Unhappy Returns

The growing problem of fraudulent tax returns being submitted based on stolen identities is a “tsunami of fraud,” and victims, lawmakers, and law enforcement are struggling with how to deal with the fallout ...

~ In US Tax Refund Fraud is a Matter of Concern 

GST Fraud Andrew Charles Richards

IT Fraud Daniela Zaric

Chris Jordan, AO Commissioner’s speech to the National Small Business Summit on Thursday 16 July 2015 at Doltone House Jones Bay Wharf, Sydney Commissioner's speech to COSBOA

Sydney company director Rod McGeoch has hit out at BHP ­Billiton for using a Singapore company to structure its tax ­arrangements and called for major Australian companies to drop artificial tax avoidance structures. In an interview with The ­Australian, Mr McGeoch, who is a director of Ramsay Health Care and led the Sydney bid for the 2000 Olympics, said directors on the boards of major companies should hold themselves to higher standards than just maximising profits for shareholders.
Mr McGeoch, who is advising the NSW government on the economics of a bid to host the Formula One Grand Prix in Sydney, also cautioned that the economic trends of such a high-profile event “have not been great 6 foot 5 tall Rod McGeoch an impressive thinker and speaker indeed ... 

Mr Rod McGeoch gave the luncheon address back in 1994 and he was the key drawing card who helped the Committee to make a profit ...

Erik Hemberg (MIT), Jacob Rosen (MIT), Geoff Warner (MITRE Corp.), Sanith Wijesinghe (MITRE Corp.) & Una-May O’Reilly (MIT), Tax Non-Compliance Detection Using Co-Evolution of Tax Evasion Risk and Audit Likelihood:

We detect tax law abuse by simulating the co-evolution of tax evasion schemes and their discovery through audits. Tax evasion accounts for billions of dollars of lost income each year. When the IRS pursues a tax evasion scheme and changes the tax law or audit procedures, the tax evasion schemes evolve and change into undetectable forms. The arms race between tax evasion schemes and tax authorities presents a serious compliance challenge

George K. Yin (Virginia), Preventing Congressional Violations of Taxpayer Privacy, 68 Tax Law. ___ (2015):

This article claims that the U.S. House Ways & Means Committee violated the law in 2014 when it voted (strictly along party lines) to release to the public the tax return information of 51 taxpayers. The committee acted under the belief that an obscure tax law provision authorized its action. But the provision required the committee to have a legitimate purpose for the disclosures and — incredibly — the committee failed to satisfy this almost trivial, common-sense restriction. Although the disclosures occurred in connection with the committee’s allegations of possible criminal misconduct by a high-ranking IRS official (Lois Lerner), most of the return information released was completely unrelated to the oversight objective and none of it was necessary for the committee’s claims.

Pippa Browde (Montana), Many Unhappy Returns: The Need for Increased Tax Penalties for Identity Theft-Based Refund Fraud, 18 Fla. Tax Rev. ___ (2015):

The growing problem of fraudulent tax returns being submitted based on stolen identities is a “tsunami of fraud,” and victims, lawmakers, and law enforcement are struggling with how to deal with the fallout. The issues surrounding identity theft-based tax fraud are complex. Current IRS efforts to stem the tide involve pouring resources into assisting victims, updating IRS processes to detect and prevent refund fraud, and increasing the number of criminal investigations and prosecutions it pursues. 

HMRC say it: tax avoidance is a choice

 
The National Audit Office, the tax gap, HMRC and ‘other estimates’     

Ukraine PM calls on Canadian investors to help displace oligarchs Globe and  Mail

Is the IRS Abandoning Its Duty to Stop “Dark Money” From Ruling the 2016 Election? TruthOut