Posted on October 22, 2013 in Taxation Law

The results of a new poll that was conducted recently confirmed what every California tax lawyer already knows-Americans have a very negative view of the Internal Revenue Service. The federal agency for tax matters was ranked at the bottom of the pile in popularity.The survey was conducted byPew Research, and found that overall, public trust in federal government agencies is at all-time record lows. However, overall, the poll also found that Americans have a favorable view of most government agencies and departments, and also have an overall positive view of federal workers. However, when it comes to the Internal Revenue Service, feelings seem to be not- so- positive.The respondents in the survey were asked to rate 13 federal agencies and institutions. Out of these, nine institutions were regarded favorably by 60% or more of the respondents. However, the IRS was the only federal agency which was rated more unfavorably than favorably by the public. Approximately 51% of the public expressed a negative view about the tax agency, while approximately 41% had a favorable opinion about the IRS. However, when it came to the other federal agencies that were included in the survey, most of the respondents had favorable opinions to express. For Instance, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention received a 75% favorable rating in the survey, while the Veterans Administration got a 68% favorable rating. The Department Of Homeland Security was rated favorably by 66% of the respondents.Republicans seemed to have the worst opinion of the Internal Revenue Service, with just 23% having a favorable opinion of the agency. Approximately 65% of Democrats and 40% of independents expressed a favorable opinion of the Internal Revenue Service.

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 Posted on September 27, 2013 in Tax Audits

The Internal Revenue Service has, for weeks now, been embroiled in a controversy that alleged that some of its top officials were involved in unfair scrutiny of Tea Party groups in tax matters. Lori Lerner, the official who was the subject of an investigation into the matter by Congress, recently retired.

The Internal Revenue Service recently released a statement, saying that Lerner has retired, effective immediately. Lerner served as the agency's former director of exempt organizations.

Since May, she had been placed on administration leave. An internal agency board was soon due to begin the process of firing her, based on breach of duties and mismanagement.

Lerner was in charge of that wing of the agency that is responsible for reviewing applications from groups claiming tax exemption. In 2010, however the office under Lerner began targeting some groups for further scrutiny in tax-related matters, based on whether they had the words "Tea Party" as part of their names.

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 Posted on August 21, 2013 in Taxation Law

There has been a significant increase in the number of American citizens living abroad who have decided to give up their passports. That significant increase is being linked to a change in tax laws that is forcing many persons living abroad to wonder whether it is really worth holding onto their US citizenship any longer.

The United States currently is the only country to continue taxing citizens no matter where they live around the world. Now, a new tax hike looms and the hike will employ stricter assets disclosure laws under the Foreign Accounts Tax Compliance Act. Many Americans currently living abroad will feel the impact of these laws.

According to estimates, in the three months through June of this year, as many as 1,131 American citizens living abroad renounced their citizenships, and turned over their passports at embassies around the world. During the same period of time in 2012, there had been just 189 people who renounced citizenship. During the first six months of 2013, as many as 1,810 American expatriates decided to hand over their passports. That was a six-fold increase, and those numbers definitely merit attention.

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