities for the IRS.
“Last year, the IRS referred
more than 3,000 cases to the Justice Department for possible criminal
prosecution, nearly a 20 percent jump over the previous year,” said IRS
Commissioner Mark W. Everson in a recent speech to the National Press
Club.
Indeed, if you think you can
get away with cheating on your taxes these days, you’re wrong. Dead wrong.
Want proof? With these recent
injunctions, the IRS’s aim was not only to shut down the tax schemes. It
was to find you.
The client lists the
government ordered are for one reason only: to go after cheating
taxpayers. Are you on one of those lists?
Stanley H. Block is a Maryland State Tax
Attorney and a member of the American Society of IRS Problem Solvers. You
can contact him at 410-727-6006 to obtain a free subscription to his newsletter
titled The IRS Times & Inquirer.
 |
