Nation’s worst tax resolution firm

June 25th, 2010 | taxesandtaxcompanies

Lying TV ad of American Tax Relief states “you have ONLY one chance to settle with the IRS”. People all over the Internet say that American Tax Relief is the worst tax relief company ever. What is true? Do you believe it or not? Have you ever been a customer of this company? Are you satisfied with the service provided? I decided to make a small review about it and find some interesting facts. And remember, it’s up to you to judge whether I coped with the task or not.

Let’s start from American Tax Relief official site. Here of course we find some information. They have not really good site, as I think, but let’s see. First of all you can notice that there is there location given in contact us tab but from numerous reviews I found out that nobody really knows where they are located. You can find lots of promises in the Internet like: “American Tax Relief knows how to look for the tiny details that you are not accustomed to checking for. Even if you know it in theory, American Tax Relief has experience and practice on their side. So many people try to do it themselves because they don’t realize the value of having an expert on your side. Don’t make that mistake yourself.” They have good ads on their site, they call it “sample cases”. American Tax Relief shows cases which they solved. Not bad. Also American Tax Relief claims it can help tax delinquents settle with the Internal Revenue Service for “pennies on the dollar”. But many people write their stories and try to prove us that it’s better to choose another company. “I paid $3400 to them and they got nothing done for me”. American Tax Relief (http: //american-tax-relief.pissedconsumer.com/) said the company has done nothing wrong, and that it doesn’t promise it can help all of its clients, but it tries. So in fact we can not trust information that is given on the site and it was really promising.

Under that program of American Tax Relief, some taxpayers can reduce their debts, but only if there is no chance they could ever pay the full amount. Of the about 74,000 applications to the program, the IRS can accepted about 19,000. Even you are not so good in math you can see that it’s less than 1/3.

People are looking for a good company, they ask other people in search of reviews. “I owe $20K to the IRS and I’m told that the “American Tax Relief” will cut my debt in half or less, but I have to put money up front.” But I think they and similar companies that are advertised in mass media  won’t cut your debt in half, but will try to show that is all you can pay. Nobody can guarantee results. If they are they are either lying to you or lying to themselves. You will still have to pay their fees of $3,000 or more, win or lose.

I found information that American Tax Relief uses several domains including americantaxrelief.com, 10save.com, 92save.com, 84save.com, 9save.com & 28save.com. One company and several domains…well, quite strange I should say.

“Call us first! We will give you the TRUE answers you need. Don’t be misled by false promises from dishonest companies! We’ve helped others, now allow us to help you.” The Internet is full on ads like that, but we still don’t know whom to trust. If American Tax Relief has robbed you and you still have a tax problem, you should turn to IRS and just talk to them, many people did like that.

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I wonder, if Tax Masters can solve smb’s problems?

June 22nd, 2010 | taxesandtaxcompanies

Do you know on which two states of our mood people all over the world make money? I think you guessed, they are happiness and misery. And it’s not strange, as when people are happy (wedding, child birth, birthday, holidays etc.) they are willing to pay more money just to maintain this state of constant fortune and create illusion of constant happiness. And vice-versa, if you are disappointed (funerals, death, troubles with job etc.) you also pay a lot of money and you do it to release from the filling of grief. On that principle many companies work for ages and have huge income. One of such companies is Tax Masters. Have you heard about it ? Is it reliable? I offer you to find right now! Are you with me?

Tax Masters is a company of second category, I mean it makes money on our grief. As you turn to them only in case you have problems with IRS and huge tax debts. Who are Tax Masters? Tax Masters is one of the fastest growing firm of the best IRS tax relief companies. They established their business in 2001 and had gone national within just a couple years. Tax Masters offers its tax relief services in all 50 states. Tax Masters does it both for federal tax debt and state tax problem. Tax Masters has a nice site with a wealth of information about IRS and its notices, the collection process, and then of course Tax Masters offers their services. In August 2009, Tax Masters became the first IRS tax relief company to be regulated by the SEC. This means their business practices and finances have to be disclosed to the government and to investors. All this information sounds really cool. But it’s just what you can read about them on their official site. As you know nobody writes any bad things about their own company on the official site.

Let’s type “Tax Masters fraud and scam” in your browser. Do you see what I mean? “Tax Masters ripped me off”; “Do not trust Tax Masters”. Let’s read further. “Tax Masters has taken payment from us for over $6,000 promising to lower our tax debt of just over $32,000 to pennies on the dollar. It looks like I’m going to be charged by the IRS 100 pennies on the dollar. Tax Masters promised that the IRS would not touch my disability checks and they have. Tax Masters promised that our bank account would not get into our bank accounts. Yesterday our account showed a zero balance because the IRS took everything we have. I want my money back but don’t know the steps to take to get it back.” You can find lots of complaints like that all over in the internet. More over if you do a BBB search on Tax Masters (http://tax-masters.pissedconsumer.com/) you’ll find that this company has a lot of complaints. There are over 300 complaints on Tax Masters and they have an “F” rating with the Better Business Bureau.

If you fell for the scam with Tax Masters you have to do the following: first of all begin a journal to document everything; then you ought to keep a file, and save everything, even envelopes. Also watch for pre-dated communications from them. Write a complete statement, and attach all documents to it, referencing the documents in your statement. You can use this statement to file a complaint and to get charges reversed.

Also you might should stop avoiding meeting with IRS representatives. «One year I owed the IRS an additional $5000.00 because of a penalty /tax on using my pension early (to buy a business.) All I had to do was sign an agreement with them to pay $200 per month until it was paid. No big deal. I feel these IRS Help companies are a rip-off and paly into people fears and grief».

By the way raitings of this company raise every year, so I can’t say that it helped noone. It did help. “I contacted them to get some tax benefits. I enjoyed saving a lot of money” “Tax Masters has done everything they said they would do for me.”

But note there are still many people who are not sutisfied with their services. Just keep it in mind.

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Tax evasion schemes

June 19th, 2010 | taxesandtaxcompanies

In the previous article we talked about tax evasion in general. We mentioned the consequences of this action. And I still stress that taxes are only getting stronger, sucking more and more money from widows, orphans, the poor, the middle-class, the rich, the good, the evil, the cute and the ugly, as well as just about anyone else. Even when you die you still have to pay taxes. Taxes, after all, are dues that we pay for the privileges of membership in an organized society. But not all people want to pay for these privileges.

Nowadays, it seems, there are all sorts of schemes and theories around that promise reduction or outright elimination of taxable liability. Some of these are quite inventive. In general, income tax evasion is considered a form of fraud under the law. A deliberate attempt of individual or corporation to avoid paying a fair share of taxes is called income tax evasion. It doesn’t matter whether they did it by falsely minimizing income, making unlawful claims and tax deductions or by some other means. : The IRS posted common tax evasion schemes and practices. The full and complete list is on the website, but the most common for the average taxpayer we will discuss here.

Every day people are engaged in numerous attempts of tax paying evasion (from filing false returns to hiding money overseas). Business owners can attempt to cheat using such methods: paying employees in cash, dealing with unreliable third party payroll services and neglecting to file proper returns. Tax evasion can be of different types: individual income tax evasion and employment tax fraud.

As for individuals, if they are engaged in tax fraud, they use “illegal means to avoid paying taxes.” These people may file false returns by reporting more than their actual legal deductions, reporting less than their actual income and hiding money in accounts outside the country. Also says that individuals who earn income through illegal means often evade taxes, since properly reporting the income would result in criminal charges. One of the most famous tax evasion cases in history involving income gained from illegal activity involved Al Capone, widely acknowledged as the head of the Chicago mafia in the early 20th century.

There are several employment tax evasion schemes. The first and the most common one is pyramiding. Pyramiding means collecting taxes from employees and failing to pay them to the IRS; The second is called employment leasing – it means that there is an unreliable third party payer (which companies may use for payroll, filing tax returns and paying taxes) may neglect to pay the IRS; paying employees in cash (without withholding taxes); purposely filing false returns; failing to file employment returns

Pyramiding mostly occurs when a company withholds taxes from its employees but at the same time fails to forward tax payments to the IRS or state government. This scheme is carried out over and over by businesses involved with pyramiding, filing bankruptcy and starting the cycle again with a new business name. Employee leasing is the assignment of administrative, personnel and payroll functions to outside contracting agencies or businesses.

This practice can be used when the employee-leasing companies fail to pay a part or all of collected employee taxes but this is perfectly legal. Using this scheme businessmen often divert the funds for personal use, and then dissolve the company. Doing so, they leave large amounts of employment taxes unpaid.

Regardless of the method (or the fame of the individual involved), the government can force those guilty of tax fraud to pay back taxes and penalties, and serve time in confinement. And remember, establishing a charge of income tax evasion requires proofs that the individual or corporation knowingly intended to defraud the government by underpayment or nonpayment of taxes.

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Taxes here, taxes there, taxes everywhere

June 17th, 2010 | taxesandtaxcompanies

Ben Franklin said that death and taxes are the only two unavoidable things in life. Death can only get you once. «Taxes get you every year for your entire adult live. After all, these guys are the only constants in life.» As the saying goes, nothing in life is certain except death and taxes.  Well, average person’s live expectancy is 75 years or so, do you know what it means? It means that people have to pay annual taxes about 60 times!!! So I guess taxes have a great hold on us as they come back again and again each April.

Every year, people try to find creative ways to eliminate their taxes. How to avoid taxes? Is there any way? Of course there is. There are perfectly legal ways to reduce your taxes to zero. Such strategies involve planning your household spending around tax-deductible items such as mortgages, college education, and child care. All over the world this way is called tax evasion (illegal avoidance of taxes paying, failing to report or reporting inaccurately). As everybody knows the government imposes strict and serious penalties for tax evasion, but still many people continue trying to invent new schemes. Tax evasion is different from tax avoidance, which is making use of legal methods to minimize a tax burden.

Some people, however, fall for various legal-sounding arguments to demonstrate that paying taxes is unconstitutional. The Supreme Court has rejected all such arguments, and the IRS (The Internal Revenue Service is responsible for the interpretation and enforcement of the Internal Revenue Code and for collecting taxes. IRS is the body of federal tax law in the United States) is well aware of all these ploys. The IRS has a list of the most common cases of tax evasion and schemes for avoiding income taxes. These arguments rest on unsound assumptions or misinterpretations of the law. Please be advised to avoid anyone who promises that you can “release” yourself from taxes. The IRS reports that tax evasion is quite widespread all over the USA and outside. Every year it costs the government about $350 billion in unpaid taxes and creates a tax gap that grows each year for about 10 %. However, the IRS tries to find tax evaders both big and small. It does it with the help of federal initiatives aimed at narrowing the tax gap.

If you are convicted of tax or GST evasion, you must repay the full amount of taxes owing. I mean any amounts fraudulently obtained plus interest and any civil penalties that may be assessed. For you to know: “The court may fine up to 200% of the federal tax evaded or false refunds claimed and sentence them to a two-year jail term.”

The people, who have not filed returns for previous years, or who have not reported all of their income, can voluntarily correct their mistake. If they make a full disclosure before the Agency starts any action or investigation against them, they will not be penalized or prosecuted. Those, who did it voluntarily may only have to pay the taxes owing, plus interest.

Make sure you know the difference between what is legal and what could get you in jail. Contact specialized staff of tax attorneys, CPAs, EAs and tax professionals. Visit the Tax Resolution Services web site for a free tax relief consultation before you begin searching your way of tax evasion. If you do find yourself under criminal charges by the IRS, you have the right to seek professional tax help from a tax lawyer.

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America is a land of taxation that was founded to avoid taxation.

June 16th, 2010 | taxesandtaxcompanies

Taxes are the subsidiary organization of Evil. Most people if not all of them hate paying taxes. Have you ever met a politician who didn’t want to raise taxes? Most of people think that the procedure of paying taxes is really sophisticated. And if you even dare to pay taxes, today it takes more brains and effort to make out the income-tax form than it does to make the income. All these facts made possible existence of tax preparation companies. HR Block is one of them. In fact H&R Block is the world’s largest tax preparation business, employing 100,000 tax professionals and having served more than 500 million clients. It first appeared on the market in 1955 and since then the business grew to become a brand and franchising icon. Today, H&R Block (http://hr-block.pissedconsumer.com/) prepares 1 in every 7 tax returns, delivers customized tax advice for more than 400 occupations, files 1 in every 4 earned income tax credits, has helped clients obtain nearly $30 billion in tax refunds, credits and other government benefits. It operates in the U.S., has franchisees in Canada and Australia and has its H&R Block At Home™ software and online solutions. According to statistics by 2009 H&R Block had 3,999 U.S. franchises, 3,999 Canadian franchises   and 418 foreign franchises.

After all information that was given above you decided to turn to H&R Block Company? Let’s find out more about it first, just not to make wrong decision. At the end of May 2010 the company announced a broad strategic realignment of its field and corporate support organization. Overall, the company expects these changes to decrease annual operating expenses by $140 – $150 million per year by the end of fiscal year 2012.

President and chief executive officer of H&R Block, said, “We operate in a challenging and competitive environment, and to be successful we must find new ways to provide better value to our clients. This requires that we narrow our focus and invest in a few key initiatives that will have the greatest impact on attracting and retaining clients in our retail and digital channels, while eliminating other activities and their related costs.” The company also has closed approximately 400 under-performing tax offices out of its network of 11,000 retail tax locations. “However, these steps are necessary to improve our business performance and better serve our clients.”

For communication with clients last year H&R Block looked to answer tax questions on Twitter and Facebook, but this year it has set up a dedicated “Get It Right” site for its tax advisors to answer questions. H&R Block has enlisted 1,000 of its advisors in the effort and has signed up 65,000 members and answered 50,000 questions.

H&R Block software called H&R Block At Home is at your disposal. When tax season is in full swing many people who get refunds need to file their taxes and those who will have to pay try to prepare their paperwork to pass through the tax process. When use tax preparation software, you want it to be clear, thorough and guaranteed.

It has 4 online options: Free, Deluxe, Premium, and Best of Both. Basic version with most tax forms, step-by-step directions, and error checking is FREE! Deluxe version is meant for homeowners and investors because it also has forms for the sale of stocks, bonds and mutual funds, and audit support for $34.96 (orig. $49.95). Premium version is meant for the self-employed and landlords because it also has live tax advice, Schedule C guidance, rental income assistance and advanced tax calculators for $52.46 (orig. $74.95). The “best of both” version means a tax professional reviews, corrects, certifies and files your return, plus you get unlimited live tax advice via phone or e-mail, for $55.96 (orig.$79.95).

Using H&R Block at Home software you get: accurate calculations guarantee, worry free audit support and maximum refund guarantee. The price is low, compared to other programs, and H&R Block’s guarantees assure you that your tax return will be accurate.

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Nobody escapes taxes except people, who live in “tax haven”. True or folse?

June 14th, 2010 | taxesandtaxcompanies

Government is the people’s business and every man, woman and child becomes a shareholder with the first penny of tax paid. Like it or not, you have to pay your taxes. The trouble is that understanding taxation requires more than a genius mind. Even Albert Einstein admitted, “The hardest thing in the world to understand is the income tax.” So, if you are wading through reams of paperwork, trying to make sense of all this red tape, it’s time to take a break. And tell you about somebody who is a bit happier than you are. Many people like Colombian Drug Lords, Churches, the entire Kingdom of Monaco, etc. escape taxes. Let’s stop on Monaco – on the so called “tax haven”.

Since 2003, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has identified Monaco, along with 36 other territories, as a tax haven. Principality of Monaco is a small sovereign city-state located in South Western Europe on the northern central coast of the Mediterranean Sea. Monaco is the name of the country and its capital city. It is famous as a tax haven, and wealthy foreigners make up the majority of the population at approximately 84%.

The Monaco tax system is not at all stringent. It belongs to the family of those nations which are exempted from tax. This is a great opportunity for the people willing to buy a plot of land or rent any flat in Monaco. The main principal of Monaco’s fiscal system is the total absence of direct taxation. There are two exceptions to this principal:

- Companies earning more than 25% of their turnover outside of the Principality and companies, whose activities consist of earning revenues from patents and literary or artistic property rights, are subject to a tax of 33.33 % on profits.

- French nationals who are unable to prove that they resided in the Principality for 5 years before October 31, 1962.

Persons residing in Monaco (except French nationals) do not pay tax on income, on betterment or on capital. For French nationals, two distinct categories exist:

- French nationals who can prove that they resided in Monaco at least 5 years before October 31, 1962 are subject to the same system as other nationalities.

- Other French residents are subject to French income tax collected by the French administration.

Two categories of tax incentives have been established in the principality. Companies that are created in the principality, and are liable for tax on profits, but which develop a completely new business, are exempt from profits tax for a period of two years, and benefit from preferential treatment for the following three years. A start-up company pays no tax on its profits during the first and second years of operation; it pays tax on 25% of the reduced profits during the third year; pays tax on 50% of the reduced profits during the fourth year; pays tax on 75% of the reduced profits during the fifth year; and pays tax on 100% of the reduced profits in the sixth year.

There is also a research and development tax credit, under which administrative offices are not liable for tax on profits but are liable for a tax of just 2.6% levied on the running costs of the office.

However, Monaco has high social insurance taxes payable by both employer and employee. The employer’s contribution is between 28%-40% (averaging 35%) of gross salary including benefits and the employee pays a further 10%-14% (averaging 13%). Social insurance contributions, amounting to nearly 50% of salary, are a major disincentive to the hiring of staff and in many ways detract substantially from the advantageous income tax regime which exists in Monaco.

There are innumerable reasons why people want to hide away their valuable assets and money. In Monaco, companies have the privileges of keeping their ventures secret from the rivals. In this way, the organization can easily escape from various lawsuits. The tax system in Monaco helps people in protecting their valuables and avoids any sort of embarrassment.

If you are rich, the advantage of being a Monaco resident is that, besides enjoying a sunny, pleasant climate, you can live at the same time in another country. The Principality is very close to main airports and is also easily reachable by sea, by car or by train. Thus, being a Monaco resident and working in another country is not only possible but it’s easy

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