{"id":131,"date":"2012-02-29T16:52:32","date_gmt":"2012-02-29T16:52:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.caassetprotection.com\/blog\/?p=131"},"modified":"2023-03-03T02:25:08","modified_gmt":"2023-03-03T02:25:08","slug":"tax-scams-the-irs-wants-you-to-avoid-for-their-benefit-and-your-own","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/blog\/tax-scams-the-irs-wants-you-to-avoid-for-their-benefit-and-your-own\/","title":{"rendered":"Tax Scams the IRS Wants You to Avoid\u2014For Their Benefit and Your Own"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 0in 0in 10pt;\"><span style=\"line-height: 115%; font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Calibri;\">The IRS recently released its \u201cDirty Dozen Tax Scams\u201d, and some of the items on the list will be of particular interest to anyone concerned about asset protection. According to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nasdaq.com\/article\/identity-theft-tops-irss-2012-dirty-dozen-tax-scams-20120217-00787\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">this article in NASDAQ.com<\/a>, taxpayers should \u201cexercise caution during tax season to protect themselves against a wide range of schemes ranging from identity theft to return preparer fraud.\u201d But these tax scams the IRS warns of are not simply scams that could be perpetrated <em>against<\/em> taxpayers, but scams that could be perpetrated <em>by<\/em> taxpayers. The lesson here is that if you\u2019re trying to get (or stay) rich by cheating the IRS not only is it not right, it\u2019s not worth it.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 0in 0in 10pt;\"><span style=\"line-height: 115%; font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Calibri;\">The first scam on the list that might be perpetrated by taxpayers instead of against them is hiding offshore income. \u201cU.S. taxpayers who maintain financial accounts abroad and who do not comply with reporting and disclosure requirements risk significant penalties and fines, as well as the possibility of criminal prosecution.\u201d Fortunately, the IRS wants to give tax payers every opportunity to come clean about offshore income before they tighten up reporting requirements over the next few years. To this end, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.irs.gov\/newsroom\/article\/0,,id=252162,00.html\">the IRS has reopened its Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program.<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 0in 0in 10pt;\"><span style=\"line-height: 115%; font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Calibri;\">The OVDP is designed \u201cto help people hiding offshore accounts get current with their taxes.\u201d According to the IRS website, \u201cThe program is similar to the 2011 program in many ways, but with a few key differences. Unlike last year, there is no set deadline for people to apply.\u00a0 However, the terms of the program could change at any time going forward.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 0in 0in 10pt;\"><span style=\"line-height: 115%; font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Calibri;\">Some of the other scams taxpayers will want to avoid include:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 0in 0in 10pt;\"><span style=\"line-height: 115%; font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Calibri;\"><strong>*<\/strong> Claiming false or inflated income or expenses.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 0in 0in 10pt;\"><span style=\"line-height: 115%; font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Calibri;\"><strong>*<\/strong> Misusing trusts to illegally hide assets from the IRS.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 0in 0in 10pt;\"><span style=\"line-height: 115%; font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Calibri;\"><strong>*<\/strong> Falsely overvaluing charitable donations on tax returns.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 0in 0in 10pt;\"><span style=\"line-height: 115%; font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Calibri;\"><strong>*<\/strong> And more&#8230;<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 0in 0in 10pt;\"><span style=\"line-height: 115%; font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: Calibri;\">With the many and confusing IRS rules, regulations, and annual hoops to be jumped through, taxpayers can sometimes find that they\u2019ve slid unknowingly or unintentionally into one of these fraudulent acts. This is why it is always in a wealthy taxpayer\u2019s best interest to have an accomplished attorney on your side. An ethical and experienced attorney can help you protect your assets, avoid unnecessary taxation, <em>and<\/em> follow the letter of the law. For more information please <a href=\"http:\/\/www.caassetprotection.com\/contact-us.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">contact my office<\/a>.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The IRS recently released its \u201cDirty Dozen Tax Scams\u201d, and some of the items on the list will be of particular interest to anyone concerned about asset protection. According to this article in NASDAQ.com, taxpayers should \u201cexercise caution during tax season to protect themselves against a wide range of schemes ranging from identity theft to&#8230;  <a href=\"\/blog\/tax-scams-the-irs-wants-you-to-avoid-for-their-benefit-and-your-own\/\" class=\"more-link\" title=\"Read Tax Scams the IRS Wants You to Avoid\u2014For Their Benefit and Your Own\">Read More &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,12,120],"tags":[3,4,173,174,166,175],"class_list":["post-131","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-asset-protection","category-news-and-current-events","category-tax-planning","tag-california-asset-protection","tag-california-tax-law","tag-irs","tag-offshor-income","tag-offshore-trust","tag-offshore-voluntary-disclosure-program"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.caassetprotection.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.caassetprotection.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.caassetprotection.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.caassetprotection.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.caassetprotection.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=131"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.caassetprotection.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":640,"href":"http:\/\/www.caassetprotection.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131\/revisions\/640"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.caassetprotection.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=131"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.caassetprotection.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=131"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.caassetprotection.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=131"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}