While most Chattanoogans were placing their votes on Election Day, one Chattanooga native was placing his bets. Wearing an overcoat to shield him from the mist in Dublin, Ireland, 42-year-old attorney Robert Barnes walked up to the counter of Paddy Power, a sports and gambling franchise. He pulled out 30,000 euros, and bet it all on Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.
Read MoreDid Trump know he was being recorded? If not, a hot mic can be a criminal act in California, and NBC potentially liable. California Penal Code 632 criminalizes any person who “without the consent of all parties” records their conversations. California Penal Code 637.2 specifically authorizes the right of the person whose privacy was invaded to bring a civil suit, with an incredible treble damages provision for RICO-style punishment.
Read MoreIn recent years, the IRS’s delinquent collection rate has been abysmal. As the IRS’s performance continues to wane, the IRS just selected four private debt collection agencies to collect overdue tax debts that the IRS is not actively pursuing.[1] These agencies are:
Read MoreThings are shaking up at the IRS. As part of its efforts to reduce staffing by at least 8 percent, the 84,000-person agency plans on eliminating more than 7000 jobs associated with processing paper tax returns by 2024.
Read MoreWhile the cryptocurrency Bitcoin is intended to be a type of currency used in lieu of or in addition to money, the IRS and courts have yet to agree.
Read MoreThe United States Supreme Court has long held that nervousness, evasive behavior, or headlong flight, are individual factors in determining reasonable suspicion.
Read MoreAfter several House Republicans called for a vote to impeach Internal Revenue Service commissioner John Koskinen last week, a formal impeachment hearing before the House Judiciary Committee will begin on Wednesday.
Read MoreThe presumption of innocence—that a person is considered innocent unless proven guilty—is a legal right of an accused in a criminal trial. As such, the burden is always on the prosecution to collect and present evidence sufficient to convince a jury that the accused is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Read MoreA California law that went into effect in January improves access to the ballot for voters with disabilities. The law requires that all Californians be presumed competent to vote regardless of any disabilities.
Read MoreTax professionals are entrusted with our most private financial and identifying data. It is disconcerting, though not surprising, that tax professionals are being increasingly targeted by identity thieves who are not only sophisticated but also part of organized syndicates.
Read MoreThe Securities and Exchange Commission’s recent astronomical $22 million award to a whistleblower[1] raises the question: will these awards continue to grow?
Read MoreIn June of 2015, IRS Commissioner John Koskinen told the Senate Finance Committee that 2.7 million taxpayers had their identities stolen, and pledged to make the tax filing system more secure by 2016.[1] Fast forward to August of 2016, also known as present day, and the problem has clearly been fixed.
Read MorePerjury prosecutions could be on the rise after creation of a first-of-its-kind “perjury investigations unit” in California. One prosecutor is assigned to the unit, created by the Lake County district attorney in response to 20 years served in prison by a wrongfully-convicted defendant as a result of perjured testimony in his case.
Read MoreActs of violence have long been publicized in the media, and some speculate that exposure to violence in the media is to blame for rise in violence. For those who see that correlation, social media platforms, such as Twitter and Facebook, are to blame.
Read MoreTax returns and return information have extensive privacy protection under federal law.[1] The Internal Revenue Code states that all returns are confidential and cannot be disclosed by government officials.
Read MoreYou can mark Tuesday August 16, 2016 on your calendar. That date, some believe, was be the beginning of the end of “federal prosecutions of state medical marijuana dispensary operators, growing and patients.”
Read MoreThe Vermont Supreme Court recently threw out charges against a state prison inmate accused of practicing law as a “jailhouse lawyer.”
Read MoreFirst auditing Donald Trump, now investigating Hillary Clinton, it seems the IRS can’t help but get involved in this year’s presidential election.
Read MoreIf you were to ask someone a question, and they were to avoid answering it, how many times do you think you’d repeat yourself? Once more? Maybe twice more?
Read MoreIn a lengthy and unanimous ruling from the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, Judge David Sentelle scathingly wrote that as the IRS “cannot defend its discriminatory conduct on the merits.”
Read More