TaxCure Blog

On June 17 and 18, the so-called Group of 8 (G8) nations met to discuss a variety of issues. One of the issues that received a lot of attention was that of tax avoidance. Following the news that major companies like Apple and Google have been taking advantage of tax laws to avoid paying what many contend is their “fair share,” countries are looking for ways to encourage corporations to better report their earnings so that they can be taxed.
It’s not just the United States, either. The United Kingdom is complaining about missing revenues as well. Some estimates put the total cost of tax evasion by major companies at right around $3 trillion a year. In order to avoid paying taxes, many companies find ways to make it appear that their revenues are earned in countries with lower tax rates, which is what Apple does with Ireland.

Every year, I take my documents to my accountant and have him prepare a tax return for my business and a joint tax return with my information and my husband’s information.

One of the reasons that many people make purchases online is the lack of sales tax. Technically, consumers are supposed to declare their online purchases (and purchases made out of state) on their state tax returns and then pay at the sales tax rate. This is known as the use tax.

The latest IRS Factbook is out, and among the interesting bits of information is that the IRS or Federal tax offer in compromise program grew in many ways from 2011 to 2012. Interesting is that not only did the number of requests for offers rise but so did the acceptance rate (see below, figure 1.2 below).

The IRS just released just released data providing information about all things tax collection. Included in the data they released is information about tax liens and tax levies. It looks as though fewer taxpayers were assessed liens and levies in 2012 than in 2011.