August 9th, 2018
Tax Controversy Specialist, Lecturer
Author of Now What? I Got a Tax Notice
from the IRS. Help!
Inside this edition:
- Maybe Things Would Have Gone Better with Coke For this Soda Executive
- Resort Operator Won’t be Working on His Tan in Prison
- A Bit of Humor
- Tax Facts from the IRS
- Question & Answer
- For the Foodies …Chicken with Chick Peas, Cumin and Tumeric
“In the tax profession, there are only three total official credentials. One is the enrolled agent credential. The EA is the only authorized tax practitioner who has technical expertise in the field of taxation and who is empowered by the U.S. Department of the Treasury.” – Quote from Chapter 1Request your free copy of Now What? I Got a Tax Notice from the IRS. Help! by email info@sfstaxacct.com or call 772-337-1040.
In Now What? I Got A Tax Notice From The IRS. Help!, Jeff defines and deconstructs the scary and confusing letters in a fashion that mixes attention to detail with humor and an intricate clarification of what is what in the world of the IRS.
Maybe Things Would Have Gone Better
with Coke For this Soda Executive
Michael Lynch, a resident of Newport, RI, was sentenced to 33 months in federal prison on charges of tax evasion and fraud.
Lynch was a national sales executive for Dr. Pepper/Seven Up Inc., which is a subsidiary of the Dr. Pepper Snapple Group. Lynch had previously admitted in court that Seacoast Unlimited Marketing and Promotions LLC, a company he incorporated in his wife’s name, had submitted more than 200 fraudulent invoices to Dr. Pepper for promotional services such as signs, banners, and delivery of sample products. None of those services paid by Dr. Pepper were provided.
Lynch also admitted that he failed to declare income derived from Seacoast on his tax returns he filed jointly with his wife. The loss to the IRS totaled $386,320.
In addition to his prison sentence, Lynch was given 2 years supervised release after prison and ordered to pay full restitution to Dr. Pepper and back taxes owed to the IRS.
Resort Operator Won’t be Working
on His Tan in Prison
William Whittington of Scottsdale, AZ, and a former resident of Pagosa Springs, CO, pled guilty in the U.S. District Court of Colorado on charges of filing a false tax return in 2010.
Whittington, along with family members, owned the Springs Resort & Spa in Pagosa Springs. From 2010 to 2012, Whittington directed that income derived from the resort were to be used to pay his personal expenses, which resulted in him underreporting his income by more than $900,000 and not paying more than $360,000 in income taxes.
It was also shown in court that from 2003 to 2010, Whittington used two offshore accounts in Liechtenstein to generate more than $9.7 in investment income in which he did not declare on his tax returns, resulting in a loss to the IRS of at least $1.5 million.
Sentencing is scheduled for October 9, 2018, where he will face prison time, supervised release, restitution, and monetary penalties.
A Bit of Humor…
There was a man who computed his taxes for 1997 and found that he owed $3407. He packaged up his payment and included this letter:
Dear IRS:
Enclosed is my 1997 Tax Return & payment. Please take note of the attached article from the USA Today newspaper. In the article, you will see that the Pentagon is paying $171.50 for hammers and NASA has paid $600.00 for a toilet seat.
Please find enclosed four toilet seats (value $2400) and six hammers (value $1029). This brings my total payment to $3,429.00. Please note the overpayment of $22.00 and apply it to the ‘Presidential Election Fund’, as noted on my return. Might I suggest you the send the above mentioned fund a ‘1.5 inch screw’. (See attached article – HUD paid $22.00 for a 1.5 inch Phillips Head Screw.)
It has been a pleasure to pay my tax bill this year, and I look forward to paying it again next year.
Sincerely,
I. Getscrewed Everyear
Virginia Couple Tries to Outsmart the IRS
and Gets Caught
The IRS closed almost 3.3 million cases under the Automated Underreporter Program, which resulted in nearly $6.7 billion in additional assessments.
The IRS assessed more than $12.5 billion in additional taxes for returns not filed timely and collected more than $1.6 billion with delinquent returns.
The IRS assessed $26.5 billion in civil penalties. More than $11 billion was assessed in civil penalties on individual and estate and trust income tax returns.
The IRS filed 446,378 notices of Federal Tax Liens and 590,249 notices of levy requested on third parties (i.e., employers)
In 2016, the IRS initiated 3,395 criminal investigations and recommended 2,744 for prosecution. The conviction rate was 96.7%, and of those, 79.9% received prison time.
For Tax Year 2016, individual income tax returns processed in 2017, the IRS sent more than 2 million notices to taxpayers for about 2.5 million math errors identified on their returns.
Source: 2017 IRS Data Book
I’d like to hear from you…
If you have an IRS issue, or just want to refer a friend, relative or client, I’d love to hear from you. I can provide a no-obligation, confidential consultation to help you solve your IRS problems.
Jeffrey Schneider, EA, CTRS, NTPI Fellow
Phone: 772.337.1040
Email: jeff@sfstaxacct.com
738 Colorado Ave
Stuart, FL 34994
Thank you for your kind words
Jeff and his staff have helped our family through our tax troubles in the past. And I know he’ll continue in the future. – Don Musante
Q & A
Question: I was self-employed and haven’t been able to pay my taxes for 3 years. Now I’m a W-2 employee, but I’m getting letters from the IRS demanding payment and threatening to garnish my paycheck. What should I do?
Answer:
The IRS doesn’t like being ignored, and they want you to know they won’t go away. They have a lot of power over your life. They have 10 years to collect from the date you filed your return. Not only can they freeze your bank accounts and take the money, but they can garnish your wages and legally take as much as 75% of your net paycheck, without a court order! The IRS can and will slap a lien on your house and other property as well. If you sell your house, the IRS gets their money first before you do. Federal Tax Liens will damage your credit, making it harder to rent an apartment, get a car, obtain credit, and even get a job. The IRS can even show up at your door! Interest and penalties continue to accrue on a daily basis. You need professional expert help to deal with the IRS! You can’t do this on your own. We offer immediate relief by protecting you from the long arm of the IRS. This is what we do on a daily basis. Don’t let the IRS take what you worked so hard to earn.
**If you have a general question that you would like answered in our next publication, email Jeffrey Schneider. Unfortunately we cannot provide answers to your specific problem.
For the foodies…
Chicken with Chick Peas, Cumin and Tumeric
I was wandering through Pinterest looking for some new recipes and came across this entree. It has all the key components that Jeff likes. Needless to say, copious amounts of sliced garlic will be added, and it will be served over cauliflower rice. I have to confess that I have not yet made this dish but will be buying the fixins over the weekend.
As I do not eat chicken, I will be roasting just the veggies for me and substituting some garlic infused olive oil in place of the chicken fat that will be rendered out during the cooking. I plan on serving it over Quoina to maximize my protein.
This just looks so good, I might have to head to the grocery store today! Yummy!!
If you make this recipe, let me know how it turned out.
Find the recipe, Chicken with Chick Peas, Cumin and Tumeric, on the SFS Tax Problem Solution Pinterest page along with other pins and videos.
