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A New Mexico farmer has been ordered to pay more than $18 million in restitution and sentenced to 14 years in prison for tax fraud and fraudulently collecting government-sponsored farm subsidies. According to prosecutors, Bill Melot, of Hobbs, hasn’t filed a personal income tax return since 1986. They say he owes the Internal Revenue Service […]

If a tax preparer promises a return that sounds too good to be true, it probably is.  This tax season, the U.S. Attorney is promising a crackdown on unscrupulous tax-preparers. Here is a cautionary tale. Bryan Gardner is serving six-and-a-half years in prison. His brother, Jeremy Lasane, is serving 12 years, and he also has to

Did you know that you have the power as an individual taxpayer to appeal almost any decision made by the IRS? In fact, you can appeal audit findings, penalties and interest, rejected offers-in-compromise, liens, seizures, garnishments and other collection actions. According to the IRS, “Appeals is not for you if: – Your only concern is

If you owe money to the IRS, and you are receiving Social Security benefits due to: Federal Old-Age and Survivors Trust Fund (or) Disability Insurance Benefits. The IRS can take 15% of your Social Security payments to satisfy your tax debt. Prior to 1996, there was a $750/month “off limits” amount that had to be

The government recently argued that it has the authority to regulate tax return preparation businesses using a “dead horse” law as precedent. Tax preparers, represented by the Institute for Justice, challenged the ruling in the case Sabina Loving et al v. Internal Revenue Service. At the hearing of the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia circuit, both sides argued about the applicability and precedent of an 1884 law that applied to

Lance Drury was headlined with Steve Forbes at an event in New York City on June 20 & 21, 2013 called “Success in the New Economy.” Leaders in their respective industries and professions were asked to attend the summit in NYC. Lance delivered one of the keynote speeches with Steve Forbes. Lance talked about the challenges

It’s possible that a taxpayer could make settlement proposals to the IRS and “plead their case” that they could not otherwise pay the debt by making an “Offer-in-Compromise”. In a position paper dated May 27, 2005, the American Association of Attorney-Certified Public Accounts revealed that “(Offers-In-Compromise) acceptance rate has dropped from 39.8% to 22.9% from

Let’s say you’re married and you file a “married filing jointly” return, to take advantage of the unique tax benefits offered by this particular filing status. You have a regular “day job” where your employer takes out your taxes every pay-check and gives you a W-2 at the end of the year. The two of

The subject of tax shelters and financial transactions meant to reduce taxable income has been a perpetual source of contention between taxpayers and the IRS. A recent and prominent case, Superior Trading LLC et al. v Commissioner of Internal Revenue, No. 12-3367, tipped the issue in favor of the IRS. In a hit to taxpayers