The head of the Justice Department’s Tax Division has departed for private practice, just as the planned dismantling of the Tax Division was set to take place. Karen Kelly, who served as acting deputy assistant attorney...more
On August 8, President Donald Trump abruptly removed Billy Long from his position as Commissioner of Internal Revenue, making Long’s tenure the shortest for a Senate-confirmed commissioner in the tax agency’s 162-year...more
8/20/2025
/ Data Privacy ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Government Agencies ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigration Enforcement ,
IRS ,
Tax Credits ,
Taxation ,
Trump Administration ,
U.S. Treasury ,
Undocumented Immigrants
More than two decades have passed since the doors of Guantanamo Bay were opened to house alleged terrorists. Those doors remain open, though the number of detainees has dwindled to 15.
In this episode, Mark Denbeaux,...more
The Internal Revenue Service continues to experience significant leadership transition during a period of ongoing internal upheaval and uncertainty. The latest developments are the appointment of Kenneth Kies as the new...more
7/30/2025
/ Administrative Appointments ,
Audits ,
Biden Administration ,
Enforcement ,
Government Agencies ,
IRS ,
Presidential Appointments ,
Tax Appeals ,
Tax Litigation ,
Tax Policy ,
Tax Reform ,
Tax Returns ,
Taxation ,
Trump Administration
A recent report from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) found that the Internal Revenue Service increased audits of high-income taxpayers during fiscal year 2024, in line with a 2022 Treasury...more
7/21/2025
/ Audits ,
Biden Administration ,
Compliance ,
Earned Income Credit ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Taxes ,
Government Agencies ,
Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) ,
IRS ,
Tax Audits ,
Tax Reform ,
Taxation ,
Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) ,
U.S. Treasury
Officials at the U.S. Department of Justice have announced plans to eliminate its Tax Division and relocate its attorneys to other divisions within the department. In existence for more than 90 years, the Tax Division is one...more
7/17/2025
/ Criminal Investigations ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Taxes ,
Investigations ,
Tax Division ,
Tax Evasion ,
Tax Fraud ,
Tax Litigation ,
Taxation ,
White Collar Crimes
The National Taxpayer Advocate has released her Fiscal Year 2026 Objectives Report to Congress, a statutorily-required annual report outlining the objectives of the Office of the Taxpayer Advocate for the upcoming fiscal...more
7/8/2025
/ Audits ,
Budget Cuts ,
Budgets ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Employees ,
Federal Budget ,
Government Agencies ,
Incentives ,
Income Taxes ,
IRS ,
Reduction of Force ,
SBA ,
Tax Reform ,
Taxation ,
Voluntary Reduction in Force ,
Whistleblowers
Former member of Congress and professional auctioneer Billy Long has been formally sworn in as Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service. Following lengthy delays during his nomination process, Long was confirmed by the...more
The Trump administration is continuing its offensive against the Internal Revenue Service by proposing a $2.5 billion cut to the agency’s budget for FY2026. In the White House’s “skinny budget” released on May 2, the IRS’s...more
The Treasury Department’s Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) has released a report showing how the Internal Revenue Service has been dramatically impacted by government-wide efforts to reduce the size of the...more
5/7/2025
/ Audits ,
Employees ,
Employment Policies ,
Executive Orders ,
Government Agencies ,
Government Efficiency ,
Hiring & Firing ,
IRS ,
Reduction of Force ,
Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) ,
Trump Administration ,
U.S. Treasury
Turmoil continues to roil the highest ranks of the Internal Revenue Service, as the President has replaced the acting IRS Commissioner that he appointed just last week. As we previously wrote, on Tax Day, the President named...more
Tuesday, while millions of Americans were busy finalizing their tax returns, the President named a former IRS criminal investigator as the tax agency’s new leader. Gary Shapley, a former IRS special agent who gained...more
The indictment this week of the owners of a Texas bakery on harboring charges is proof that the Trump administration has made immigration enforcement a top priority, targeting both unauthorized foreign nationals and the...more
3/5/2025
/ Compliance ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Foreign Workers ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Trump Administration ,
USCIS
The defense of clients experiencing mental health issues is one of the most challenging and nuanced aspects of criminal law.
An estimated one-third to one-half of incarcerated individuals live with some form of mental...more
The ERC is a legitimate, refundable tax credit designed to help businesses that continued to pay employees while they were shut down because of the COVID-19 pandemic or that experienced a significant decline in gross receipts...more
8/21/2024
/ Audits ,
CARES Act ,
Cooperation ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Deadlines ,
Employee Retention ,
Fraud ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
Investigations ,
IRS ,
Tax Credits ,
Tax Relief ,
Voluntary Disclosure
The Internal Revenue Service has adjusted its moratorium on processing Employee Retention Tax Credit (ERC) claims, announcing last week it will begin processing claims filed between September 14, 2023 and January 31, 2024. In...more
8/13/2024
/ Audits ,
CARES Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Employee Retention ,
Fraud ,
Investigations ,
IRS ,
Tax Credits ,
Tax Relief ,
Voluntary Disclosure
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently issued a news release identifying five new signs that a business’s Employee Retention Tax Credit (ERC) may be incorrect. It has also begun issuing a third round of letters denying...more
8/9/2024
/ CARES Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employee Retention ,
Enforcement ,
Fraud ,
IRS ,
IRS Independent Office of Appeals ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Tax Credits ,
Wage and Hour
With the IRS showing no sign of lifting its moratorium on processing Employee Retention Tax Credit (ERC) claims filed after September 14, 2023, businesses whose unpaid, legitimate ERC claims are older than six months should...more
The March 22 deadline for applying to the IRS Voluntary Disclosure Program (VDP) to repay improperly claimed Employee Retention Credits (ERC) at a discount is just around the corner. The VDP requires businesses to repay only...more
Thanks to a dramatic increase in funding courtesy of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, the Internal Revenue Service recently announced several new, high-profile enforcement initiatives designed to generate significantly...more
3/7/2024
/ Aircraft ,
Business Expenses ,
Business Taxes ,
Corporate Taxes ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement ,
Income Taxes ,
Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) ,
IRS ,
Tax Debt ,
Tax Fraud ,
Tax Revenues
The IRS recently issued a news release identifying seven signs that a business’s Employee Retention Tax Credit (the ERC) may be incorrect. The IRS identified these warning signs based on feedback from tax professionals and...more
The House Ways and Means Committee recently advanced a bill that gives businesses a proposed deadline of January 31, 2024 to file Employee Retention Credit (ERC) claims. Known as the Tax Relief for American Families and...more
There are several new developments in the Internal Revenue Service’s ongoing campaign to combat false and fraudulent Employee Retention Credit (ERC) claims, including an indefinite extension of the agency’s moratorium on...more
The Internal Revenue Service has announced a new Voluntary Disclosure Program (VDP) that offers businesses a limited-time opportunity to repay improperly claimed Employee Retention Credits (ERC) at a discount while avoiding...more
In its most recent effort to fight fraudulent and improper Employee Retention Tax Credit (ERC) claims, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is notifying an initial 20,000 taxpayers that it is rejecting their claims. The IRS,...more