IRS Criminal Investigation Division Announces Two New Initiatives

 Posted on September 29, 2017 in Taxation Law

The IRS is turning to large-scale data analysis to help detect criminal activity among taxpayers. It is doing this through the creation of two initiatives, each with a different focus. Both initiatives will heavily rely on data gained through the IRS’s civil departments that will be used by the agency’s Criminal Investigation Division.

Initiative 1: International Tax Enforcement Group

Foreign tax compliance, including the reporting of offshore accounts, has long been a priority for the IRS. Recently, the IRS announced that a new team, the International Tax Enforcement Group, will analyze massive amounts of collected data in an attempt to find non-compliant tax filers.

The team will be comprised of IRS investigators who have foreign compliance experience and base them out of a central location, the Washington, D.C. field office.

This expert team will be using tax data as well as information uncovered from the Bank Secrecy Act, whistleblowers, the Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program, Panama Papers, and the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA).

Initiative 2: National Coordinated Investigations Unit

This initiative was created to target areas of non-compliance on a national level as identified by field offices. The IRS has named three areas that the unit will first focus on: international tax enforcement, employment tax, and SEC microcap fraud.

The IRS intends for this group to be looking into the future to identify upcoming areas of non-compliance. The IRS has stated that this group was created to counter budgetary cutbacks that have reduced the number of employees in the agency.

The Criminal Investigation Division will continue its other investigations like that of identity theft, which includes cyber crimes such as phishing, account takeovers, and business email compromise. Cybercriminals use these methods to target tax professionals — like tax preparers — who have this data on file.

Avoid Criminal Charges By Contacting a San Jose, CA Tax Lawyer

The announcement of these two initiatives should serve as a warning to individual taxpayers who may not be entirely forthcoming about disclosure of offshore financial assets or non-compliance generally. This is a risky position to take, and taxpayers should look at all options available, including voluntary disclosure.

Call the skilled San Jose tax attorney at John D. Teter Law Offices at 408-866-1810. Our firm has advised many clients on how to structure accounts and pay taxes within the confines of the law while saving clients time and creating a beneficial tax strategy. You may have more options than you realize, and a tax attorney can explain these to you.

Source:

https://www.accountingtoday.com/news/irs-criminal-investigation-chief-plans-new-enforcement-programs