The U.S. crackdown on tax evasion continues. On February 14, 2013, the U.S. Treasury Department announced that Switzerland and the United States have signed an agreement to make Swiss banks disclose more information about U.S. account holders.The agreement is the...
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Tax Court Denies Conservation Easement Deduction as a Quid Pro Quo Exchange
In Pollard v. Commissioner TC Memo 2013-38, the U.S. Tax Court recently denied a taxpayers' deduction for the donation of a conservation easement where the taxpayer granted the easement pursuant to negotiations with a local zoning authority for approval of a...
Is Israel the Next Switzerland?
As the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the criminal tax division of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) expand the global scrutiny of offshore bank accounts, they have turned their attention on three of Israel's biggest banks: Bank Leumi Le-Israel, Bank Hapoalim...
California start-ups can avoid common errors to keep IRS at bay
Anyone with a start-up in California needs to think about taxes from the very beginning and not after the company earns some revenue. Planning ahead can prevent issues with the IRS in the future and allow the company to take some deductions. That being said, there are...
California IRA’s and the IRS: Remember to take distributions
California residents are probably beginning to gather all their documents in preparation for filing their taxes soon. The IRS is becoming aware of taxpayers who are not in compliance with the requirements of IRA distributions and are issuing a warning that they will...
International Agreements Abound to Fight Offshore Evasion
From Argentina to the United Kingdom, and places in between like India, Israel, Korea, New Zealand, Singapore, Bermuda, Brazil, the BVI and Check Republic, the Treasury Department announced today that it is engaged with over 50 countries and jurisdictions worldwide to...
Tax Court Holds Against IRS on First-Time Homebuyer Credit Issue
On November 5, 2012, the Tax Court ruled on case involving the first-time homebuyer credit overruling the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) that had consistently held that both spouses had to qualify individually for the credit. The Court noted Congress enacted the...
Switzerland Unlocks its Secret Bank Accounts.
An article in the Sunday edition of the Washington Post details the continued erosion of Switzerland's banking secrecy laws. As many of Europe's economies continue to experience stagnant economic conditions, many countries have taken aim at Switzerland's vaults in the...
IRS Provides Guidance to Foreign Financial Institutions on FATCA Timelines
The US Treasury Department (Treasury Department) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued Announcement 2012-42 providing guidance on various timelines for withholding agents and foreign financial institutions (FFIs) to complete due diligence required under the...
New York Court Holds That Lap Dances are Not Art and are Taxable
The New York Court of Appeals has affirmed a previous judgment by the state's Appellate Division that lap dances are not art, and thus are not exempt from state sales taxes.In New Loudon Corporation v. State of New York Tax Appeals Tribunal, the plaintiff, Nite...
