Tuesday, July 03, 2018

Taxing and Cautionary Times

Courtesy of Central Coast BC party:
A cautionary tale about why and a society needs a trusted revenue authority


Sydney Ideas | How Can Investigative Journalism Projects Change the World?
Speakers: Alison Sandy, Mark Schoofs, Michael West and Gerard Ryle

RettigThe Senate Finance Committee holds a hearing today on the nomination of Pepperdine Law School graduate Charles Rettig's nomination to be the Commissioner of the IRS.


President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Internal Revenue Service, Charles Rettig, has spent decades helping wealthy and famous people fight the agency’s efforts to collect taxes.

At a Thursday confirmation hearing, the criminal tax lawyer from Beverly Hills, California, will face questions from lawmakers about whether he’s qualified to run the IRS. Democrats will question whether he has the management skills to run an agency struggling to implement the biggest tax overhaul in a generation. ...

Rettig, 61, who has represented the estate of Michael Jackson and the creator of the "Girls Gone Wild" video franchise, probably will win the 51 votes needed for confirmation in the Republican-controlled Senate.







Since the IRS implemented the private debt collection (PDC) initiative last year, I have been concerned that taxpayers whose debts are assigned to private collection agencies (PCAs) will make payments even when they are likely in economic hardship – that is, they are unable to pay their basic living expenses. As discussed in my 2017 Annual Report to Congress, this is exactly what has been happening. The recent returns of approximately 4,100 taxpayers who made payments to the IRS after their debts were assigned to PCAs through September 28, 2017 show:

  • 28 percent had incomes below $20,000;
  • 19 percent had incomes below the federal poverty level; and
  • 44 percent had incomes below 250 percent of the federal poverty level. ...

 
How to get away with financial fraud Guardian 

It's tax time and the ATO stands ready to pounce on incorrect tax return claims

Ski holidays, Maltese terriers and child receptionists. Taxpayers have tried to claim all manner of expenses in the past but be warned, the ATO is ready to clamp ...

Taxcast: How Accountants Broke Capitalism


No matter what the scandal is, when it comes to financial secrecy and tax dodging, the so-called big four accountancy firms are key players. The latestJune 2018 Taxcast discusses how accountants broke capitalism.



Sometimes I get irritated. When I do I speak in short sentences. Really short. So when I read Judge Buch’sopinion in the recent case of Gary Gaskin and Jessie Gaskin v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2018-89 (June 20, 2018), I was struck by his frequent use of short sentences. Really short. Kinda like he was really irritated. And why wouldn’t he be? Mr. Gaskin had filed admittedly fraudulent tax returns but now wanted to contest the fraud penalties! Mr. Gaskin thought he should escape fraud penalties because he had later filed amended returns that had, in his view, cured the fraud.  Judge Buch's opinion teaches an important lesson we should all learn. I call it the “one return rule.” It’s a short lesson. You will find it below the fold.

Lesson From The Tax Court: The One Return Rule

Panama Papers investigations bring more than $700 million back onshore ICIJ

Passports, Arms Dealers And Frozen Accounts: What Our Partners Found In The New Panama Papers Data ICIJ
‘ICIJ partners from Latin America to Eastern Europe (and in between) have exposed a plethora of new abuses.‘

Francophone Africa: Scaling Up Tax Justice Global Alliance for Tax Justice

Bangladesh budget: “cut dependence on VAT!” says civil society Global Alliance for Tax Justice

India: Centre to finalise 10 criteria to spot shell companies that launder money Hindustan Times
‘The government has been cracking down on shell companies as part of its larger effort to tackle black money, or income that is unaccounted for and hidden away from the tax department.’

Tax Evasion in Latin America Harms Women’s Rights Latindadd (In Spanish)

BRICS tax officials put heads together to curb evasion, illicit financial flows Fin 24

How the Tax Cut Sacks Puerto Rico The American Prospect
Impact of the race to the bottom

Malta: Suspects in Journalist’s Murder Charged with Money Laundering OCCRP

Goods Seized from Former Malaysian PM Worth US $273 Million OCCRP

Ireland: Tax-free funds once favoured by ‘vultures’ fall €55bn The Irish Times
Also: ‘Many Russian energy and transport companies, and also several Russian banks, have resorted to using Irish SPVs to house assets tax-free.’

Canadians with offshore holdings evade up to $3 billion in tax per year The Star

Set to Miss Bank Account Sharing Cutoff, Israel Sanctions Loom Bloomberg BNA

Accenture UK profits hit by charge over tax probe Financial Times
‘The tax charge is the latest in a series of tax-related controversies for Accenture, which provides technology and IT advice to some of the world’s largest companies and organisations — including HMRC.’


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