Tax practice

Former billionaire entrepreneur Samuel Wyly’s “difference of opinion” with the Internal Revenue Service could turn an offshore fortune into an onshore fraud if the agency gets its way.

The Swiss bank used by the convicted con man known as “The Wolf of Wall Street” agreed to pay almost $188 million to avoid prosecution for helping U.S. clients avoid taxes through such methods as providing untraceable gold bars and cash.

National Taxpayer Advocate Nina E. Olson released her 2015 annual report to Congress on Wednesday, focusing on her concern that the IRS may be on the verge of dramatically scaling back telephone and face-to-face service it has provided for decades.

Some of our favorite recent tax fraud cases.

Jackson Hewitt Tax Service and American Express teamed up Tuesday to give clients the option to receive tax refunds on an American Express Serve account.

State government debt is expected to reach $1.17 trillion in fiscal year 2016, but elected officials have no interest in raising tax rates or taking austerity measures. Instead, states will use three tools to expand their taxpayer base: pot, opacity and sufficient presence. Here is how the sales tax landscape may change in 2016.

The Internal Revenue Service said Tuesday that taxpayers are receiving letters with the wrong date listed for their Identity Protection Personal Identification Numbers, which are generally issued to victims of tax-related identity theft.

An employee who worked in the IRS’s Taxpayer Advocate Service at a job assisting identity theft victims has instead been charged with running a $1 million identity theft tax fraud scheme.

Republican presidential candidate and famed neurosurgeon Ben Carson has released a flat tax plan as he aims to revive his candidacy.

H&R Block has planned a big money giveaway to lure clients to its offices this tax season.

Check out the digital edition of the January 2016 issue of Accounting Today.

Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton will unveil proposals this month that will “go beyond the Buffett Rule” to raise the effective tax rates paid by the wealthiest Americans, she said Saturday.

Highlights of some of our favorite tax-related blogs from the past week.

Critical tax legislation and court decisions from last year

Critical tax legislation and court decisions from last year

The IRS has extended the exclusion from gross income for identity-protection services provided by employers.

Apple Inc. has paid 381 euros, or $348 million, to settle an Italian tax claim, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The Service has updated HealthCare Tax Tip 2015-85 to clarify the revised reporting dates and make the dates in this tip consistent with the dates in Notice 2016-4.

Julius Baer Group Ltd., Switzerland’s third- largest wealth manager, said it expects to pay about $547 million to settle a U.S. investigation into how it helped Americans evade taxes.

The IRS is sending letters to some taxpayers who may not be entitled to some or all of the EITC claimed on their 2014 tax return.