THE IRS TATTLER

In This Issue:

Travis’ Desk 1

Trump Tax Reform 2

Housewife Trouble 2

Q & A 2

Tax Woes 3

Did you know? 4

Travis W. Watkins

Your IRS Weapon ®

2837 NW 58th Street Oklahoma City, OK 73112 405.607.1192 1831 E 71st St. Tulsa, OK 74136 918.877.2794 3750 West Main Street Norman, OK 73072 405.607.1193

From Travis’ Desk: LOOK OUT FOR PRIVATE TAX COLLECTOR PHONE CALLS THIS SPRING!!!!

Every 10 years, Congress unleashes private collectors on the public to try and narrow “The Tax Gap,” the difference between taxes reported as owing and taxes the IRS collects. Private collectors have historically been aggressive and effective in collecting tax debt. Congress snuck another private debt collection incentive as a ride-along to an un-realated bill (The Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act or “FASTA”) back in 2015. What they didn’t realize at the time FASTA was passed, 2016 was going to be a banner year for scammers posing as IRS officials trying to scare up money from unsuspecting taxpayers. So, on the heels of the IRS warning the public that the IRS never makes first contact over the phone, a confusing and dangerous exception now emerges. Despite the IRS’ pleas to allow written contact to come directly from the IRS, private debt collectors are not required to send out a first com-munication by letter. Most importantly, private debt collectors are not required to advise taxpayers what their tax rights are or what debt relief programs for which they might qualify. Although, debt collectors are subject to certain guidelines in the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”), such as written debt verification requirements upon debtor request. Here is what you need to know: the program starts sometime in March, 2017. The 2 national collection companies are Conserve and Pioneer. 380,000 accounts are slated for the program. Of these, all are considered “inactive receivables,” by the IRS, meaning there has been no collection activity in over 6 months. Debtors in active military or on-going collection alternatives (payment plans, offers in compromise negotiations, etc) won’t be a part of the program. Many of the accounts consist of low income taxpayers and the collection companies share 50% of the collected amounts with the IRS, with the other half going to the U.S. Treasury. Note, the IRS has always reported that these test programs are ineffective. The IRS vocally disapproves of the pro-gram (likely because private collectors collect more than the IRS on these accounts historically). Both previous test programs were shelved after a year. In the meantime, if you have tax debt, you need a tax professional to start negotiating on your behalf. Remember, if you are in open negotiations or Continued on Page 2 .

www.TaxHelpOK.com February 2017

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Volume VII, Issue 1 www.TaxHelpOK.com 1.800.721.7054

From Travis’s Desk: Continued from Page 1

Litigation about your tax bill, your account won’t be included in the private collec-tion program. Right now, offers in compromise, installment agreements and other collection al-ternatives such as the “uncollectible status” program are still available as they always have been. Those will keep the private collectors at bay this Spring, so you won’t have to worry about the legitimacy of someone calling about a tax bill. Call us today to get started!

405.607.1192 www.TaxHelpOK.com 1.800.721.7054

Tax Q & A:

I was told the IRS is lowering the threshold of gambling win-nings, Is this true? The IRS considered lowering the thresh-old from $1200 to $600, however the casinos were concerned that it would hurt the industry and cut revenues, so the IRS chose

to maintain the present levels.

Is the IRS getting ready to en

force the employer mandate of Obamacare? Yes, the IRS will soon let em-ployers know whether they owe a penalty for 2015 for not offer-ing affordable health coverage to full-time employees who then got subsidies for buying insur-ance on the exchange. In 2015, the mandate covered firms with

100 or more full time employees.

How early can I send in my return and when is the dead-line in 2017? The IRS will begin accepting 2016 tax returns on January 23, 2017. The filing deadline for indi-vidual returns is April 18, 2017 because of the weekend and the Emancipation Day holiday in

Washington DC

I am a small business owner, when do my W-2s need to be filed? Employers are required to file W-2s with the federal government by January 31, 2017. (source: Kip-

linger)

Mark Your Calendars:

January 23

IRS begins accepting returns

February 15

Individuals: If you claimed an exemption from withholding tax last year on the Form W-4 (Employee’s Withholding Allow-ance Certificate) that you gave your employer, you must file a new Form W-4 by this date to continue your exemption for

another year.

All Businesses: Provide annu-

al information statements to the

recipients of certain payments

you made in 2016. You can

use the appropriate version of

Form 1099 or other information

return. (Note that Form 1099

can be issued electronically

with the consent of the recipi-

ent.) This due date only applies

to the following types of pay-

ments: all payments reported

on Form 1099-B (Proceeds

from Broker and Barter Ex-

change Transactions), all pay-

ments reported on Form 1099-

S (Proceeds from Real Estate

Transactions), and substitute

payments reported in Box 8 or

gross proceeds paid to an at-

torney reported in Box 14 of

F o r m 1 0 9 9 - M I S C

(Miscellaneous Income).

405.607.1192 www.TaxHelpOK.com 1.800.721.7054

MSNBC’s hosts have a tax problem.

A Heat Street review of public records show that a total of six current, prominent MSNBC pundits have recently settled federal or state tax liens, while one still has tax problems. Moreover, at least two other hosts who recently left the network have also had massive tax liens filed against them.

MSNBC declined to comment, and none of the current or former tax debtors responded to requests for interviews sent through an MSNBC spokesperson.

The Rev. Al Sharpton — MSNBC’s Sunday morning host — easily comes in first place when it comes to “issues” with the taxman. He and his various entities—including several dissolved by New York for failure to pay taxes—currently owe about $1.5 million in state and federal taxes, interest and penalties, according to public records.

It’s a staggering sum, but down substantially from the $4.5 million in outstanding tax liens tallied by the New York

Times two years ago. Sharpton has repeatedly said he’s worked out agreements with authorities to settle his tax debt,

and a source close to him says he’s been paying it down aggressively, aware of how it may affect his legacy. The rever-

end has repeatedly called publicly for the wealthy to pay their fair share of taxes.

Several other prominent MSNBC talking heads have settled their tax debt only after liens were filed. In January 2016, New York filed a lien for more than $2,500 in back taxes against MSNBC daytime anchor Craig Melvin, which he didn’t settle until the final weeks of the year.

It’s not the first time Melvin has run into tax problems, either. In 2010, South Carolina — where he used to anchor local news — filed a tax warrant against him for more than $3,300, which has since been resolved. Melvin has also run into other financial problems, with Discover Bank taking him to court in 2005 over a $3,200 debt. Melvin has spoken out on air and on social media about the need for the wealthy to pay more taxes.

Melvin is joined by Chris Matthews. Last summer, Maryland took out a lien against the Hardball host and his wife for

nearly $4,000 before Matthews paid up.

Joy-Ann Reid also recently settled a New York tax lien for nearly $5,000, filed against her in 2015. Both Matthews and Reid have repeatedly held forth about tax policy—including together, on the same TV segment.

In 2012, for example, Matthews said that “the key element” of a political battle between John Boehner and Barack Obama was “that there be tax fairness—the people at the top, who now get a tax break of about 5 percent, should not get that anymore be-cause they don’t need it.”

“Right, absolutely,” Reid replied. Later in the same interview, she mentioned how “it was very important to [Obama’s] base that he gets those rates up on the top earners. That was what he promised.” More recently, Reid said that taxation of the wealthy comes down to “a basic fairness argument.”

In 2016, Kristen Welker finally paid off $6,700 in California tax liens.

Though she’s offered little personal commentary about tax policy, she

has reported on the issue.

Two other recent MSNBC personalities have also grappled with massive tax debt.

Touré Neblett, who was fired by MSNBC in 2015, has had significant tax problems. According to public records from the

NYC Department of Finance Office of the City Register, the IRS filed two separate tax liens against him for more than

$257,000, covering the years from 2008-2012.

It’s unclear whether he has made any effort to pay off these tax debts, or whether they remain outstanding. Neblett did not respond to our media requests sent to his various social media accounts, and by deadline, his representative for speaking gigs had also failed to respond to our detailed inquiry.

The New York City office that recorded the liens was unable to confirm or deny any payments. The New York State

Department of Taxation and Finance said it did not show any state warrants but couldn’t comment on the status of federal

tax warrants. By deadline, the Internal Revenue Service hadn’t responded to Heat Street’s detailed query about whether

the tax debt was outstanding.

Melissa Harris-Perry, who left the network in 2016, had a federal tax lien taken out against her for around $70,000 in

2015. She paid it off the following year. (Source: Heat Street)

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About us:

TaxHelpOK is an IRS Resolution and Accounting Firm dedicated to helping Oklahomans with their IRS problems. Our mission is to provide for our clients: 1) Relief - re·lief /rəˈlēf/ noun. Immediate, temporary help during and after a crisis; and 2) Restoration - res·to·ra·tion /restəˈrāSH(ə)n/ noun. A long-term relationship to rebuild wholeness. TaxHelpOK promotes these values through a Christ-centered worldview, realizing our imper-fections but focusing on the One who is perfect. We want you to know: you don’t have to go it alone…..It’s our calling.,,,It’s our passion.,,,It’s more than what we do. It’s who we are! TaxHelpOK.com