The Internal Revenue Service says it has $917 million in unclaimed tax refunds from 2009, and time is running out to claim them. The refunds are owed to nearly 1 million people who failed to file returns for 2009. Taxpayers must file their 2009 returns by April 15 to claim their refunds. After that, the money becomes property of the U.S. Treasury. [AP]
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That Apology from the IRS? Yeah, Not Going to Happen
- Caleb Newquist
- November 19, 2009
If you’re a bigshot at the IRS there are a lot of things that you don’t have to do. For one, you don’t really have to meet anyone’s expectations. For another, you don’t have to worry about delaying plans just because some practicing CPAs have some silly concerns.
The latest perk of being Doug Shulman? Not having to apologize to anyone.
TaxProf Blog:
The Tax Court yesterday ruled that it lacks jurisdiction to order the IRS to apologize to a taxpayer. Caldwell v. Commissioner, T.C. Summ. Op. 2009-169 (Nov. 18, 2009):
The part of Caldwell’s motion which we characterize as a “Request for Apology” asks that we require the IRS to enter into the record “a written apology to the Petitioner, signed by the Commissioner, Internal Revenue Service” …
…
The IRS objected to the Request for Apology on the ground that Congress has not, through section 7430 (relating to administrative or litigation costs) or otherwise, authorized us to grant such relief. [Fn.3] We agree.
There you have it American Taxpayer. Under the law, the IRS doesn’t have to apologize to anyone, despite the evidence that they should probably be apologizing constantly. Going forward, if you want an apology, run down a Republican member of the House of Representatives.
Court Lacks Jurisdiction to Order IRS to Apologize to Taxpayer [TaxProf Blog via Tax Update Blog]
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Taxpayer Advocate Nina Olson Would Like the IRS to Quit Slapping Liens on People
- Caleb Newquist
- January 5, 2011
Presumably this means celebrities too! That is, until the IRS can show that it’s actually an effective means of collection and not so ‘hard core.’
Olson has accused the agency of relying too heavily on an automated “one-size-fits-all approach.” She said the agency misguidedly files liens against people who have no money and no assets.
“Absent data that show liens make a meaningful contribution to revenue collection and especially in this economy, I find it unacceptable that the IRS continues to torment financially struggling taxpayers in this way,” Olson wrote in a news release accompanying the report.
Perhaps Olson has a point but then Robert Snell over at Tax Watchdog might not have a job and we’d hate to see that happen. The guy is like Raisin Bran™ on the celebrity tax deadbeat.
IRS’s ‘hard-core’ collection tactics needlessly harm taxpayers, report says [WaPo]
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Suge Knight Really Needs a 2Pac Comeback to Get Him Out of This Tax Lien
- Caleb Newquist
- March 8, 2010
Suge Knight may be the heir apparent to Nicolas Cage for the King of celebrity tax trouble. There have been several minor liens thrown in here and there and Nas’ $3+ million tax lien was certainly impressive but Suge’s looks like a solid leader for the crown right now.
We should note that for the purposes of celebrity tax issues, Joe Francis does not qualify since he’s technically a “douche” and not a “celebrity”. Also, since the $33 million-ish lien just up and disappeared (we’re assuming that Lucifer is somehow involved) he’s off the hook.
Anyhoo, so being tardy on taxes seems to be a common occurrence but Suge seems to be going for the tardiest of the tardy. He has managed to avoid paying a tax lien, originally filed in 2003, for his 1996 tax return. TMZ is reporting that the lien was re-filed in January and that he owes $6,578,696.31.
TMZ is also reporting that in child support papers filed by Suge’s baby mama, it was revealed that his net income is only $1,207 so paying this lien is going to need some kind of resurrected 2Pac comeback somethingorother.
The blog Baller Status also reports that last month “several personal items he had tucked away in storage were auctioned off to the highest bidder after he failed to pay the storage fees. Belongings such as furniture, TVs, and even a large photo of himself with the late Tupac Shakur were sold.”
So whenever you’re feeling a little down about your own dire personal financial situation or think about your crappy pay, just remember that you could be Suge Knight.
Suge Knight — Old School Tax Lien [TMZ]