California Billionaire Developer Admits Filing False Tax Return, Pays $52 Million to IRS

Dec. 14, 2007 (Associated Press) -- SANTA ANA, Calif. - A billionaire accused of stashing a fortune in foreign bank accounts pleaded guilty to filing a false tax return and has paid more than $52 million in back taxes, penalties and interest, the Internal Revenue Service said.

Igor Olenicoff entered the plea Wednesday in federal court, according to the IRS.

He could face up to three years in prison but is likely to serve less than six months when he is sentenced in April, said his attorney, Edward M. Robbins Jr. Dec. 14, 2007 (Associated Press) -- SANTA ANA, Calif. - A billionaire accused of stashing a fortune in foreign bank accounts pleaded guilty to filing a false tax return and has paid more than $52 million in back taxes, penalties and interest, the Internal Revenue Service said.

Igor Olenicoff entered the plea Wednesday in federal court, according to the IRS.

He could face up to three years in prison but is likely to serve less than six months when he is sentenced in April, said his attorney, Edward M. Robbins Jr. Continue->

Certain Payments to Disabled Veterans Ruled Tax-Free; Some May Be Due Refunds

IR-2007-198, Dec. 12, 2007

WASHINGTON — Payments under the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Compensated Work Therapy (CWT) program are no longer taxable and disabled veterans who paid tax on these benefits in the past three years can now claim refunds, the Internal Revenue Service said today.

Recipients of CWT payments will no longer receive a Form 1099 from the Department of Veterans Affairs. Disabled veterans who paid tax on these benefits in tax-years 2004, 2005 or 2006 can claim a refund by filing an amended return using IRS Form 1040X. According to the VA, more than 19,000 veterans received CWT in Fiscal Year 2007.

The IRS agreed with a U.S. Tax Court decision issued earlier this year, which held that CWT payments are tax-free veterans’ benefits. In so doing, the agency reversed a 1965 ruling which held that these payments were taxable and required the VA to issue 1099 forms to payment recipients.

According to the VA, the CWT program provides assistance to veterans unable to work and support themselves. Under the program, the VA contracts with private industry and the public sector for work by veterans, who learn new job skills, re-learn successful work habits and regain a sense of self-esteem and self-worth. READ ON->

Fate of Expiring Tax Provisions in 2007 Tied to Revised AMT Package

With several temporary tax provisions scheduled to expire by December 31, 2007, prospects for passage in 2007 are dimming; however, a small window of opportunity remains, according to Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont. As the Senate awaits a revised alternative minimum tax (AMT) bill from the House, Baucus expressed hope that his Democratic counterpart in that chamber, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles B. Rangel, D-N.Y., includes an extenders package to accompany a one-year patch for the AMT. Baucus said that would be the only way to renew several expiring tax provisions in 2007; otherwise they will be "pushed off until next year."

The prospects for passage in 2007 are not good, as President Bush has vowed to veto any legislation that includes what he terms tax increases, and House Democrats appear, at least for the moment, determined to pay for all tax cuts through the use of revenue offsets. So far, Senate Republicans have remained steadfast in their allegiance to the White House directive to oppose the use of offsets, but at this time of year, as lawmakers rush to move legislation before heading home for the holidays, anything is possible. Baucus planned to meet with Rangel later in the day on December 12 to discuss the AMT package and the inclusion of extenders. "It's all fluid," he told CCH. READ ON->

SEC to Check Corporate Disclosure to Investors on Subprime Mess

Dec. 12, 2007 (Associated Press) -- WASHINGTON - Federal regulators will scrutinize corporate financial reports to be sure they give investors adequate information on the impact of deteriorating conditions in mortgage and credit markets, a top Securities and Exchange Commission official said Monday.

In remarks to the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, SEC Commissioner Kathleen Casey said corporate disclosure on mortgage and credit market conditions will be scrutinized in the course of normal SEC staff reviews of quarterly and annual corporate reports.

Securities and loans tied to riskier "subprime" borrowers, collateralized debt obligations, commercial paper exposure and market conditions will come under scrutiny, with particular attention paid to disclosure regarding off-balance sheet items and liquidity, said Casey. She gave the usual disclaimer that she was speaking for herself, not the SEC. READ ON->

H&R Block Expects Larger Loss of $502 Million

Dec. 12, 2007 (The Kansas City Star, Mo.) -- H&R Block Inc. said it lost a record half billion dollars in its fiscal second quarter, due largely to the increasing costs of closing its money-losing subprime mortgage lending arm.

In the same quarter a year ago, Block reported a loss of $156.5 million.

The Kansas City tax preparation and financial services giant also said this morning in a preliminary report that it would miss by a few days a deadline for formally filing its second-quarter results with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Block said it expects to file the report by Friday.

The company said that despite the setbacks, it still expected earnings for the full year ending April 30 to land in a previously projected range of $1.30 to $1.45 a share, though probably nearer the bottom of the range because borrowing costs are increasing.
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Discurso Radial del Presidente a la Nación

Buenos Días. En unos pocos días, nuestra Nación celebrará el Día de Acción de Gracias. Al igual que millones de estadounidenses, los miembros del Congreso viajarán a sus hogares para celebrar el feriado. Desafortunadamente, al mismo tiempo que se dediquen a trinchar sus pavos, están dejando mucho trabajo inconcluso en Washington, DC. Y a menos de que terminen este trabajo pronto, estadounidenses de la clase media pagarán impuestos más elevados y tropas estadounidenses no recibirán el financiamiento crítico que necesitan para luchar y derrotar a nuestros enemigos.

Muchos contribuyentes de clase media tendrán facturas de impuestos más elevadas si el Congreso no actúa con relación al Impuesto Mínimo Alternativo, o AMT por sus siglas en inglés. El AMT fue diseñado para asegurar que los ricos paguen su parte justa en impuestos. Pero cuando el Congreso aprobó el AMT hace décadas, no llevaba un índice para inflación. Como resultado, la carga tributaria más elevada del AMT está incidiendo en un número cada vez mayor de familias de media clase.

Para lidiar con este problema, el Congreso en años recientes aprobó legislación provisional que evitaba que la mayoría de contribuyentes de clase media tuvieran que pagar el AMT. Pero este año el Congreso aún no ha aprobado esta legislación. El no hacerlo podría significar que 25 millones de estadounidenses estarían sujetos al AMT – más de seis veces el número de personas sujetas al impuesto el año pasado. Si usted es una de esas 25 millones de personas, tendría que enviar un promedio de 2,000 dólares más al Servicio de Impuestos Internos el año próximo. Este es un enorme aumento en los impuestos que la mayoría de estadounidenses no espera ni merece.

Continuar->


Stephen Martinez EA
Tax Consultant
MSE & Assoc
Licensed to Practice before the IRS
Website: Valleytaxoffice.com
Tele (818) 787-6224

Guidance Released on Medical Expense Deductions

Guidance Released on Medical Expense Deductions (Rev. Rul. 2007-72)

The IRS has issued guidance regarding the deductibility of amounts paid by individuals for diagnostic and similar procedures, including certain devices, not compensated by insurance or otherwise, as medical care expenses under Code Sec. 213(a). In each of the three scenarios presented, the amounts paid by taxpayers were expenses for medical care deductible under Code Sec. 213(a), subject to the limitations of that section including the seven and a half percent floor on deductibility.

Under Code Sec. 213(d)(1)(A), medical care expenses include amounts paid related to the diagnosis, mitigation, treatment, cure or prevention of disease, or any condition affecting any structure or function of the body, including obstetrical services. Diagnosis includes the determination of the absence of disease, and may involve testing for changes in the function of the body unrelated to disease. The guidance clarifies that (1) Code Sec. 213 does not limit the deduction to amounts paid for the least expensive form of medical care applicable, and (2) a physician's recommendation, while often important to determine whether certain expenses are for medical or personal reasons, is unnecessary when the expenditures are for items wholly medical in nature and that serve no other function.

In the first scenario, money spent for an annual physical examination qualified as an expense for medical care, even though the taxpayer was not experiencing any symptoms of illness. In the second scenario, a taxpayer who was not experiencing any symptoms of illness paid for a full-body electronic scan at a clinic without having obtained a physician's recommendation for this procedure. Because the procedure served no non-medical purpose, it, too, qualified as an expense for medical care. In addition, neither the high cost of the procedure nor the possibility of less expensive alternative diagnostic tests barred the deductibility of the expense. Finally, in the third scenario, the expense of a self-administered pregnancy test kit qualified as an expense for medical care, even though it tested the healthy functioning of the body rather than attempted to detect disease.

Rev. Rul. 2007-72, 2007FED ¶46,744

Bush Lobbies for Tax Relief Bill

Dec. 10, 2007 (Associated Press) -- WASHINGTON - President Bush pushed the House on Friday to follow the Senate in passing a bill to prevent millions of taxpayers from paying an average of $2,000 more to the Internal Revenue Service.

The Senate on Thursday approved a one-year fix for the alternative minimum tax , though without matching the cost of the tax relief with new tax revenues. The Democratic plan would have raised taxes on investors to pay for the AMT fix.

Without the fix, an estimated 25 million people would be subject to the higher AMT tax, up from 4 million in 2006. READ ON->

Analizan intereses financieros de latinos

Estudio busca terminar con los mitos sobre el consumo de esta comunidad

María León
/EFE

09 de diciembre de 2007

PHOENIX, Arizona.— Un estudio de la Universidad del Estado de Arizona (ASU) busca averiguar cómo gastan en realidad su dinero los hispanos de la frontera EU-México para cambiar una serie de mitos sobre el consumo en esta comunidad.

"Este es un estudio que venimos realizando desde hace tres años en 32 condados fronterizos, desde California hasta Texas", dijo Bárbara J. Robles, directora del programa de asuntos financieros latinos del Centro de Desarrollo Comunitario y Derechos Civiles de ASU. Continuar->

Stephen Martinez EA
Tax Consultant
MSE & Assoc
Licensed to Practice before the IRS
Website: Valleytaxoffice.com
Tele (818) 787-6224

House leaders reject Senate's AMT fix

By Bob Cusack and Mike Soraghan
December 07, 2007

Despite the Senate’s overwhelming vote to pass an Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) patch without offsets, House leadership officials Friday indicated they will continue to press the upper chamber to pass a measure that is paid for.

Stacey Bernards, spokeswoman for House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), said Hoyer “has said repeatedly he will not vote for an AMT bill that is not paid for. I also expect the House to send back to the Senate a responsibly paid-for bill in response to what they passed [Thursday].”

Senate Democrats have tried to pass an AMT patch that would shield 19 million to 23 million taxpayers from the tax, which hits middle- to upper-class households. But Republicans have balked at the offsets, noting that the AMT tax was crafted to hit only wealthy families and has spread to taxpayers it never was intended to affect.
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Bush 'congela' las hipotecas

Bush 'congela' las hipotecas a más de un millón de afectados por la crisis

* Pacta con los bancos una moratoria de cinco años en la revisión de los créditos de alto riesgo
* Admite que es una "solución imperfecta", ya que no tiene carácter vinculante


PABLO PARDO

WASHINGTON.- El presidente de EEUU pacta con los bancos una moratoria de cinco años en la revisión de los créditos de alto riesgo firmados entre 2005 y julio de 2007 que beneficiará a 1,2 millones de personas.

La explosión de la burbuja inmobiliaria ha obligado a la Administración Bush a abandonar su defensa del libre mercado. Ayer, justo el día en el que se hacía público que la morosidad en el pago de hipotecas en EEUU alcanzaba su récord histórico, George W. Bush comparecía en la Casa Blanca acompañado del secretario del Tesoro, Hank Paulson, para anunciar un plan que la Administración lleva negociando varios días con los bancos. Y que esencialmente consiste en una oferta a los suscriptores de hipotecas de alto riesgo para que éstas queden congeladas durante cinco años.
Continuar->


Stephen Martinez EA
Tax Consultant
MSE & Assoc
Licensed to Practice before the IRS
Email: taxwork@valleytaxoffice.com
Tele (818) 787-6224

Senate passes AMT patch

By Klaus Marre | Posted: 12/06/07 8:23 PM [ET]
December 06, 2007

The Senate late Thursday passed a one-year fix to the alternative minimum tax (AMT), setting up a potential confrontation with the House, which passed a much different version of the bill earlier.

Democrats want to offset the cost of the patch, which would shield millions of Americans from becoming eligible for the higher tax. However, Republicans are balking at the idea and in the Senate they have enough support to block such a plan.

“I am relieved that the Senate has acted this evening to extend AMT relief for 19 million taxpayers – including nearly 100,000 Nevadans,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said following the vote. “But I want to make it perfectly clear that I am very disappointed Republicans prevented the Senate from passing AMT relief in a fiscally responsible manner. Instead, Republicans insisted that the $50 billion cost of this proposal be added to the national debt – a debt that is already growing at a rate of $1 million a minute.”

The Senate bill without offsets passed 88-5. Read on->

Demora de ley de impuestos atrasará devoluciones

Silena Davis estaba contando con que le llegara su devolución de impuestos para pagar por un arreglo dental. Ahora, como el Congreso se ha pasado el año demorando una ley de impuestos, tanto ella como millones de otras personas tendrán que esperar semanas enteras para recibir reembolsos que el año pasado fueron de un promedio de $2,291.

El Servicio de Rentas Internas está estudiando cuidadosamente posponer el inicio de la temporada de impuestos para que comience el 14 de enero si el Congreso no aprueba una ley al respecto en las próximas dos semanas. Lo que está en juego es cómo manejar lo que podría ser un drástico aumento en el número de personas que van a tener un impuesto mínimo alternativo (AMT).

La Junta de Fiscalización del IRS dice que si hay una prórroga y se extiende hasta mediados de febrero, eso haría tardar casi 32 millones de reembolsos de un valor total de alrededor de $87,000 millones. Continuar->

IRS Issues List of Vehicles that Qualify for the Alternative Motor Vehicle Credit

WASHINGTON — Purchasers of certain large trucks, buses or other heavy vehicles running on alternative fuel can claim a credit of up $32,000, and purchasers of certain large hybrid trucks and other heavy hybrid vehicles can claim a credit of up to $12,000 if they qualify for the Alternative Motor Vehicle Credit.

Qualified Alternative Fuel Motor Vehicles (QAFMV) are powered solely by alternative fuels, such as compressed natural gas, liquefied natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas, hydrogen and any liquid at least 85 percent of the volume of which consists of methanol. Vehicles powered by a combination of an alternative fuel and a petroleum-based fuel may qualify for a reduced credit. Purchases of new vehicles with special equipment, as well as ones converted for alternative power, may qualify.

A credit also is available for certain new qualified heavy hybrid vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating in excess of 8,500 pounds. A qualifying heavy hybrid motor vehicle draws propulsion energy from onboard sources of stored energy which are both an internal combustion or heat engine using consumable fuel, and a rechargeable energy storage system. This credit should be not confused with the alternative motor vehicle credit for qualified hybrid passenger automobiles and light trucks.
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