Tax Law

As ‘Girls Gone Wild’ Founder Sues Over Settlement, Bigger Legal Troubles Loom

The founder of the “Girls Gone Wild” videos has announced he is filing suit to rescind a settlement agreement reached with three underage girls after he was jailed by a federal judge in Florida. The Los Angeles suit claims U.S. District Judge Richard Smoak of Panama City sided with a…

Aug 20, 2008 1:58 PM CDT

Lawsuit Failed to Shed Light on New Pension Maneuver

Some companies are moving obligations for executive benefits into rank-and-file pension plans in a move that allows them to immediately deduct contributions. The Wall Street Journal reports that the practice is “a dubious use of tax law” that could drain assets from pension plans and make them more likely to…

Aug 4, 2008 4:02 PM CDT

Employee Cell Phones Cost Companies Big Bucks in Back Taxes

Employers that hand out cell phones to their workers are being billed hundreds of thousands of dollars in back taxes for failing to report the fringe benefit as income to the users. The tax laws require employees to keep detailed records that separate business from personal calls made on the…

Aug 4, 2008 2:09 PM CDT

Lawyer Charged with Laundering Prostitution Profits Through Reform Group

Police have charged a New York tax lawyer who owned the Hot Lap Dance Club with laundering prostitution profits from the club through a voter reform group he founded. Charges against lawyer Louis Posner include money laundering and promoting prostitution, the New York Times reports. He told the New York…

Jul 21, 2008 2:07 PM CDT

Cross on House Brings $80K Tax Break

For George Michael, a cross placed on the side of his $3 million lakefront mansion in suburban Chicago resulted in a tax break of almost $80,000. But now officials in Lake Bluff, where it is located, say he owes $115,000 in fines for failing to get the village’s permission to…

Jul 17, 2008 7:43 PM CDT

New IRS Rules Target Secret Offshore Bank Accounts

In the wake of a series of revelations concerning secret accounts at UBS AG and other foreign banks, new rules are about to be released by the Internal Revenue Service seek to close loopholes previously used by some U.S. investors to avoid taxes by concealing assets in such accounts. The…

Jul 16, 2008 5:00 PM CDT

Final Defendant to Plead Guilty in Milberg Prosecution

The final defendant in the prosecution against the Milberg law firm has agreed to plead guilty to “an improbable tax-related felony,” in the words of the Daily Journal. California environmental lawyer Paul Selzer had been accused of being an intermediary for a kickback paid by Milberg to Seymour Lazar, a…

Jul 11, 2008 4:49 PM CDT

IRS Isn’t Just Pursuing UBS Clients; Auditors to Look at Other Foreign Banks

In the wake of a precedent-setting federal court ruling earlier this week that the IRS can seek the names of Americans holding secret accounts from Swiss-based UBS AG, the agency is stepping up enforcement efforts at other foreign banks. It is asking auditors at major accounting firms to help identify…

Jul 3, 2008 2:19 PM CDT

US Court Tells Swiss Bank UBS to Reveal Customer Names

In a reportedly unprecedented court order, a federal judge in Miami has ordered Swiss-based UBS AG to reveal the names of U.S. residents who have been using secret accounts to avoid paying American income tax. “Federal prosecutors have accused UBS of helping American clients hide $20 billion overseas in secret…

Jul 1, 2008 11:15 PM CDT

DOJ Seeks Rare Federal Court Ruling Forcing UBS to Name Names

Updated: The Department of Justice is trying to get an unprecedented federal court order requiring a Switzerland bank to turn over the names of wealthy U.S. residents who maintained secret accounts there to evade income tax here. If the DOJ’s filing against Swiss-based UBS AG in federal court in Miami…

Jul 1, 2008 5:35 PM CDT

IRS Battles Billionaire Anschutz in $144M Capital Gains Case

Was it a “variable prepaid forward contract”? Or was it an actual sale of stock? That is the central question in a battle royal between billionaire Philip Anschutz, reportedly one of the 50 richest men in the world, and the Internal Revenue Service. It is seeking to force the Denver-based…

Jun 9, 2008 5:54 PM CDT

Billionaire Olenicoff’s Plea Docs Describe Tax Evasion Techniques

Recent court filings concerning a tax evasion plea deal by billionaire Igor Olenicoff may cast a brighter light on similar efforts by less-wealthy individuals to evade U.S. income tax. Filings in federal court in Santa Ana, Calif., show the real estate magnate had accounts with Barclays Bank in the Bahamas,…

May 30, 2008 11:18 PM CDT

IRS Employee Charged With Checking Out Celebrity Tax Records

A tax examiner in Ohio has been arrested on charges he sneaked a peek at tax information for nearly 200 celebrities. John Snyder has been charged with a misdemeanor for allegedly accessing the information on the Internal Revenue Service database, the Cincinnati Enquirer reports. He is accused of checking out…

May 30, 2008 3:59 PM CDT

New York Agencies Told to Recognize Out-of-State Gay Marriages

A directive from the governor’s office tells state agencies in New York to recognize gay marriages legally performed elsewhere. Citing a state appellate ruling, the legal counsel for Gov. David Paterson told agencies that married gay couples deserve the same protection as those in other legal unions, the New York…

May 29, 2008 10:41 AM CDT

New Law Seeks Revenue from Tax Exiles

Escaping U.S. taxes by renouncing U.S. citizenship and moving abroad will soon be harder than it used to be. A new law approved by Congress last week seeks to close loopholes that allowed Americans to reduce their tax bills by going to other countries with less onerous requirements. Among the…

May 28, 2008 5:46 PM CDT