Tax Law

UBS Gave Feds Information About Customers’ Bank Accounts in US

As part of a federal probe of whether Americans dodged taxes by secreting assets in Swiss bank accounts, UBS has provided data about bank accounts in the United States. “U.S. authorities have requested data from UBS on U.S. onshore clients,” a spokesman for the Switzerland-based bank tells Reuters. “UBS must…

Nov 11, 2008 6:48 PM CST

Company Tax Techniques Could Be Costly in Closely Watched Mass. Cases

Three closely watched Massachusetts cases over aggressive corporate tax avoidance techniques are likely to be decided soon. And if they come down in favor of the state, as some observers say they may, other companies both there and elsewhere are likely to ante up much-needed additional revenue, reports the Boston…

Nov 5, 2008 8:54 PM CST

More Individuals Evade ‘Nanny Tax,’ a Risky Strategy in a Tough Economy

A growing number of individuals who hire in-home child care workers and other domestic help apparently are evading the so-called “nanny tax.” Despite U.S. Department of Labor data showing a growing number of domestic employees, the Internal Revenue Service says there was a 10 percent drop in the number of…

Nov 5, 2008 8:44 PM CST

Tax Law to the Rescue

Those big bailouts don’t really help homeowners, but there’s relief to be had from (gasp!) the IRS

Nov 2, 2008 3:40 AM CST

LA Tax Lawyer By Day, ‘Dracula’ Editor By Night

A Los Angeles tax attorney by day, Leslie Klinger leaves his entertainment industry clients behind and lives an entirely different life when he goes home at night. A fan of genre literature, he edits classic books to include references to historic material and explanations of what the author might have…

Oct 28, 2008 8:02 PM CDT

Defendant’s Focus on Federal Judge Gets Him an Extra Conviction

A Minnesota tax protester who tried to haul the federal judge assigned to his case into “common law court” now has an extra conviction on his record as a result. After being convicted of fraud and tax evasion by a federal jury in his May trial, which went forward as…

Oct 28, 2008 3:14 PM CDT

Author Banned from Advising Others Not to Pay Taxes

Senior U.S. District Court Judge Lloyd George has permanently barred convicted tax evader and author Irwin Schiff and co-defendant Cynthia Neun from preparing tax returns and marketing products advising people that Americans are not required to pay federal income taxes, the Associated Press reports. The federal judge’s ruling made a…

Oct 23, 2008 8:11 PM CDT

Tax Defense, Raised in Case of NY Official: ‘Non-Filer Syndrome’

The lawyer for the top aide to New York Gov. David Patterson says his client didn’t file tax returns because he suffered from “non-filer syndrome.” Lawyer Richard Kestenbaum said at a Manhattan news conference that his client, Charles O’Byrne, couldn’t bring himself to file taxes because of the syndrome, report…

Oct 23, 2008 3:44 PM CDT

Tax Law Profs Create Political Issue: Did Sarah Palin Pay All Tax Due?

Tax law professors are taking center stage in the latest political issue concerning Sarah Palin’s candidacy for vice president on the Republican ticket. Among the questions they are raising about her recently released 2006 and 2007 tax returns is whether she reported all the taxable income she received for her…

Oct 6, 2008 10:41 PM CDT

Celebrity Attorney & Client Charged in Federal Tax Evasion Case

Race car driver Helio Castroneves, who has won both the Indianapolis 500 and the Dancing With The Stars television competition, has been federally indicted in Miami along with his attorney in a tax evasion and fraud case. Castroneves, 33, his Michigan lawyer Alan Miller, 71, and his sister and business…

Oct 2, 2008 9:20 PM CDT

Bailout Bill Approved by Senate Raises AMT Threshold

The Senate has approved a $700 billion bailout bill for Wall Street that increases the threshold for the alternative minimum tax to protect an estimated 24 million families from an average tax increase of at least $2,000 each. The provision is one of many tax breaks in the legislation, the…

Oct 2, 2008 11:02 AM CDT

Stanford Law Grad in Tax Evasion Case Over Alleged Escort Earnings

Rather than face years of student loan payments, a Stanford Law School graduate is suspected of pursuing a nonlegal career to help cover the cost of her legal education. Although 34-year-old Cristina Warthen has never been charged with prostitution, she is now facing a federal criminal case for allegedly “fail[ing]…

Oct 1, 2008 5:49 PM CDT

Tax Breaks Added to Bailout Plan Scheduled for Vote Today

A vote is set for today in the Senate on a revised $700 billion Wall Street bailout plan that carries tax breaks and higher government insurance for bank deposits. The changes are aimed at attracting more support for the proposal that failed in the House on Monday, the New York…

Oct 1, 2008 11:00 AM CDT

Sunday Sermons Test IRS Rule, as Pastors Preach Politics

Gearing up for a First Amendment battle, several pastors in Orange County, Calif., joined dozens of others across the nation yesterday in preaching politics. A conservative legal group in Arizona, the Alliance Defense Fund, says it plans to support those who used the pulpit Sunday to recommend candidates in the…

Sep 29, 2008 6:04 PM CDT

Are More Law Firms in IRS Sights in Ongoing Tax Shelter Probe?

A former Arnold & Porter partner’s guilty plea yesterday in a criminal case over the opinion letters he wrote about Ernst & Young tax shelters concludes the matter as far as he and the firm—which paid an undisclosed fine to avoid prosecution—are concerned. But there may well be more action…

Sep 13, 2008 12:02 AM CDT