Tax Alert: Coronavirus Relief Payment Scams Spreading

Press Release
April 7, 2020
Newport Beach California

TIGTA 2020-2 Release

The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) today urged taxpayers to be on high alert for potential scams related to government assistance to taxpayers impacted by the coronavirus.  “The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act authorizes payments to taxpayers to offset the economic impact of the coronavirus,” said J. Russell George, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration. “Previous government assistance efforts have been used by crooks and scammers who see this as an opportunity to defraud taxpayers in every way possible.”

Since 2013, TIGTA has investigated scams in which individuals impersonate Internal Revenue Service (IRS) officials in order to obtain personally identifiable information from unsuspecting taxpayers or to coerce them into making payments to clear up alleged unpaid tax debt.
TIGTA has also investigated phishing attempts in which taxpayers receive scam e-mails claiming to be from the IRS. Scammers use phishing e-mail and text messages to victimize taxpayers in many ways including loading malicious software on their computers and utilizing victim information to file fraudulent tax returns.

If you receive letters, calls, emails, or other communications from individuals claiming to be from the IRS and offering coronavirus stimulus payments in exchange for personal financial information, an advance fee, or charge of any kind, including the purchase of gift cards, please do not respond. These are scams. Please contact TIGTA so these scammers can be identified and stopped.

Inspector General George offered the following tips to taxpayers:
• The IRS is not going to contact you by telephone to ask you for your personal identification or financial information in order to provide you with an economic impact payment.
• The IRS will never contact you and ask you to make any kind of payment using an iTunes card, gift card, prepaid debit card, money order, or wire transfer.
• The IRS will never request personal or financial information by e-mail, text messages, letters, or any social media.
• If you receive a call from someone claiming to be from the IRS asking for your personal identification or financial information in exchange for an economic impact payment, take the following action:
o Hang up.
o If you owe Federal taxes, or think you might owe taxes, call the IRS at 1-800-829-1040. IRS employees can help you with your payment questions.
o If you do not owe taxes, report suspicious communications on TIGTA’s website at www.TIGTA.gov, and follow the prompts to report IRS-related coronavirus scams.

Inspector General George encourages taxpayers to be alert to phone and e-mail scams that use the IRS name and logo. Forward suspected scam e-mails to phishing@irs.gov. Do not open any attachments or click on any links in those e-mails. Also, be aware of other unrelated scams (such as saying you are a lottery or sweepstakes winner) and solicitations (such as debt relief offers) that fraudulently claim to be from the IRS.

Wilson Tax Law Group endorses tax relief efforts being sought to assist those communities, industries, businesses and individuals negatively affected by the outbreak. However, clients and businesses need to be on high alert for those using the pandemic as means to prey on people who are vulnerable, sick and/or financial distressed.    If you or your business has concerns or questions about a particular tax relief program, the former IRS attorneys at Wilson Tax Law Group are available to assist and can be reached at 949-397-2292.

California Tax Relief: Defer up to $50K Sales and Use Tax

In recent news, California Governor Gavin Newsom has announced that the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA) is allowing small businesses to defer payment of sales and use taxes of up to $50,000, for up to 12 months. This is in addition to the issuance on March 30, 2020, of the governor’s Executive Order that provides relief for small businesses on taxes and fees administered by the CDTFA.

Payment Plan Available for Small Businesses

Effective April 2, 2020, small business taxpayers can take a 12-month, interest-free, payment plan for up to $50,000 of sales and use tax liability. "Small business taxpayers" are those with less than $5 million in taxable annual sales.

Payment Plan Requests

Payment plan requests can be made through the CDTFA’s online services system at https://onlineservices.cdtfa.ca.gov/ in the coming months.

Wilson Tax Law Group endorses any tax relief efforts being sought to assist those communities, industries, businesses and individuals negatively affected by the outbreak. Although tax relief doesn’t solve the problem it helps mitigate the financial fallout. If you or your business has comments or concerns or require professional and diligent legal tax help, contact the Wilson Tax Law Group at 949-397-2292.

All IRS Employees Ordered to Evacuate

Effective March 30, 2020, the IRS issued an evacuation notice to all employees to “evacuate” from their worksite and perform work from their home during this pandemic. In doing so, the IRS invoked a provision in federal regulations that allows it to require telework-eligible employees to perform work from their home, regardless of whether they have a telework agreement in place at the time the evacuation notice is issued. According to the regulation, once that authority is invoked, employees may be assigned any work considered necessary or required to be performed during the period of evacuation, without regard to their grade, level or title.  Employees failure or refusal to perform assigned work may be subject to disciplinary action and could result in the termination of pay.

Although formal office operations are temporarily suspended, buildings will remain open and IRS space is accessible for activities such as processing mail, retrieving work materials, using office equipment, getting supplies, and other tasks necessary to support working from home (or an alternate location).    Questions exist whether this will cause major delays as to emergency virus relief payments to millions of individuals and pending refunds from 2019 tax filings.   The IRS has numerous resources in place and critical employees are still required to come to work so hopefully it doesn’t cause any major interruptions with the needed virus relief and refund payments.

Wilson Tax Law Group endorses any tax relief efforts being sought to assist those communities, industries, businesses and individuals negatively affected by the outbreak. Although tax relief doesn’t solve the problem it helps mitigate the financial fallout. If you or your business has comments or concerns or require professional and diligent legal tax help, contact the Wilson Tax Law Group at 949-397-2292.

US District Court Activates COVID-19 Operations Plan

Wilson Tax Law Group

Newport Beach, CA

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Monday, March 23, 2020

US District Court For Central District of California issued the following COVID-19 NOTICE:

The United States District Court for the Central District of California has activated its Continuity of Operations Plan (“COOP”), effective March 23, 2020 through and including May 1, 2020 necessary to ensure the continuous performance of essential functions and operations of the Court in light of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

The Court is taking the following actions to limit social interactions in its courthouses:

Access to the Courthouses

All of the Courthouses of the Central District of California will be closed to the public except for hearings on criminal duty matters, as indicated below.

All federal Pro Se Clinics in the district are closed.

Court Hearings

In civil cases, no hearings will go forward except for emergency time-sensitive matters, such as requests for temporary restraining orders and preliminary injunctions, as ordered by the assigned judicial officer. Any hearings on emergency civil matters will proceed telephonically only.

In criminal cases, criminal duty matters will go forward in the Edward R. Roybal Building and United States Courthouse in Los Angeles only. Telephonic hearings on other criminal matters may proceed as directed by the assigned judicial officer.

Filing Information

The intake sections in each courthouse will be closed to the public. To post a bond or submit an emergency, time-sensitive filing such as a temporary restraining order, call the following telephone numbers:

Los Angeles – (213) 894-8288

Riverside – (951) 328-4450

Santa Ana – (714) 338-3958 or (714) 338-4760

All criminal duty matters handled by a district judge shall be filed in the appropriate division.

All magistrate judge criminal bench duty matters shall be filed in the Edward R. Roybal Building and United States Courthouse in Los Angeles.

All criminal document duty matters handled by a magistrate judge shall be filed electronically.

For all other intake and records questions, call the following telephone numbers:

Los Angeles Civil Intake – (213) 894-3535

Los Angeles Criminal Intake – (213) 894-8288

Riverside Civil and Criminal Intake – (951) 328-4450

Santa Ana Civil Intake – (714) 338-2886

Santa Ana Criminal Intake – (714) 338-4786

Archival records requests are suspended because the Federal Records Center is closed.

The court’s CM/ECF system is available 24/7 for electronic filing of documents.

Unrepresented litigants who cannot electronically file their documents and attorneys who are required to manually file documents pursuant to the local rules must mail their filings to the Clerk of Court at 225 E. Temple Street, Suite TS-134, Los Angeles, CA 90012-3332.

Non-paper physical exhibits or other exhibits exempted from electronically filing shall be sent via U.S. Mail or other commercial delivery to the Clerk of Court at the above address.

Mandatory Chambers Copies

Until further notice, all district judges and magistrate judges do not require mandatory chambers copies during the pandemic.

Any judge can require a chambers copy in a particular case if desired. The chambers copy shall be mailed to the judge via Fed Ex. Chambers copy cannot be hand-delivered to the courthouse.

Updates and other adjustments will be provided as more information becomes available.

Please contact the former IRS Attorneys at Wilson Tax Law Group regarding any legal tax issues.

Newport Beach Main Office

1401 Dove Street Suite 630

Newport Beach, CA 92660

Yorba Linda Branch Office

18281 Lemon Drive

Yorba Linda, CA 92886

By Appointment Only

949.397.2292 (Newport Beach Office Phone)

714.436.4430 (Yorba Linda Office Phone)

Website: https://wilsontaxlaw.com

IRS Payment Deadlines Extended

The Internal Revenue Service has delayed the April 15 tax payment deadline until July 15 for most individuals and businesses to relieve some of the adverse economic impacts of the novel coronavirus pandemic, the agency said Wednesday.

People and pass-through businesses with tax liabilities of less than $1 million and corporations with tax bills of up to $10 million have three additional months to file their taxes, the Internal Revenue Service said in a notice. President Donald Trump’s declaration of a national emergency earlier this month gave the U.S. Department of the Treasury authority to delay the payment deadline under Internal Revenue Code Section 7508A , according to the notice.

The extension doesn’t apply to tax filing deadlines, the IRS said. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin had announced the relief Tuesday as part of the federal government’s plans to grapple with the economic fallout from COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus.

If you or your business have a tax concern, contact the former IRS attorneys at Wilson Tax Law Group at 949-397-2292.

California Tax Relief Due to Coronavirus

On March 12, the Governor of California declared tax relief that delays the deadline for state tax filing by 60 days for individuals and businesses unable to file on time based on compliance with public health requirements related to COVID-19 filings.

This relief follows the Governor's March 5th declaration of a State of Emergency to make additional resources available, formalize emergency actions already underway across multiple state agencies and departments, and help the state prepare for broader spread of COVID-19. (www.gov.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/3.4.20-Coronavirus-SOE-Proclamation.pdf)

The Governor's March 5th declaration states that employers statewide directly affected by the new coronavirus (COVID-19) may request up to a 60-day extension of time from the EDD to file their state payroll reports and/or deposit payroll taxes without penalty or interest. Written requests for extension must be received within 60 days of the original delinquent date of the payment or return to file/pay.

Wilson Tax Law Group endorses any tax relief efforts being sought to assist those communities, industries, businesses and individuals negatively affected by the outbreak. Although tax relief doesn’t solve the problem it helps mitigate the finacial fallout. If you or your business has comments or concerns or is seeking professional and diligent legal tax help, contact the Wilson Tax Law Group at 949-397-2292.

Possible US Tax Relief Due to Coronavirus

Reports have emerged that White House officials are considering deferring taxes for the cruise, travel and airline industries to stem the economic fallout from the outbreak. The tax deferrals for the travel industry are being considered as airlines cut back on routes and warn about declining ticket sales.

Hotel chains are struggling with vacancies in Asia and are bracing for similar waves in the United States. Business travel is falling, and trade shows, music festivals and conventions are being canceled from San Francisco to Chicago to Austin to Miami. Families and college students are reconsidering spring break excursions and distant summer plans.

Other countries have already enacted tax relief for their hardest-hit industries. On Sunday, Italy announced a tax credit for any company that has seen revenue decline by more than a quarter. That is on top of Italy’s announcement last month that companies and individuals in areas affected by the “epidemiological emergency” would be granted an extension on spring tax filings.

Congress should consider tax filing and payment extensions, medical tax credits for household and other virus prevention and recovery costs, capital loss carry-back extensions, and more.

Wilson Tax Law Group endorses any tax relief efforts being sought to assist those communities, industries, businesses and individuals negatively affected by the outbreak. Although tax relief doesn't solve the problem it helps mitigate the finacial fallout. In addition to the Feds, the State of California and other states should consider tax relief to individuals and businesses due to the outbreak. If you or your business has comments or concerns or require professional and diligent legal tax help, contact the Wilson Tax Law Group at 949-397-2292.