Archive for the ‘IRS / Taxes’ Category

The USA Today ran an article yesterday about misconduct of federal prosecutors.  The article is a worthwhile read and touches upon a growing area of concern for criminal defense lawyers and innocent citizens: how to combat a prosecutor who is willing to be unethical in order to “win” a case.

As the article notes:

Federal prosecutors are supposed to seek justice, not merely score convictions. But a USA TODAY investigation found that prosecutors repeatedly have violated that duty in courtrooms across the nation. The abuses have put innocent people in prison, set guilty people free and cost taxpayers millions of dollars in legal fees and sanctions.

From personal experience, I have found the overwhelming majority of prosecutors to be honest and ethical.  However, one unethical or overzealous prosecutor can destroy a citizen’s life, just like the examples provided in the USA Today article.

If you are the target of a federal or state prosecution, contact Norman D. McKellar today at 865-566-0125 to discuss how we can help you.

Do you think your tax problem is bad?  It may be, but I doubt it’s worse than the collective amount owed by Department of Justice employees, who owe $14.3 million.  The DOJ is the same group that prosecutes alleged tax criminals.  Details below from the ABA Journal:

Nearly 2,000 Justice Department employees collectively owe the Internal Revenue Service $14.3 million.

But it’s not the only federal agency with a legal focus with delinquent taxpayers on staff. Employees of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts collectively owe $11.8 million, while employees of the Securities and Exchange Commission collectively owe a little more than $1 million.

The Washington Post collected the figures on back taxes owed by federal workers and published a story last week that emphasized the $9.3 million owed by Capitol Hill employees. A separate chart had the breakdown.

The total taxes owed by federal workers and retirees in 2009 was 3.3 billion, TaxProf Blog says. NewsMax.comand Main Justice noted the Justice Department figure.

The Justice Department is a large federal agency, Newsmax.com writes. “Still, Justice is conspicuous in its employees proportionately stiffing Uncle Sam in comparison with other federal agencies.” The Justice Department ranked 15th on the list of federal agencies with the most outstanding tax delinquents, Main Justice says.

Norman McKellar - Top Attorney Knoxville Tennessee

The July-August 2010 Cityview Magazine announced that Norman D. McKellar is a “Top Attorney” for Income Tax and IRS Resolutions.

If you need assistance with your tax problem, contact Norman D. McKellar today at 865-566-0125 for a free consultation.

An interesting article from Financial Times about Americans living abroad and desiring to give up their citizenship in order to avoid the Internal Revenue Service.  http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/0ae8415c-9e5e-11df-a5a4-00144feab49a.html

Instead of renouncing your citizenship, try contacting Tennessee tax attorney Norman D. McKellar today at 865-566-0125 for a free consultation.

British Columbia eyes family law reforms – CTV News

VICTORIA — The B.C. government is proposing broad family law changes it hopes will discourage domestic violence while encouraging separated and divorced couples to settle disputes outside the courtroom.

After a four-year review of its Family Relations Act, the province released draft legislation Monday as part of a 180-page discussion paper.

It marks the latest effort to change how the province deals with legal disputes involving separating couples and domestic violence.

The proposed legislation — which would be called the Family Law Act — aims to discourage couples from seeing the courts as the first stop in resolving a dispute, instead calling for more options to resolve conflicts through co-operation and mediation.

The government hopes a less adversarial system will reduce the stress that comes with a divorce or separation, which is something the province’s attorney general notes is associated with an increased risk in domestic violence.

“There is nothing more emotional than the breakdown in a relationship, and you can amplify that statement when children are involved,” said Attorney General Mike de Jong.

“What you see is an attempt to provide a route to resolution that is less adversarial and less likely to invoke unpredictable emotional responses.”

Domestic violence is also at issue in how the law would settle custody battles.

The proposed legislation makes the best interests of the child the only consideration when it comes to settling parenting disputes, including asking children for their views.

Those best interests will now include a history of family violence, how children have been cared for in the past and whether there have been any civil or criminal proceedings relevant to their safety.

“It (domestic violence) goes from being a factor that was always given consideration to being explicitly set out statutorily in a case where there does need to be court intervention,” he said.

Domestic violence has been under a microscope in British Columbia since a horrific murder-suicide in Victoria in 2007, when Peter Lee killed his six-year-old son, his wife and her parents before finally killing himself.

There have been several reports since, including a coroner’s report and another from a government panel into domestic violence calling for changes, including fast-tracking domestic violence cases through the courts and ensuring better co-operating between police, the justice system and government departments.

The changes announced Monday also follow amendments last year to the rules governing civil and family cases designed to make it easier for ordinary citizens to access the courts.

Those included eliminating filing fees for parties that use mediation, limiting the exchange of documents that aren’t directly relevant to a case, and three days of free trial time.

Other proposed changes in the document released Monday include:

– Extending property rights for common-law couples who have lived together for two years or have children.

– Outlining how to determine a child’s legal parents when reproductive technologies are used.

– Removing adversarial language in the law by replacing terms such as custody and access to “guardianship” and “parenting time.”

The proposed changes will go to public consultation in the coming months prior to coming up in the legislature some time next year.

Please contact your local Knoxville divorce attorney at The McKellar Law Firm, PLLC at (865) 566-0125 for a free consultation.

The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld Wesley Snipes’ 3-year jail sentence he received after being found guilty of three misdemeanor counts of failing to file a tax return.  The ABA Journal reports:

Saying that a federal district judge in Florida had discretion to sentence Wesley Snipes the maximum term, a federal appeals court has upheld the actor’s three consecutive one-year sentences on three misdemeanor counts of willfully failing to file a tax return.

Snipes reportedly owes the Internal Revenue Service some $17 million (presumably minus a $5 million payment he made on the eve of sentencing in 2008). And, although his law firm dropped him as a client when he refused to follow advice that he was violating tax law, Snipes not only refused to file himself on bogus grounds but urged others to follow his lead, recounts the Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in its written opinion (PDF).

Although Snipes contended that the only reasonable sentence for him was probation, citing his college education, family and charitable works, among other mitigating factors, the 11th Circuit found otherwise: “The district court acted well within its considerable discretion in sentencing Snipes to 36 months in prison,” the appellate panel writes.

For help with your tax situation, contact attorney Norman D. McKellar today at 865-566-0125.

We’ve written previously about inmates filing false tax returns while incarcerated, but this post is the first one about inmates doing so while so close to home, in Sevierville, Tennessee.  The story from Knoxnews.com is below.  If you need help with a tax crime, contact criminal defense and tax attorney Norman D. McKellar today at 865-566-0125.

KNOXVILLE – A Sevierville man faces charges he filed false tax returns while incarcerated on behalf of prison inmates, resulting in refunds totaling about $58,651, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Walter Allen “Beau” Johnson is named in an indictment charging him with filing false claims against the U.S. and with conspiring to defraud the U.S.

According to a Justice Department news release, Johnson submitted false tax returns claiming refunds on behalf of inmates from February 2006 to January 2007. He collected inmate Social Security numbers and recruited other inmates to secure Social Security numbers.

He used the Social Security numbers to file false income tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service, claiming refunds to which the inmates were not entitled, according to the Justice Department.

Johnson and the other inmates got about 88 U.S. Treasury checks, according to the government.

If convicted, he faces a maximum 65 years in prison and a maximum fine of $3 million.

The July-August 2010 Cityview Magazine announced that Norman D. McKellar is a “Top Attorney” for Income Tax and IRS Resolutions.

If you need assistance with your tax problem, contact Norman D. McKellar today at 865-566-0125 for a free consultation.

From AL.com:

WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service says oil spill victims who receive BP payments for lost wages will have to pay up come tax time.

Under current law, BP payments for lost wages are taxable — just like the wages would have been, the IRS said in tax guidance issued Friday. Payments for physical injuries or property loss, however, are generally tax free. Payments for emotional distress? Taxable, though medical expenses related to the emotional distress are deductible.

BP officials have agreed to create a $20 billion fund for spill victims, as well as a $100 million fund to support displaced oil rig workers.

The IRS issued the guidance today to help spill victims sort through the law’s complexities. The agency has posted tax information for oil spill victims on its website and plans to hold forums in seven Gulf Coast cities on July 17 to help victims with tax troubles or questions.

Being audited, especially via an in-person audit, can be a scary proposition.  Even worse, it could result in the IRS building a criminal a criminal case against you.  Forbes magazine has some good advice on what to do in the event you are audited, including:

When The Tax Man Cometh (In Person) – Forbes.com

A taxpayer should always be represented by an attorney if the case involves potential criminal offense, such as tax evasion, filing a willfully false tax return, or failure to file a tax return that is due. Often, if amended returns need to be filed in such a case, the attorney will hire a CPA to do this work.

If you need representation during or prior to an IRS audit, please contact Norman D. McKellar today at 865-566-0125.