Tax Law

Lawyer who represented terrorism suspects pleads guilty to tax charge

A New York lawyer who represented Osama bin Laden’s son-in-law has pleaded guilty to obstructing the Internal Revenue Service. Stanley Cohen, 63, pleaded guilty today in Syracuse, according to Syracuse.com. The New York Times had an advance story on the expected plea. Cohen was accused of failing to report $20,000…

Apr 14, 2014 2:46 PM CDT

Taxpayers held responsible for parents’ debts due to single sentence in farm bill

Hundreds of thousands of taxpayers across the country are learning they won’t get their expected tax refunds this year because they are being held accountable for old debts—in some cases, debts incurred by their parents. The taxpayers are being held accountable because of a single sentence in a 2008 farm…

Apr 11, 2014 2:12 PM CDT

Should tax preparers be licensed? Right now, dog groomers and massage parlors can do taxes, too

You have to be licensed to operate a massage parlor in many jurisdictions. But if that same business wants to prepare income tax returns, too, there are no additional requirements to be met, the national taxpayer advocate told a Senate committee on Tuesday. “It could be that the person at…

Apr 8, 2014 9:40 PM CDT

Amidst ‘epidemic’ of tax-refund claims using stolen IDs, feds charge 25 in $36M fraud

Amidst what a top federal prosecutor calls an epidemic of fraudulent filings for federal income tax refunds under stolen identities, a strike force in South Florida has charged 25 individuals in 19 cases involving $36 million in fraud. The defendants include a jail guard accused of stealing the identities of…

Apr 3, 2014 8:04 PM CDT

Kicking the IRS when it’s down should be considered very, very carefully

For many of us, the arrival of April means shaking off the winter malaise and looking forward to hearing the thwack of a fastball hitting a catcher’s mitt. It also means, however, that the income tax deadline is fast approaching. We may not like it, but the fact is we…

Apr 1, 2014 5:50 AM CDT

April 8, 1895: Income tax ruled unconstitutitional

At the end of the 19th century, with the burdens of debt and blood from the Civil War fast fading, a long-festering struggle over trade and tariffs was redefining Republicans and Democrats. Entrenched Republicans favored the protectionism of high tariffs on imported goods, while an increasing number of Democrats argued…

Apr 1, 2014 5:40 AM CDT

IRS answers bitcoin tax questions, says virtual currency is property, not money

The virtual currency bitcoin is actually considered property, not money, for tax purposes, the Internal Revenue Service announced Tuesday. That means gains from buying low and selling high are taxed in the same way as gains on other property, the New York Times’ DealBook blog (reg. req.) reports. Initial value…

Mar 25, 2014 8:25 PM CDT

Tax protester gets 20-year max in attempted murder-for-hire plot against federal judge

Convicted last year of attempting to solicit the murder-for-hire of a federal judge in Fort Worth, a Texas man has been sentenced to a 20-year prison term, the maximum for the offense. Phillip Monroe Ballard, 72, was found guilty by a jury in December of offering $100,000 to an undercover…

Mar 19, 2014 3:50 PM CDT

Former IRS chief fired by Nixon dies at age 100; he won ABA’s highest award in 1993

Randolph Thrower, a partner at Sutherland, Asbill & Brennan and a former commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service, has died at the age of 100. Thrower served as IRS chief from 1969 to 1971 until President Nixon fired him for resisting tax audits of the president’s political enemies, the New…

Mar 19, 2014 1:33 PM CDT

Stash of $10 million in buried gold coins offers lesson in property and tax law

A California couple who say they stumbled across $10 million in buried 19th-century gold coins while walking their dogs on their property last year didn’t immediately reveal their stunning find because they wanted to resolve any potential legal issues. But the relevant law concerning the unidentified couple probably boils down…

Mar 4, 2014 11:50 PM CST

ABA opposes burdensome accounting method affecting law firms

Congress is poised to consider legislation to simplify the tax laws this year, but the ABA says one of the key provisions being considered would have the opposite effect and cause negative unintended consequences—both for the overall tax system and for many lawyers and law firms in particular. The provision,…

Mar 1, 2014 7:50 AM CST

A comfortable retirement requires savvy financial housekeeping

For a comfortable retirement: Budget, manage debt and save. “It’s really a triage approach,” says Linda Leitz, chair of the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors. “Otherwise you’re going to have to work to the day you die. Dying at your desk may sound like a good financial plan if…

Feb 1, 2014 8:30 AM CST

5th Circuit nixes tax shelter used by 3 attorneys to keep more of $600M legal fee award

After winning a $600 million attorney fee award in 1998 for representing the state of Texas in litigation against big tobacco companies, three law firm partners sought to reduce the tax bite. But their efforts only made the situation worse: A federal appeals court last week ruled that the tax…

Jan 29, 2014 7:40 PM CST

Ex-client can sue out-of-state law firm, top Ariz. court rules

Agreeing with an earlier decision by a state appeals court, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled Friday that an out-of-state attorney and his firm could be sued by Arizona residents to whom they provided a tax-shelter opinion letter for a $50,000 fee. In a two-page opinion (PDF), the supreme court essentially…

Jan 24, 2014 8:50 PM CST

ABA urges federal lawmakers to nix draft provision requiring law firms to adopt accrual accounting

The American Bar Association is urging federal lawmakers to rethink a possible plan to require businesses to use the accrual method instead of traditional cash accounting in the discussion draft Tax Reform Act of 2013. Accrual accounting would be more complex and expensive, the ABA’s president writes in letters to…

Jan 15, 2014 11:50 PM CST