Blogs

The U.S. federal budget deficit is lower than it was in 2012. The deficit grew February 2013 by $203.5 billion, the Treasury Department said, but it is still lower than 2012. This February, the gap was $28 billion less than what it had been the same time a year ago. If the first five months... Continue reading →

Analysts believe that in 2013 the budget deficit will shrink to $845 billion, which will be the lowest during Barack Obama’s presidency. Even thought that might bring a sigh of relief to many, the relief is short-lived because the deficit is expected to rise again after a few years. The cost of health for the... Continue reading →

With the introduction of the Foreign Account Tax and Compliance Act (FATCA), the IRS has made a strong move to recover hidden money in offshore accounts. Under FATCA, U.S. taxpayers with specified foreign financial assets that exceed a certain threshold are required to report those assets to the IRS. To enforce compliance, the IRS has... Continue reading →

The fact that the rich are now paying higher taxes comes as a surprise because most of us do not think of the rich as being abused in a tax system that notoriously favors the wealthy. President Barack Obama is reluctant to raise taxes for any tax bracket, except the rich, “I am prepared to... Continue reading →

Identity theft is being conducted not only by gangs, but by seemingly unlikely people, such as store owners. A Washington D.C. barbershop owner was found guilty conducting an elaborate identity theft and tax fraud scheme. He and his accomplices stole the tax identities of deceased taxpayers, drug addicts, and others to file more than 7,000... Continue reading →

“The queen of the IRS tax fraud,” Rashia Wilson, was found to have filed 220 false tax returns during 2009 to 2012. She received $1.3 million in false refunds from the IRS. With time, she grew so confident that she even posted a picture of herself on Facebook with bundles of cash and brazenly called... Continue reading →

Tax fraud is growing in spite of efforts made by the IRS and law enforcement agencies. In a recently busted fraudulent tax filing scheme, it was discovered that tax fraudsters were also using false tax credits to get refundable tax credits. A refundable tax credit not only reduces a tax liability to zero, but it... Continue reading →

A report by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Inspector General for tax administration says tax fraud of false tax returns filed by prison inmates have more than doubled in the last two years. In 2012, the IRS detected more than 173,000 false tax returns filed by prison inmates. In that same year, the IRS stopped prison... Continue reading →

The IRS gets fraudulent tax returns from prison inmates every year, and it’s not in the hundreds, but thousands. In 2012, the IRS spotted more than 173,000 fraudulent tax returns from prison inmates. That number has doubled in the last two years. A report released by the US Treasury Department’s Inspector General for tax administration... Continue reading →

Those who received a lighter paycheck this year and those who expected a decrease in pay because of an increase in payroll taxes are sharing their concerns on and offline. Families earning $50,000 a year will see around $40 less in their monthly paychecks. Though the amount may not seem significant, it can affect the... Continue reading →