The importance of paying over employment taxes cannot be overstated. Larry Kudsk, a Berkeley construction businessman, learned this the hard way recently when he was indicted on seven counts of failing to pay over employment taxes he withheld from employee’s...
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Audits
Rubber Checks Meet the Tax Evasion Road
Tax evaders can certain be creative when it comes to evading the assessment of tax, or evading the payment of tax, but they often get caught. This was the case for a Utah chiropractor who used a variety of tactics to avoid paying the IRS nearly $350,000 in tax. ...
Male Escort Stripped of Freedom – Incarcerated for Tax Evasion
Any time a business receives payments regularly in cash, the business can be a target of an IRS audit. It is tempting for many business owners to forego reporting cash receipts, not realizing the many ways the IRS and Department of Justice Tax Division can catch up...
Tax Fraud, Cybercrimes, and Identity Theft – Oh my!
The IRS released its 2020 Criminal Investigation Annual Report touting an impressive achievement over the fiscal year of identifying more than $10 billion in tax fraud and other financial crimes. Despite the pandemic, the division investigated 1,600 cases to thwart...
Rolling in Dough(nuts)
The family of three Dippin Donut stores in New York were figuratively rolling in dough when they allegedly concealed over a million dollars in cash sales by depositing the money into their personal accounts instead of their business accounts. The trio also evaded...
Third-Party Payroll Services Can Get You In Trouble
The IRS is cautioning businesses that use third-party payroll services to be aware that the business is usually still held legally responsible if any tax filing is done wrong on their behalf. Although most payroll services are legitimate, every year employers are hit...
The IRS Wealth Squad Wants You!
IRS insiders have indicated that the IRS’ Global High Wealth Industry Group will be targeting hundreds of wealthy taxpayers for audit beginning now and throughout the fall. These audits will likely include the taxpayer’s individual tax return, along with all...
Gig Economy and Other Worker Classification May Differ for Federal and California Purposes
Nearly a year ago, the U.S. Department of Labor issued an opinion that most "gig economy" workers are properly classified as independent contractors.The gig economy labor market is made up of individuals who complete short-term contracts or freelance work, rather than...
Pilot Program to Fix Wage and Hour Problems
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) recently launched the Payroll Audit Independent Determination (PAID) program, which is designed to quickly resolve unintentional minimum wage violations under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) without penalty to qualified...
VIDEO: Common tax issues faced by individuals and businesses
Many individuals come to our firm for assistance handling tax issues after being audited by the IRS. They may need help proving that the tax return they filed was correct, or they may need help arranging an installment agreement, an offer in compromise, or another...