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WASHINGTON (AP) - Republicans are looking to deny child tax credits to illegal immigrants — refund checks averaging $1,800 a family — in an effort that has roused anger among Hispanics and some Democratic lawmakers. The proposal, which would require people who claim the federal credit to have Social Security numbers to prove they're legal workers, is being offered as a way to help pay for extending the Social Security tax cut for most American wage-earners. It would trim federal spending by about $10 billion over a decade. .... Says Leticia Miranda, senior policy adviser of the National Council of...

- If you haven't filed your tax return yet, someone may have filed it for you. The federal government has stepped up efforts to get between identity thieves and their latest targets: fat tax refunds. Last week, the Internal Revenue Service announced that 105 people in 23 states had been targeted as part of a national identity theft crackdown involving the potential theft of thousands of identities and taxpayer refunds. At one IRS office in Florida, at least a dozen tax filers said they spent hours in line to report someone had already filed their returns - with the tax...

Despite losing Tuesday’s Florida primary, NewtGingrich used his SunshineState effort to showcase his voluntary 15 percent flat tax — 2012’s smartest idea yet, both strategically and substantively. Through the November 6 election, this concept can inoculate Republicans from the Democrats’ ceaseless lies about the wealthy “not paying their fair share” of taxes. And, if implemented, Gingrich’s prescription would reinvigorate America’s feeble economy. Among the barbs that Gingrich and WillardMittRomney traded, the former House speaker made this generous-sounding comment at the January 23 Tampa debate: “I’m prepared to describe my 15 percent flat tax as the MittRomney flat tax,” Gingrich declared....

Possible IRS rule change alarms charter schools. The IRS is proposing changes to the rules for Charter Schools. You have until Monday to comment at the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools website.The issue is this: The regulation would force those charter school teachers who have chosen to be in the state retirement system and are currently contributing to their state retirement plans to quit their charter-school jobs or lose the money that has been contributed to their accounts by the state. Teachers can keep what they've put into the account, but anything the state has put in would be...

Your Friday IRS regulation dump: Obamacare’s job-killing medical device tax Share By Michelle Malkin • February 3, 2012 04:21 PM If it’s Friday, it’s another White House dump day. Cue the dump truck horn: Doot! Doot! Doot! While Obama sycophants are busy trumpeting deceptive jobs numbers, the administration is quietly moving forward with job-killing Obamacare regs and taxes. The IRS today released rules to impose the $20 billion Obamacare medical device tax scheduled to take effect next year. At a time when the White House is touting its government initiatives to champion “innovation,” the Obamacare innovation tax on medical device/diagnostic...

Of the 84 ethics charges filed (exclusively by Democrats) against Newt Gingrich, 83 were subsequently dropped due to a complete lack of merit or foundation in fact. The remaining charge is the subject of the below video. It too proved to be utterly baseless. It's always good to keep the record straight.1999 CNN Report On Newt Gingrich's Exoneration By The IRS Over Ethics Charges

CNN reported back in 1999 that Newt’s college course that the Democrats tried to make hay out of in saying it was a major ethics violation was vindicated and proved legitimate by the IRS:

Newt Gingrich avoided tens of thousands of dollars in Medicare payroll taxes in 2010 by using a technique the Internal Revenue Service has consistently and successfully attacked. Republican Presidential candidate Gingrich and his wife, Callista, treated only $444,327 of what they got from Gingrich Holdings. Inc. and Gingrich Productions as compensation to them, while reporting a whopping $2.4 million of their earnings from these corporations as profits or dividends. Medicare taxes are levied at a rate of 2.9% on an unlimited amount of compensation and self-employment income (say, from a consulting contract, speeches or a book) but not on profits...

Jarrett’s partisan pulpit speech may have violated IRS church-state rules 12:14 AM 01/17/2012 Valerie Jarrett’s partisan speech at Atlanta’s Ebenezer Baptist Church may have violated the IRS tax rules for churches’ political activities, said a prominent free speech attorney. “It is problematic under current regulations,” said Erik Stanley, a senior legal counsel with the Alliance Defense Fund, which is campaigning to roll back IRS curbs on believers’ speech. But if the IRS concludes that the church violated the IRS code, the ADF “will represent the church, just as it would represent any church for what is said from the pulpit,”...

So I live overseas, and due to the vagaries of my employer, I wasn't able to file my taxes until late last year. I filed the 1040A, and due to a brief period of work in the US before moving here, I did have some taxes withheld. I completed my form, ignoring the "other credits", including the so-called "Making Work Pay" credit (which I figured I didn't qualify for, and didn't really want anyway), and mailed it in. I was expecting a refund of about $1400 for the taxes I had had withheld, since I was withholding for a high...

On the Sunday before the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, senior White House adviser Valerie Jarrett visited Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta to give a political speech, in support of her boss (Barack Obama) and congressional Democrats: "Teachers, and firefighters, and policemen, whose jobs are now in jeopardy because Congress--well let me be specific--because the Republicans in Congress," Jarrett told the crowd. According to the CBS affiliate in Atlanta, at this point, "Before she could finish her sentence, people in the congregation were laughing, and applauding." At the Sunday service, Jarrett also brought up Osama bin Laden's death in order...

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 requires employers to report the cost of employer-sponsored group health plan coverage on Forms W-2. The Internal Revenue Service (the "IRS") issued interim guidance regarding this informational reporting requirement in Notice 2011-28. In response to comments on Notice 2011-28, the IRS, on January 3, 2012, released an advance copy of Notice 2012-9, which supersedes Notice 2011-28. In general, Notice 2012-9 retains much of the original guidance set forth in Notice 2011-28, but with certain notable changes and additions, including the following: • Clarifies that the requirement to report the cost of...

Unpaid taxes: IRS report says $450 billion owed WASHINGTON (AP) — People and businesses underpaid their taxes by an estimated 17 percent in the most recent year studied, meaning they failed to send the government $450 billion it was owed, according to an Internal Revenue Service report released Friday. The study covered 2006, the most recent for which the IRS said it had data available. The amount of underpaid taxes far exceeded the size of the entire federal budget deficit at the time. After IRS audits and other enforcement efforts, non-compliance shrank to 14 percent, leaving the final amount of...

The 12 percent of millionaire earners audited in 2011 was appreciably higher than the 8 percent who were audited in 2010. IRS officials said the high ratio was part of an effort to demonstrate that tax laws are applied fairly. "That has been something we've concentrated on to assure that there's equity in the system, to assure that those at the lower end of the spectrum know that those at the higher end of the spectrum are subject to the same rules and enforcement as everyone else," Steven Miller, deputy IRS commissioner for services and enforcement, said in an interview....

Two headlines. Similar stories. The first from Switzerland: US OFFERS SWISS BANKS A DEAL The United States authorities have offered to lift the threat of legal action against 11 Swiss banks in exchange for information, a Swiss paper reported on Sunday. This is part of a very long story. The US Justice Department has been doing everything it can to get the names of US citizens who have Swiss bank accounts. The DOJ damn near busted UBS over this a few years back. Now they are going after the other Swiss banks. The lawyers at the DOJ don’t kid around:...

...for not enforcing immigration law? The federal government has practiced a policy of non-enforcement of immigration laws once a person makes it across the border for decades. They have the force of law on their side merely because they have the machinery of law enforcement is under their control. Is there any way to turn the tables on them? If you are the victim of a criminal illegal alien who was known to be here and remained with the tacit approval of the federal government, isn't the government guilty of malfeasance?

European banks are dumping clients with US citizenship due to a new American law meant to curb tax evasion. The law would require financial institutions around the world to report on certain client activities. Compliance, say many banks, is way too expensive. The idea was to ensure that US citizens were paying their taxes on investments made through overseas banks. The result, however, has been that Americans in Europe may have difficulties finding banks who want their business. According to a report in the Wednesday edition of the Financial Times Deutschland, several European banks have elected to no longer serve...

On Thursday, December 8th, the IRS held a secret meeting regarding a new tax policy. The hearing was required by law, as the IRS was proposing new legislation, but the IRS did everything in its power to keep it from the public. It only announced the meeting on the 7th, one day earlier, and only allowed people who signed up in advance to attend. Even then, they were not allowed to speak. The hearing was on the issue of “return free” or “simple return” filing, a proposal under which the IRS would file taxes for the taxpayer and send them...

MEXICO CITY — Mexican authorities said Tuesday that an alleged founder of the Zetas drug cartel had an arsenal of 169 guns when he was captured Monday, and may have been linked to the abduction of nine Mexican marines. Navy spokesman Jose Luis Vergara said suspect Raul Lucio Hernandez Lechuga oversaw Zeta operations around the Gulf coast state of Veracruz, where nine marines disappeared earlier this year. Vergara said a suspect was killed and a marine wounded in a firefight that erupted during Hernandez Lechuga's capture Monday in the Veracruz state city of Cordoba. The bust was the result of...

'Check' To Support Election On IRS Form May EndHouse Passes Bill That Eliminates 'Presidential Election Campaign Fund' By Deirdre Walsh CNN Congressional Producer UPDATED: 8:04 pm EST December 1, 2011 WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Remember the little box you can check off on your federal tax return to donate three dollars to pay for presidential campaigns? House Republicans voted that in this era of e-mailing or texting campaign contributions, it's time to get rid of the federal program, and remove taxpayer money from presidential elections and political conventions. The House of Representatives on Thursday passed a bill that eliminates the "Presidential...

Established 15 years ago, the Individual Taxpayer Identification Number [ITIN] is a seemingly innocuous administrative requirement that the Internal Revenue Service assigns to anyone who is employed and pays taxes. According to the IRS website, the numbers are used for federal tax reporting only. But since ITINs, as they are commonly known, are issued to wage earners regardless of immigration status, they’ve frequently been abused by the aliens who hold them. Although the real estate crisis is fading from our memory, it’s important to recall that the ITIN was the vehicle used in lieu of Social Security numbers, which then...

Berkshire's NetJets subsidiary has been assessed $643 million in back taxes, and NetJets has now responded with a lawsuit against the IRS, claiming the assessment is "illegal."

There are three "keystone deductions" in the IRS code that matter more than all others to Americans who itemize deductions. They are keystone deductions because they help the middle and upper middle class and they promote extraordinarily important social policies which have long been at the center of the traditional values held by most Americans. The first is the deduction for contributions to qualified charities, such as hospitals, high schools and colleges, charities serving everyone from children to the homless to the old and infirm, and of course churches of every denomination. The second keystone deduction allows homeowners with mortgages...

Saving $1,756 Billion, Overnight -By: Larry Walker, Jr. -“There is no doubt that many provisions in the Tax Code benefit narrow groups of taxpayers, but the dirty little secret is that the largest special interests are us – the vast majority of U.S. taxpayers. Virtually all of us benefit from certain exclusions from income, deductions from income, or tax credits.” ~National Taxpayer AdvocateAccording to Article I, Section 7 of the United States Constitution, “All Bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with Amendments as on other Bills.” And,...

General Electric, one of the largest corporations in America, filed a whopping 57,000-page federal tax return earlier this year but didn't pay taxes on $14 billion in profits. The return, which was filed electronically, would have been 19 feet high if printed out and stacked.

Remember the federal tax credit programs offering $7,500 and, later, $8,000 to first-time home buyers? The credits were designed to deliver a jolt to the reeling housing industry. And they did: More than 4 million people applied for and have received nearly $30 billion worth of credits. Most of them, according to the Internal Revenue Service, went to people who legitimately qualified for the credits. But a series of audits has documented foul-ups by the IRS, ranging from credits granted to prison inmates and dead people, fraud schemes involving claimants who never bought a house and even credits for purported...

Chris Matthews, the voluble host of MSNBC’s “Hardball,” has written a compelling blueprint for President Obama’s reelection. But it doesn’t mention the current president. Matthews’s new book, “Jack Kennedy: Elusive Hero,” adds another volume to the already groaning shelf of Kennedy biographies, but this one, happily, isn’t just about Camelot or conspiracies. It’s also about the Machiavellian Kennedy, the political street fighter who with his brother encouraged opponents to believe they were “dangerous enemies” who preferred to be feared rather than loved. “Bobby was the one who’d gained the reputation for ruthlessness,” Matthews writes, “but Jack could be pitiless.”............ “They...

...Businesses not only have to absorb these costs, but also those imposed by income taxes, payroll taxes, corporate taxes, property taxes, capital gains taxes, unemployment insurance taxes, workmen’s compensation taxes, and other payments to federal, state, and local forms of government. When all is said and done, government taxes compose 47.82 percent of the cost of the average kid’s costume, $11.66 of the average price. But the government’s tricks don’t end there. The Halloween season brings with it $2 billion in candy purchases. Due to excise taxation on sweets in addition to the burden of taxes placed on the confectionery...

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Catholic Online) - I have followed the multi-year legal battle between Catholic Answers and the Internal Revenue for several reasons. First, because I applaud Catholic Answers and its founder Karl Keating for the work they have done for decades. Their mission statement explains, "Catholic Answers is an apostolate dedicated to serving Christ by bringing the fullness of Catholic truth to the world. We help good Catholics become better Catholics, bring former Catholics "home," and lead non-Catholics into the fullness of the faith." Second, because as a constitutional lawyer I know that that their dispute with the I.R.S. has serious...

Bob Martin doesn’t mind paying taxes. As a pharmacist at Sacred Heart Hospital in Eau Claire, the Lake Hallie resident said he is paid a good salary and is glad to pay taxes. But, he said: “I shouldn’t have to pay someone $400 to do them.” Martin said the Fair Tax Act of 2011 would change that, revitalize the nation’s economy and spur the creation of thousands of jobs, if not more. The Fair Tax is still a tax, and it wouldn’t affect state income taxes. But instead of paying a federal income and payroll tax, people would pay what...

This excerpt is from Patrick Henry's greatest speech, "Shall Liberty or Empire Be Sought?" where he argued against adoption of the Constitution: In this scheme of energetic government, the people will find two sets of tax-gatherers — the state and the federal sheriffs. This, it seems to me, will produce such dreadful oppression as the people cannot possibly bear. The federal sheriff may commit what oppression, make what distresses, he pleases, and ruin you with impunity; for how are you to tie his hands? Have you any sufficiently decided means of preventing him from sucking your blood by speculations, commissions, and fees?...

Technically, nothing prevents Warren Buffett and other “Patriotic Millionaires� from donating money to the federal government right now, but, as they continue to clamor for a higher tax rate for themselves and others, it’s easy to assume they don’t know that. Sen. John Thune (R-SD) and Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.) have introduced legislation to ensure they do: Dubbed “The Buffett Rule Act of 2011,” the names of the bills take a mocking swipe at President Barack Obama’s own proposed “Buffet Rule,” which conversely would close tax code loopholes to ensure that Warren Buffett and those like him no longer pay...

The Internal Revenue Service mistakenly sent notices to approximately 80,000 taxpayers telling them they needed to repay the First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit. A new report by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration found that 27,728 taxpayers were notified they had a repayment obligation even though they had purchased their homes in 2009, when there was no repayment obligation. In addition, the information provided by a vendor hired by the IRS to use third-party data to identify individuals who may have disposed of their principal residences was unreliable, resulting in 53,558 individuals who incorrectly received notices to repay the Homebuyer...

One of the challenges in politics is going from the general to the specific. Practically every American wants the things most politicians promise they’ll deliver: more jobs, economic growth, good schools, less poverty, freedom, a coherent foreign policy, etc. The more opaque a politician gets the better voters seem to like it. The poster child for this was of course Barack Obama in 2008. What in the world does Hope and Change actually mean? Virtually every American hopes for the things listed above, but in terms of a plan for actually addressing any of them, what does Hope and...

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - The federal government has found a new weapon in its war on marijuana — the tax man. A San Francisco Bay area medical marijuana dispensary that promotes itself as the world's largest has been hit with a $2.4 million tax bill following an audit by the Internal Revenue Service, the dispensary founder said Tuesday. The back taxes, penalties and interest levied against Harborside Health Center came after the IRS examined its returns for 2007 and 2008 and determined a 1982 tax code prohibiting cost deductions for businesses that traffic in illegal drugs applies to the dispensary....

Behavioral Experiment Transparency vs Burden Solicitation Number: TIRNO-11-Q-00349 Agency: Department of the Treasury Office: Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Location: National Office Procurement (OS:A:P) Solicitation Number: TIRNO-11-Q-00349 Notice Type: Combined Synopsis/Solicitation Synopsis: Added: Sep 16, 2011 11:03 am The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) intends to issue a sole sourced purchase order to the University of Minnesota's Social Behavior Science Division Research Professors: Marsha Blumenthal and Laura Kalambolidis, for research experiments, data to explore the impacts of Behavioral experiments of alternative reporting regimes: transparency vs. burden. BACKGROUND: The project involves a three-stage laboratory experiment to explore taxpayers' willingness to accept increased reporting...

When Julie Veilleux discovered she was American, she went to the nearest U.S. embassy to renounce her citizenship. Having lived in Canada since she was a young child, the 48-year-old had no idea she carried the burden of dual citizenship. But the renunciation will not clear away the past 10 years of penalties with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).Born to American parents living in Canada, Kerry Knoll’s two teenaged daughters had no clue they became dual citizens at birth. (An American parent confers such status on Canadian-born children.) Now the IRS wants to grab at money they earned in Canada...

This is the data for calendar year 2003 just released in October 2005 by the Internal Revenue Service. The share of total income taxes paid by the top 1% of wage earners rose to 34.27% from 33.71% in 2002. Their income share (not just wages) rose from 16.12% to 16.77%. However, their average tax rate actually dropped from 27.25% down to 24.31% Think of it this way: less than 3-1/2 dollars out of every $100 paid in income taxes in the United States is paid by someone in the bottom 50% of wage earners. Are the top half millionaires? Noooo,...

When my friend Brian told me the American tax police were after him, I thought he must be nuts. Brian is a worrier. He gets a little paranoid sometimes. “We haven’t filed a U.S. tax return in 20 years,” he said. “Now our accountant says we have to – or else.” Brian and his wife are from the States. He took out Canadian citizenship years ago. They’ve lived and worked in Canada for decades. They have no U.S. income or assets. They are 100-per-cent tax compliant – in Canada. “Forget about it,” I advised. “What could they possibly do to...

A group of roughly 75 House members, almost exclusively Democrats, is pushing the IRS to clean up issues that same-sex married couples and domestic partners face in filing their taxes. Overall, 15 states recognize either same-sex marriages or domestic partnerships, with New York becoming the sixth state to allow same-sex couples to marry this summer. But the Defense of Marriage Act, passed by Congress in the 1990s, means the federal government does not recognize same-sex marriages, leading to filing confusion that the group of lawmakers wants the IRS to address. “Now, more than ever, our tax system must be simplified...

Another ObamaCare glitch could result in some businesses being exempt from fines for not providing their workers with health insurance. A company would have to challenge the fine in court. But if one does, that could eliminate employer penalties in many states and make residents in those areas ineligible for premium tax credits. Under ObamaCare, a company with 50 or more employees faces a $2,000 annual fine per employee if it does not provide insurance. But it's only fined if one of its employees applies and qualifies for a premium tax credit via a health insurance exchange.

Obama is an enabler. He pretends he's against Congress, but the truth is that he's the one who wants to get them more money to spend. He enables those big spenders by getting them their fix. Let's get more booze for alcoholics, more heroin for junkies, and more smokes for the nicotine freaks. Then we can throw a freakin' big party and invite all our rowdy friends to come over tonight. Oh...let's pretend we're doing it for the good of the country.

A UCC lien for $14,300,000,000,000 (about the same amount as the national debt) filed on 8/12/11 with the Maryland Secretary of State naming the Maryland Comptroller as an additional debtor. Something tells me other states have similar filings...

he United States is drafting legal documents that seek to force nearly a dozen Swiss banks and international banks with Swiss branches to disclose the identities of American clients evading billions of dollars in taxes, sources briefed on the matter said. The drafting of the documents -- grand jury subpoenas and broad requests known as John Doe summonses -- is a fresh U.S. shot across the bow at Switzerland and its battered tradition of bank secrecy. The Alpine country, a noted tax haven that is the global capital of offshore private banking, has been under attack from U.S. Justice Department...

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has unexpectedly and retroactively granted tax-exempt 501 (c)(3) status to the Barack H. Obama Foundation following our formal Complaint that the Foundation was soliciting tax-deductible contributions without such status. The Foundation is headed by Abon'go Malik Obama, President Obama's half-brother, and named for their common father. It came under scrutiny earlier this year when NLPC raised questions about its tax status and what has happened to the money it has raised. It normally takes at least six months, and usually longer, for the IRS to grant tax-exempt status to an organization following its application....

Because of a quirk in ObamaCare, people who buy health insurance through a federally run exchange may not be eligible for premium subsidies. Government-created exchanges are places for individuals to shop and purchase health insurance. ObamaCare will require individuals and families to buy insurance, starting in 2014. Those with incomes at 100% to 400% of the federal poverty level will be eligible for taxpayer funded subsidies — a tax credit to help pay for the premium. It turns out that the legislation isn't so clear, the latest example of what analysts predicted would be a stream of surprises from the...

Imagine this scenario: The IRS may soon just do your taxes for you — and send you the bill.If this sounds farfetched, it’s not.With a new congressional “super committee” tasked with finding $1.5 trillion in cuts by November, creative ways to find additional revenue are in high demand. And allowing the IRS to prepare you taxes could be one solution.The idea has been around for a while, but has been picking up steam in recent years. In 2006, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) argued it would close a $345 billion annual difference between what the government believes taxpayers...

C’mon, IRS. “Stop coddling the super rich.� Contrive to successfully extract the taxes they already owe.Mr. Buffett, I barely want to waste my breath on your blatant hypocrisy.And, Mainstream Media (by which I mean the NYT, which ran Buffett’s obnoxious op-ed in the first place), WHERE ARE YOU?From NewsMax: Billionaire investor Warren Buffett triggered a major debate over taxes recently when he wrote in The New York Times that he should be paying more to the federal government. He called on Washington lawmakers to up tax rates on the rich.But it turns out that Buffett’s own company, Berkshire Hathaway, has...

Individuals who are not authorized to work in the United States (i.e. immigrants in the country illegally) last year collected $4.2 billion in tax refunds from the Internal Revenue Service, according to a new audit from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA).A little something called the Additional Child Tax Credit is to blame. The audit explains (emphasis mine): Many individuals who are not authorized to work in the United States, and thus not eligible to obtain a Social Security Number (SSN) for employment, earn income in the United States. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) provides such individuals with...

The Internal Revenue Service allowed undocumented workers to collect $4.2 billion in refundable tax credits last year, a new audit says, almost quadruple the sum five years ago. Although undocumented workers are not eligible for federal benefits, the report released Thursday by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration concludes that federal law is ambiguous on whether these workers qualify for a tax break based on earned income called the additional child tax credit. Taxpayers can claim this credit to reduce what they owe in taxes, often getting refunds from the government. The vagueness of federal law may have contributed...