The Newport Beach Tax Attorney Blog

On 5/9/19, Treasury Police (TIGTA) arrested an IRS auditor, Felecia Taylor, at the IRS office in Long Beach for allegedly soliciting and accepting a $5,000 bribe to reduce the tax liability of a taxpayer who was under audit.
Taylor made an initial court appearance in United States District Court in Santa Ana and is facing a maximum sentence of 15 years. Although more realistically she is looking at between 3-5 years.
According to the press release and the affidavit in support of the criminal complaint, Taylor, who has been employed at the IRS since 1990, works as a tax compliance officer in Long Beach, where she plans and conducts examinations of individual and business taxpayers.
On May 1, a taxpayer contacted law enforcement, and stated that, at a meeting two days earlier, Taylor was “inviting a bribe” in exchange for lowering the amount owed to the IRS to $10,000, according to court documents. The taxpayer was supposed to pay the bribe to Taylor on May 7 at her Long Beach office, cour…

The IRS recently issued proposed regulations to address gains that may be deferred when taxpayers invest in a qualified opportunity fund (QOF). This is a great opportunity for clients to defer capital gains from sale of stocks and to spur investment in designated opportunity zones.



Click to open document in a browser the proposed regulation.



The proposed regulations also withdraw and replace placeholder provisions in an earlier set of proposed regulations. These concern:



The definition of "substantially all"Transactions that can trigger includible gainThe timing and amount of deferred gain that is includedThe treatment of leased property used in the qualified opportunity zone (QOZ) businessThe use of QOZ business property in the QOZThe sourcing of income to the QOZ businessThe reasonable period for a QOF to reinvest proceeds from the sale of qualifying assetsIn
addition, within a few months the IRS expects to address administrative rules
for a QOP that fails maintain the requir…

Anyone can request an automatic tax-filing extension. If fact some people get extra time without asking. The IRS estimates that more than 14.6 million taxpayers will get an automatic extension this filing season, either by filing a form or making an electronic tax payment. But some taxpayers, such as disaster victims, those serving in a combat zone and Americans living abroad, get more time, even if they don’t ask for it. Just remember the extension filing only applies to the return due not - not the payment date. The tax payment date cannot be extended and it remains April 15th. To request more details on each of these special tax-relief provisions concerning automatic extensions or the payment due date contact Wilson Tax Law Group, APLC or call us at 949-397-2292.

The DOJ Tax Division issued the following:

Department of Justice Office of Public Affairs FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Tuesday, June 27, 2017 California Resident Pleads Guilty to Stealing Homeless Individuals’ IDs and Using Them to Seek Fraudulent Tax Refunds Obtained Personal Information by Falsely Representing to Unemployed People that Could Get them Government Assistance
A California resident pleaded guilty yesterday to conspiring to file false claims for tax refunds, submitting false claims for tax refunds, mail fraud and aggravated identity theft, announced Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Brian J. Stretch for the Northern District of California.
According to documents and information provided to the court, Diep Vo aka Nancy Vo, 74, conspired with codefendant Trong Nguyen aka John Nguyen, to use the IDs of homeless and unemployed individuals in the San Jose, California area to file fraudulent claims for…

The DOJ Tax Division issued the following:
Department of Justice Office of Public Affairs FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Tuesday, June 27, 2017 California Resident Pleads Guilty to Stealing Homeless Individuals’ IDs and Using Them to Seek Fraudulent Tax Refunds Obtained Personal Information by Falsely Representing to Unemployed People that Could Get them Government Assistance A California resident pleaded guilty yesterday to conspiring to file false claims for tax refunds, submitting false claims for tax refunds, mail fraud and aggravated identity theft, announced Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Brian J. Stretch for the Northern District of California.
According to documents and information provided to the court, Diep Vo aka Nancy Vo, 74, conspired with codefendant Trong Nguyen aka John Nguyen, to use the IDs of homeless and unemployed individuals in the San Jose, California area to file fraudulent claims for…

In light of a number of problems at the California State Board of Equalization (BOE), the California General Assembly has passed legislation that, if enacted, would strip the BOE of all but its constitutionally mandated tax functions. In addition, the legislation would create a new Department of Tax and Fee Administration (DTFA) and a new Office of Tax Appeals (OTA) to assume between the two of them all the other current duties, powers, and responsibilities of the BOE. Some of the changes would be operative as early as July 1, 2017. Operational Culture According to legislative findings in the bill, "the board’s operational culture severely impacts its ability to report accurate and reliable information to the public, the administration, and the Legislature."The findings enumerated specific problems with the current board, including: inappropriate intervention by board members in administrative and appeal-related activities;numerous complaints concerning attempts by th…