Beginning in 2010, the Panera Bread Foundation, a non-profit related to the popular restaurant chain, piloted a limited experiment in the "gift economy," whereby customers could "pay it forward" or "pay-what-you-can" at select cafes. The experiment, unfortunately,...
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IRS
Deadline Approaches for 2015 Non-Filers to Claim $1.4 Billion in Federal Refunds
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) estimates that it has nearly $1.4 billion in unclaimed income tax refunds due to about 1.2 million taxpayers who failed to file a 2015 Form 1040. The deadline to claim these funds is this year's return filing deadline, April 15,...
Beware of New IRS Phone Scam
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently issued a warning about a new phone scam involving fake calls from the Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS). Tax scammers are using "spoofed" TAS phone numbers to contact potential victims to obtain personal information and...
IRS Launches New “Dirty Dozen” List of Tax Scams for 2019
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently kicked off its annual "Dirty Dozen" awareness campaign to alert taxpayers to common tax scams. Topping the list in 2019 are new variations on phishing schemes that use "legitimate-looking emails with fake, but convincing...
California Tax Attorney Confirmed as New IRS Chief Counsel
After a two-year vacancy, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has a Chief Counsel again. Michael Desmond, a California tax attorney originally nominated by President Donald Trump last year, was confirmed 83-15 today by the Senate to oversee regulation...
IRS Awaits Confirmation of Chief Counsel
The U.S. Senate is scheduled to vote to confirm Michael Desmond as Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Chief Counsel as soon as this week, and to IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig, confirmation would be a benefit to the tax agency. "Having a confirmed chief counsel is...
Gig Workers and Self-Employment Tax Compliance a New Focus for the IRS
The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) recently reported on self-employment tax compliance in light of the growth of the gig economy. The IRS last estimated that self-employment taxes accounted for $69 billion of the annual tax gap. TIGTA...
WSJ Publishes Clarification Regarding Results of Federal Tax Reform
Recent news accounts have claimed that federal taxpayers are receiving smaller tax refunds for the 2018 filing season, implying that their taxes are higher as a result of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. According to research by the Wall Street Journal, however,...
National Taxpayer Advocate Report Details Challenges Facing IRS Due to Government Shutdown and New Federal Tax Laws
National Taxpayer Advocate Nina E. Olson recently released a report to Congress concerning the problems facing taxpayers with respect to their interactions with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). For the 2018 filing season, she cites the government shutdown as the...
IRS Awards Over $312 Million in Whistleblower Claims
The IRS recently released its annual report to Congress on the Whistleblower Program, which awarded over $312 million to whistleblowers and collected $1.4 billion in FY 2018. Awards in this period represent 21.7% of total proceeds collected based on whistleblower...
