Update on IRS Offshore Initiatives

Posted on by Moskowitz LLP International Taxation, Tax Planning & Compliance, Tax: Audits, Litigation & Collection,
Global tax issues are a top priority for the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division (IRS-CI), which focuses its work on investigating taxpayers who willfully engage in tax evasion. Significant efforts are also being made to identify and take legal action against promoters and financial institutions who have assisted taxpayers...
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How Much Should You Give to a Charity: Or is There a Formula For Determining How Much You Should Give vs How Much You Can Afford

Posted on by Steve Moskowitz Tax Planning & Compliance, Tax: Audits, Litigation & Collection,
Other Posts in this Series Benefits of Making Charitable Donations When and Where are the Best Places to Donate? This answer is something that an attorney often says to a client: “it depends”. This is a highly personal decision that can encompass many factors. The personal and or religious beliefs...
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Tax Extensions Available to Victims of California Wildfires

Posted on by Moskowitz LLP Tax: Audits, Litigation & Collection, Tax Planning & Compliance,
Earlier today, the IRS announced that victims of the California wildfires have been granted extensions to file certain individual and business tax returns. Tax filing extensions Most tax filings and payments due as of October 16, 2017 have been extended to January 31, 2018. This includes: Quarterly estimated tax payments...
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Making an Effective (and Tax Deductible) Donation for Disaster Relief

Posted on by Moskowitz LLP Tax: Audits, Litigation & Collection, Tax Planning & Compliance,
Relief efforts are underway to assist victims of Hurricane Harvey and those affected by the catastrophic flooding in Texas and Louisiana. Many well-meaning Americans are making donations through a variety of organizations. Most of the donations will provide much-needed assistance, but a lot of it won’t. In this post, we...
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Tax Return Preparer Sentenced to 27 Months for Tax Evasion

Posted on by Moskowitz LLP Criminal Tax Law, Tax Planning & Compliance, Tax: Audits, Litigation & Collection,
Tax evasion carries severe penalties, even in cases in which no one else has been defrauded. The facts From 2005 through 2011, Semere Tsehaye owned more than 20 Instant Tax Service (ITS) franchises in Illinois, Kansas and Missouri, under the names A&S Tax Service LLC and ERI Enterprises LLC. In...
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San Antonio Businessman Sentenced To Four Years in Prison for Defrauding Personal Injury Clients, the Bankruptcy court, and the IRS

Posted on by Moskowitz LLP Criminal Tax Law, Tax: Audits, Litigation & Collection,
From 2009 through 2014, Elpidio Gongora (aka “Pete Gongora”), operated a number of personal injury law offices in Texas, Arkansas and New Mexico. The lawyers in these firms apparently obtained settlements on behalf of their clients, but Gongora did not deliver the money to their clients nor to the medical...
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18 Months in Prison for Cashing Client Checks and Not Reporting Income to the IRS

Posted on by Moskowitz LLP Criminal Tax Law, Tax: Audits, Litigation & Collection,
A man who provided landscaping and snowplowing services to residential and commercial customers in Hartford, Connecticut is serving 18 months in jail for underreporting his income. The facts Don Biagi of Don Biagi Landscaping liked to cash his client’s checks – from 2008 to 2010, he cashed 574 checks ranging...
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