IRS Targets
If you owe the government money, you become an IRS target. A Hobbs farmer, Bill Melot, was indicted under federal charges of not paying taxes amounting to more than $18 million and not filing income tax returns since 1986. In addition, Melot is alleged to have received more than $225,000 in federal farm aid. He allegedly concealed the fact that he owned 250 acres of land in Lea County, used false Social Security and employer identification numbers to carry out his devious deeds of tax evasion and illegal procurement of the farm subsidies.
Melot is faced with charges of tax evasion, not filing tax returns, impeding the IRS in their work and misrepresenting himself to the Department of Agriculture.
Meanwhile, another group of taxpayers are targeted by the IRS for evading taxes. In a recent disclosure of more than 250 names of UBS bank account holders suspected of dodging taxes, the IRS has opened investigations into 150 of them. The bank has also paid $780 million in order to avoid criminal prosecution on charges of helping wealthy Americans siphon out billions of dollars into its accounts to avoid paying taxes on them.
Out of these 150 being investigated by the IRS, three have stepped forward to plead guilty to filing tax returns without disclosing the money they had in their UBS bank accounts. After UBS had revealed the 250 names, the IRS pressed for further disclosure of information on some 52,000 other account holders who are also suspected of tax evasion. Initially UBS was reluctant to comply, sparking off a tussle that escalated into a full-blown diplomatic standoff between the US and Swiss governments. At the end of July, this matter even became a matter of discussion between US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton and her Swiss counterpart, Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey in their meeting together. Finally, the bank relented and is due to submit details of an undisclosed number of account holders out of the 52,000.
Out of the new group of names, one has so far agreed to enter a plea of guilty and is scheduled to appear in court in September. John McCarthy has admitted to evading taxes on more than $1 million in business income kept in his Swiss bank account.
All four of these who have admitted their guilt so far have disclosed how they were advised to set up corporate entities in Hong Kong, Panama or the British Virgin Islands to control their UBS bank accounts.
As more UBS clients step forward to confess their actions of tax evasion, the IRS will learn more about how all these are accomplished.
Darrin T. Mish is a veteran, nationally recognized tax attorney who has focused on providing IRS help to taxpayers for over a decade. He regularly travels the country training other attorneys, CPAs and enrolled agents on how to handle their toughest cases with the IRS. He is highly ranked among the top attorneys in the country, with an AV rating from Martindale-Hubbell and a perfect 10 on Avvo.com. Martindale-Hubbell has also honored him with a listing in their Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers. He is a member of the American Society of IRS Problem Solvers and the Tax Freedom Institute. With clients on every continent but Antarctica, he has what it takes to solve your IRS problems no matter where you live in the world. If you would like more information about his practice and how he can help you, please call his office at (813) 229-7100 or toll free at 1-888-GET-MISH.
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