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Monday, January 14, 2008

New Tax Fraud Scams Can Send You to Prison!


The Internal Revenue Service issued a notice on Friday that lists four illegal positions people choose that can sometimes send them to federal prison. For decades people have been coming up with a variety of schemes and arguments that are supposed to exempt them from paying taxes. None of those schemes work and the people who promote them are either deliberately deceptive or a few bricks short of a full load.

Notice 2008-14 lists positions identified as frivolous for purposes of the penalty under section 6702 of the federal tax code for filing a frivolous tax return or submitting to the IRS a frivolous request for a collection due process hearing or application for an installment agreement, offer-in-compromise, or Taxpayer Assistance Order.

Taxpayers who file a tax return or make a submission based on a position listed in this notice are subject to a $5,000 penalty. This notice adds to the positions listed in Notice 2007-30, 2007-14 I.R.B. 883. The positions that have been added are found in paragraphs 9(g), 11, 14, and 25.

The four new frivolous claims pertain to the following:

  • Misinterpretation of the 9th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution regarding objections to military spending.
  • Erroneous claims that taxes are owed only by persons with a fiduciary relationship to the United States or the IRS.
  • A nonexistent “Mariner’s Tax Deduction” (or the like) related to invalid deductions for meals.
  • Certain instances of misuse or excessive use of the section 6421 fuels credit.

In 2006, Congress increased the penalty for frivolous tax returns from $500 to $5,000. The increased penalty amount applies when a person submits a tax return or other specified submission, and any portion of the submission is based on a position the IRS identifies as frivolous.

Notice 2008-14 will be published in the Internal Revenue Bulletin 2008-4 dated Jan. 28, 2008.

Other relevant links:

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