IRS – News Stories About IRS - Page 12

Jun 6, 2008 7:40 AM CDT

UBS Case May Reveal Secrets of the Rich

Swiss bank considers divulging names of 20,000 US clients

(Newser) - The Swiss bank UBS built itself into a financial powerhouse on the strength of its private wealth management division, in which discreet bankers tended to the fortunes of the world's elite. But a major American tax evasion probe may lead UBS to do what was once unthinkable: divulge its secrets....

IRS Employees Charged With Sneaking Into Records

May 16, 2008 5:26 PM CDT

IRS Employees Charged With Sneaking Into Records

Internal audit nabs five in Calif. office; ties to snooped-on taxpayers uncertain

(Newser) - Five employees at a California branch of the Internal Revenue Service have been charged with illegally inspecting citizens’ tax information, ComputerWorld reports. Exactly whom the workers were snooping on was not disclosed, but there were up to 13 victims, all in 2006. Court dates on misdemeanor charges are pending for...

Bush Sees Rebate Checks Offsetting 'Slowdown'

Apr 25, 2008 5:11 PM CDT

Bush Sees Rebate Checks Offsetting 'Slowdown'

Stimulus package hits home(s) next week

(Newser) - Again steering clear of the R-word, President Bush said today that the tax rebates scheduled to be distributed starting next week will "give our economy a boost to help us pull out of this economic slowdown," Bloomberg reports.

Obama Earns $3.9M in Royalties

Apr 16, 2008 10:08 PM CDT

Obama Earns $3.9M in Royalties

His book sales continue to soar

(Newser) - Barack and Michelle Obama earned $4.2 million last year, mostly from royalties from Obama's two books, Dreams From My Father and the Audacity of Hope. The Obamas' newly released returns for 2007 show they paid $1.4 million in federal taxes and gave $240,370 to charity, USA Today...

TurboTax Tries to Avoid '07 Filing Nightmare

Tax Day

Apr 15, 2008 9:19 AM CDT

TurboTax Tries to Avoid '07 Filing Nightmare

No error messages this time around, Intuit promises

(Newser) - It’s April 15 again, and perhaps nobody has their fingers crossed quite like Intuit software. A year ago 170,000 people rushed to file last-minute tax returns online through TurboTax… only to get an error message, delaying their filings for up to 13 hours. This year, Intuit’s done...

Cops Arrest 160 at Iraq Protests

Mar 19, 2008 11:40 PM CDT

Cops Arrest 160 at Iraq Protests

Demonstrations staged across the US on war's anniversary

(Newser) - Police arrested more than 160 protesters today at demonstrations across the US to mark the fifth anniversary of the launch of the Iraq war, Reuters reports. More than 100 were arrested in San Francisco alone, where demonstrators staged a "die-in" and disrupted busy Market Street. About 30 were arrested...

Routine IRS Checks
Exposed Spitzer

Mar 11, 2008 5:09 AM CDT

Routine IRS Checks Exposed Spitzer

Bank transactions made investigators suspicious

(Newser) - The inquiry that uncovered New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer's alleged assignations with high-priced hookers began in a decidedly unglamorous IRS office in Long Island, reports the New York Times. There, investigators were poring over suspicious bank transactions when they noticed the governor was apparently trying to conceal the transfer of...

Gambler Sues Casinos for $20M

Mar 9, 2008 5:30 AM CDT

Gambler Sues Casinos for $20M

Gambling 'addict' says dens failed to stop her from blowing $1 million

(Newser) - A former New York attorney is suing seven casinos for $20 million, claiming they helped woo her to the tables, and let her continue to play and lose despite an obvious gambling addiction. Workers at Atlantic City and Las Vegas gambling dens should have stopped her from blowing $1 million...

No Return, No Rebate, Warns IRS

Feb 14, 2008 7:44 AM CST

No Return, No Rebate, Warns IRS

Even low-income taxpayers need to file this year to get 'economic stimulus' checks

(Newser) - Even people who didn't make enough money last year to be required to file a tax return are going to have to do so this year—if they want to get their rebates under President Bush's $170 billion economic stimulus plan, Reuters reports. The IRS is planning an information blitz...

Anti-Hillary Group Boasts, Umm...a Creative Name

Jan 23, 2008 9:05 PM CST

Anti-Hillary Group Boasts, Umm...a Creative Name

Fiesty GOP strategist fuels ugly partisan rift

(Newser) - A group by any other name wouldn’t sound as nasty: Citizens United Not Timid, an anti-Hillary group, has just filed for “527” status with the IRS. But it’s raising eyebrows not for its message but for its less-than-subtle acronym, reports Talking Points Memo. Not so coincidentally, Roger...

Ex-NFL Player Pleads Guilty to Lying About Steroids

Jan 18, 2008 6:21 PM CST

Ex-NFL Player Pleads Guilty to Lying About Steroids

Three-time Pro Bowler Stubblefield was first football player charged in BALCO case

(Newser) - The steroids probe that brought down Marion Jones has claimed it first NFL player: Three-time Pro Bowler Dana Stubblefield pleaded guilty today in federal court to making false statements to a federal agent about performance-enhancing drugs. Prosecutors alleged the former defensive lineman lied in 2003 about taking a previously undetectable...

Huckabee Plan Is Catnip to Tax-Phobes

OPINION

Jan 8, 2008 4:07 PM CST

Huckabee Plan Is Catnip to Tax-Phobes

But the 'fair tax,' a gift to the rich, perplexes nearly everyone

(Newser) - “Our tax system can’t be fixed with WD-40 and duct tape,” proclaims Mike Huckabee in promoting a more radical change—the 'fair tax,' which stirs taxpayer rebellion even while inciting economist ire, Politico reports. The plan, which would replace the IRS with a uniform 23% sales...

IRS May
Block Popular
Instant Refunds

Jan 4, 2008 10:57 AM CST

IRS May Block Popular Instant Refunds

Proposed change aims to curb fraud, steep loan rates

(Newser) - The IRS may stop big tax-preparation firms from offering instant refund loans to curb potential fraud, Bloomberg reports. Such loans are popular with taxpayers who don't want to wait weeks for a check, but interest is often steep and consumer groups have been pushing for a crackdown. The proposed change...

Tax Fix Will Delay Millions
of Refunds

Dec 27, 2007 4:53 PM CST

Tax Fix Will Delay Millions of Refunds

IRS can't start processing AMT forms until February

(Newser) - The 11th-hour freeze in the alternative minimum tax by Congress last week will delay refund checks for millions of taxpayers this year, the AP reports. Congress shielded middle-class taxpayers from a higher tax bill with its move, but the late date means the IRS won't be able to start processing...

Huckabee Woos Voters With
23% Sales Tax

Dec 24, 2007 12:00 PM CST

Huckabee Woos Voters With 23% Sales Tax

'Fair tax' would abolish IRS, and be a windfall for the rich

(Newser) - Supporting a 23% sales tax ought to be political suicide, but Mike Huckabee is making it work, the Los Angeles Times reports. Huckabee has championed the so-called “fair tax,” a radical proposal that would abolish the federal income tax and tax spending instead. The plan favors the rich,...

Early Tax Returns in Jeopardy

Dec 2, 2007 2:55 PM CST

Early Tax Returns in Jeopardy

Congressional stalling on Alternative Minimum Tax patch may force IRS delay

(Newser) - If you're planning to file for an early tax refund this year, don't count on it. Congress has dragged its feet in creating a patch for the Alternative Minimum Tax that could make the IRS postpone filing season several weeks, the AP reports. A limit on who's affected by the...

Red Cross Prez Forced Out for 'Relationship'

Nov 28, 2007 5:57 AM CST

Red Cross Prez Forced Out for 'Relationship'

Link to female worker 'punch in stomach,' says group official

(Newser) - The president and CEO of the Red Cross was forced to resign yesterday for having an inappropriate "personal relationship with a subordinate employee" just six months after he was hired. "This is a huge punch in the stomach," said an organization official. Mark Everson was the Red...

Lawmaker Probes TV Preachers

Nov 7, 2007 8:18 AM CST

Lawmaker Probes TV Preachers

Says ritzy ways sparked inquiry into six ministries

(Newser) - A top Republican lawmaker is probing six televangelists who have put their opulent lifestyles on display, the AP reports. Rolls Royces, private jets, and a $30,000 table are among the luxuries that sparked Sen. Chuck Grassley's inquiry, he said yesterday. "I don't want to conclude that there's a...

Blogger Claims Thompson Must Declare

Aug 21, 2007 1:34 PM CDT

Blogger Claims Thompson Must Declare

Prolonged 'testing the water' status may violate election laws

(Newser) - Fred Thompson’s continued undeclared status—even while headlining GOP dinners and glad-handing at the Iowa state fair—is beginning to raise hackles. Federal election law says non-candidates can't spend more than $5,000 on campaign activities; liberal blogger Lane Hudson has filed a complaint that charges the former senator...

FBI Raids Alaska Senator's Home

Jul 31, 2007 4:39 AM CDT

FBI Raids Alaska Senator's Home

Feds probe politician's ties to oil contractor in corruption probe

(Newser) - FBI and IRS agents raided the vacation home of Sen. Ted Stevens of Alaska yesterday, seeking records of his relationship with a oil field contractor jailed in a corruption probe, AP reports. The contractor profited from tens of millions of dollars in federal contracts and also supervised the renovation...