Arnstein & Lehr Chicago Partner Robert E. McKenzie was credited with bringing to the attention of Forbes online, the legal issues facing the tax representation firm, TaxMasters. The firm currently airs spots on cable tv promoting its services, even though it will soon file for bankruptcy and has been accused of deceptive business practices by [...]
Chicago Partner Robert E. McKenzie wrote a post for Forbes magazine’s online blog that appeared on Tuesday, September 29. Mr. McKenzie’s post discusses the IRS’ new Voluntary Classification Settlement Program (VCSP) for companies with misclassified workers. He discusses in the post the dangers of IRS examinations if an employer has been found to misclassify its [...]
Chicago Associate Robert A. McKenzie was a guest on the Wednesday, September 7, edition of First Business to discuss the IRS’ current offshore voluntary disclosure initiative which was extended to September 9. To watch the segment, please click here. The segment appears at 7:36 into the video. First Business is a Chicago-based nationally syndicated business [...]
Chicago Partner Robert E. McKenzie was interviewed for an August 19 Wall Street Journal article on the wave of people with undeclared accounts emerging in advance of the IRS’ August 31 deadline to enter a special amnesty program. He notes in the article that he received seven calls in one day from taxpayers asking about [...]
Arnstein & Lehr Chicago Partner Robert E. McKenzie was interviewed recently for an article that appeared August 14 on Bloomberg online on the likely settlement by Credit Suisse, Switzerland’s second largest bank, of aiding tax invasion. The story with Mr. McKenzie’s quotes was also picked up by the online publication Today. The U.S. Justice Department [...]
Chicago Partner Robert E. McKenzie was quoted in the article, “More Tax Trouble for Small Firms.” The article appeared July 29 on Smart Money’s The Tax Blog. Mr. McKenzie described “the IRS’s tactics as ‘harsh.’ In singling out people to penalize, it seems ‘more likely to shoot at the person on the sidelines’ instead of [...]
Chicago Partner Robert E. McKenzie gives a podcast presentation to Accounting Today about the IRS’s offshore voluntary disclosure initiative and why U.S. taxpayers who have undisclosed bank accounts with Credit Suisse and HSBC should take advantage of it. To listen to the podcast in full, please click here.
Chicago Partner Robert E. McKenzie will present a seminar on ethics code reform on Wednesday, July 27, to CPA’s with Rothschild Investment Corporation and to the ACE Accounting Society tomorrow in New York City. The seminar is designed to help Rothschild CPA’s avoid violating their ethical duties. Mr. McKenzie will review the new Circular 230 [...]
Chicago Partner Robert E. McKenzie was interviewed for the July 13 Dow Jones Adviser article, “IRS Gets Aggressive On Payroll Tax Cases.” In the article he comments about the Internal Revenue Service’s harsh tactics in the way it chooses who to penalize. To read the article in full, please click here.
Chicago Partner Robert E. McKenzie posted his most recent blog item July 15 on Forbes.com‘s “IRS Watch” Blog. In the post, entitled “100,000 Preparers Who Failed to Follow New Registration Rules Are a Danger to Public,” he discusses the Internal Revenue Service’s oversight program of the nation’s tax return preparation industry. Approximately 100,000 tax return [...]
For most taxpayers, whether businesses or individuals, the chances of an IRS examination are about 1%. For a taxpayer earning more than $1 million per year, the odds exceed 8%. The odds of examination can increase dramatically because of the information reported on or omitted from returns. Chicago Partner Robert E. McKenzie’s and Associate Robert A. McKenzie’s article [...]
Chicago Partner Robert E. McKenzie was featured in a May 23 article in the Dow Jones Advisor entitled “Keeping an eye out for illegal tax shelters” which addresses the sometimes blurred lines between an illegal tax shelter and a sophisticated tax strategy. The article was also picked up by the American Banker online publication. To read the [...]
Chicago Partner Robert E. McKenzie has had a busy month on the lecture circuit. On May 10-12 he presented several classes on IRS representation at the California Super Seminars in Las Vegas. On May 14 he presented a class on advanced IRS representation for the American Society of Tax Problem Solvers in Orlando. On May [...]
In the article, “Light sentences from offshore account prosecutions won’t last,” Chicago Partner Robert E. McKenzie discussed possible mitigating factors in tax crime sentencing. The article delved into the Department of Justice’s prosecution against taxpayers with unreported offshore accounts and whether resulting sentences are too light. The article appeared in the May 9 issue of [...]
Chicago Partner Kathleen Lach was a presenter at an Illinois State Bar Association conference, “Illinois Tax Overview and Current Issues: The Expert’s Perspective,” on April 29. Ms. Lach’s presentation, “Informal Conference Board Proceedings,” reviewed the practice and procedural requirements when appearing before the Informal Conference Board and discussed how to effectively represent a client in [...]
Arnstein & Lehr Chicago Partner Robert E. McKenzie was interviewed by First Business News for its April 11 broadcast. During the interview Mr. McKenzie discussed the IRS tax probe of HSBC Bank off-shore accounts in India. According to Mr. McKenzie, the IRS is investigating some offshore account holders for tax evasion. First Business News airs [...]
Arnstein & Lehr Chicago attorneys Robert A. McKenzie and Edward A. Snyder discuss the Illinois Use Taxes and the 2011 Use Tax Amnesty Program for individuals and retailers when making out-of-state purchases. To download this article please click here.
Chicago Partner Robert E. McKenzie was interviewed for an April 8 MarketWatch.com article entitled “7 tips for how to talk so the IRS will listen.” The article outlines guidelines for taxpayers meeting one-on-one with an IRS agent as a result of an audit or a large tax bill. To read the complete article, click here.
Chicago Partner Robert E. McKenzie provided his thoughts in an April 7 MarketWatch.com article entitled “IRS goes after HSBC customers with money offshore” following Thursday’s request by the U.S. Justice Department and IRS for authorization to force HSBC Bank USA to reveal the names of its U.S. customers with accounts in India. Mr. McKenzie currently [...]
Chicago Partner Robert E. McKenzie recently authored an article that appeared in the April issue of Financier Worldwide. The article appears in the Spotlight on Tax column on page 45 of the issue and is entitled “IRS and Offshore Accounts.” It reviews the IRS’ new Voluntary Disclosure Initiative for taxpayers to disclose their unreported offshore accounts. To read [...]
