TAXLITIGATOR – Tax Controversy (Civil & Criminal) Report

We are pleased to announce that Steven Toscher, Michel Stein, and Philipp Behrendt will be speaking at the upcoming CalCPA webinar “Cryptocurrency Compliance 2023,” Tuesday, August 8, 2023, 9:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. (PST).

Keep abreast of the IRS’s continuous efforts to enhance compliance in the crypto space. Join us for a practical look at the IRS enforcement strategy, established reporting principles as well as recent guidance on digital assets taxation. The Program is your guide to navigating the intricacies of digital asset taxation. Gain valuable insights what the IRS positions on many hot topic items in the world of digital asset taxation actually is, allowing you to provide expert guidance to your clients. Being up to date ensures you can offer the most current and relevant solutions to your clients. We also address how to ensure FBAR compliance and explore voluntary disclosure practices to protect your clients’ interests.

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Please join us July 28, 2023 for the CalCPA 2023 Annual Income Tax Seminar.

We have an excellent line up of programs –

How to Help an Individuals with Unreported or Misreported Crypto Transactions
(8:05 a.m. – 9:25 a.m. PST)
Featuring Evan Davis

R&D Credit Hot Topic and California Considerations
(1:05 p.m. – 2:20 p.m. PST)
Featuring Cory Stigile

The Annual Income Tax Seminar is a collaboration of CalCPA and the California Lawyers Association Taxation Section that will provide comprehensive insights into critical topics shaping the world of taxation. This event is tailored for tax professionals, CPAs, attorneys, and financial advisors seeking to stay at the forefront of the industry.

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The Employee Retention Credit (ERC) has been a lifeline for businesses struggling during the COVID-19 pandemic. Designed to provide financial assistance to eligible employers who kept their workforce employed during times of economic hardship, the ERC has proven to be a vital source of support for many. However, with its increasing popularity, aggressive marketing tactics, and potential for misuse, the IRS has found itself facing a growing challenge in ensuring the program’s integrity.

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Jonathan Kalinski quoted in Tax Notes article on newly filed Tax Court cases challenging the IRS’ position in applying IRC Section 280E to Offers in Compromise for marijuana businesses. Offers in Compromise are challenging for marijuana businesses because the IRS uses 280E disallowed expenses in determining collection potential, creating a phantom cash problem. 

“The fiction of ignoring taxpayer expenses for considering an OIC makes no one’s life easier as the IRS struggles to collect phantom cash and the taxpayer struggles to pay it.”  

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We are pleased to announce that Steven Toscher, Michel Stein, and Sandra Brown will be speaking at the upcoming CPA Academy webinar “Tax Controversy Hot Topics,” Tuesday, July 25, 2023, 8:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. (PST).

This webinar will cover critical practice and procedural issues facing practitioners, including IRS priorities, the new emphasis on fraud investigations, and referrals to the criminal investigation division.

Practitioners at all levels need to have the most up-to-date information to best advise their clients, and this webinar will cover a broad range of topics that any practitioner will benefit from knowing. The presenter will cover updates on IRS Enforcement and what the IRS plans to do with its additional funding, issues around high-wealth examinations and high-income non-filers, John Doe summons, Digital Assets/Cryptocurrency enforcement, and options for taxpayers with undisclosed foreign assets as well as the latest on the Maltese pension plans and on Employee Retention Credits.

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Please join us July 28, 2023 for the USD School of Law – RJS Law Tax Controversy Institute at the San Diego Knauss Center for Business Education, Nexus Theater University of San Diego.

We have an excellent line up of programs –

A Guide to IRS Criminal Tax Investigations and Prosecutions

Featuring Sandra Brown

IRS Cares about CARES Act Relief Abuses: PPP, EIDL and other Government Covid Relief Audits and Criminal Investigations

Featuring Dennis Perez

The Institute is the premier tax controversy event in San Diego. The region’s top tax attorneys, CPAs, and law/business school professors will discuss topics including government loan relief and abuses, challenges in cross-border transactions, and practical and realistic solutions in Trust, Estate Planning, and Tax matters. 

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For more than 85 years the Tax Court, its predecessor, the Board of Tax Appeals, and those courts of appeal that addressed the issue, held that the statute of limitations for filing a petition for redetermination was jurisdictional. When a prerequisite for a lawsuit is jurisdictional, it means that if the prerequisite has not been met, the court has no power to hear the case. It was required to dismiss the case for lack of jurisdiction. 

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Puerto Rico has been offering tax incentives to wealthy individuals, hedge fund managers, and cryptocurrency traders since 2012. These tax incentives have allowed them to legally avoid paying federal income tax and certain other taxes. However, recent developments have brought these tax breaks under scrutiny, with US prosecutors and IRS agents launching criminal and civil investigations into their potential abuse. In this blog post, we will explore the controversies surrounding Puerto Rico’s tax incentives and the increasing scrutiny faced by those who have taken advantage of them.

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Steven Toscher was quoted in recent Tax Notes article discussing the IRS increased enforcement efforts concerning Maltese Pension Plans. One of his primary concerns was due process considerations when the IRS pursues a criminal investigation in an area of tax law which is not very clear. 

“A criminal case based on a substantively debatable return position could be legally stillborn, he said . . . The IRS and Justice Department shouldn’t be prosecuting cases turning on unclear law, Toscher said . . . This Supreme Court would likely be amenable to conviction challenges if the agencies managed to convict someone for taking a position on which the law is uncertain, he said . . . The need for the competent authority agreement clarification will likely bolster that defense, according to Toscher.”

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We are pleased to announce that Michel Stein, Edward Robbins, Jr. and Sandra Brown will be speaking at the upcoming CalCPA webinar “Form 8300 Reporting/Cash Intensive Business Audits,” Tuesday, July 18, 2023, 9:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. (PST).

The law requires that trades and businesses report cash payments of more than $10,000 to the federal government by filing Form 8300. This course will explain the Form 8300 filing of obligations of those accepting cash payments in their businesses, best practices surrounding the filing of the Forms 8300, the current civil and criminal enforcement environment surrounding Form 8300 non-compliance, and the voluntary disclosure and mitigation practices surrounding the non-compliant. Do not be caught unprepared!

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