Todd Rothbard, a Santa Clara attorney, got a letter from the IRS a few weeks ago saying he miscalculated his 2019 taxes and was due more than $284,000, reports Louis Hansen in The Mercury News’ California News.

Rothbard called to his accountant and they agreed his return was correct and he was not owed any money. Rothbard tried calling the IRS for days but could not get through.

“This week, a second envelope arrived with a check for a little more than $285,000 — presumably, it included interest on the money he doesn’t think he deserves.”

“‘I’m pretty scrupulous,’ said Rothbard, who runs a busy property rights law firm with about two dozen employees. ‘There’s no way I’d miss $285,000.'”

Read the story.

“Texas tech mogul Robert T. Brockman has been charged in a $2 billion tax evasion case, the largest ever tax charge in the United States,” reports Clare Duffy in CNN Business.

“A federal grand jury returned an indictment alleging that Brockman, the CEO of software company Reynolds & Reynolds, engaged in tax evasion, wire fraud, money laundering and other crimes as part of a nearly 20-year scheme to conceal around $2 billion in income from the Internal Revenue Service and defraud investors in his software firm’s debt securities, federal authorities said in a release.”

Read the article.

“The law partner of the tax attorney believed to be a cooperating witness in a sweeping New Jersey pay-to-play corruption investigation has been charged with lying about thousands in political contributions made to secure lucrative municipal contracts,” reports Ted Sherman in NJ.com’s Politics.

“Elizabeth Valandingham, 47, was accused by the state Attorney General’s office of falsely claiming that her firm had not made any reportable contributions to candidates in two towns where the firm had been vying to provide legal services — when in fact it had.”

“Valandingham was a partner of Matthew O’Donnell, the Morristown tax attorney who reportedly served as an undercover informant in the wide-ranging state sting that led to charges in December against five people, including elected and former officials and political candidates. They were accused of taking tens of thousands in bribes disguised as campaign contributions in return for steering legal work to a law firm that multiple sources have said was O’Donnell McCord.”

Read the article.

“The Am Law 50 firm moved its headquarters to Philadelphia’s Cira Centre in 2005, taking advantage of a tax break program that Pennsylvania offers businesses to move into developments in formerly run-down areas. Since taking up residence in Cira Centre, Dechert’s paid virtually no state or local business taxes in exchange for Dechert’s role in making the area an attractive business destination,” notes Joe Patrice in Above the Law’s Biglaw.

“But the program expired in 2018, so when the Keystone Opportunity Zone program eyed a new tax-free area in Schuylkill Yards, Dechert walked up and asked to move there too.”

“There’s nothing in the law to say companies can’t hop from zone to zone to remain permanently tax-free, and when authorities denied Dechert’s request to continue not paying its taxes, the firm took the government to court.”

Read the article.

Tax lawyers at Jackson Walker LLP have reduced the details of the new U.S. tax law to a one-page interactive graphic to help businesses, individuals and their accountants sort out the new law’s complexities.

The one-page interactive graphic is linked to a 233-page PowerPoint presentation for the webcast “2018 Tax Reform: What You Need to Know Now.” Dallas tax lawyer William “Willie” Hornberger of Jackson Walker and Jason B. Freeman of Freeman Law made the presentation to the State Bar of Texas.

The Jackson Walker tax lawyers studied an array of situations and options to provide guidance on the kinds of adjustments companies and certain individuals may want to make this year as they look ahead to 2019 under the new Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

“What will the law mean for partners in my LLC? How should I handle depreciation of equipment? What expenses can I write off? These are some of the questions we address,” said Hornberger, who advises corporations and partnerships. “Our audience is businesses, investors, individuals in partnerships, CPAs and lawyers.”

“This law has many complexities, and we will be taking deeper and deeper dives into it to advise our clients,” Hornberger said. “It will save many of our clients money, but it isn’t always simple to figure out.”

Download the graphic and slides.

The International Tax Controversy Update is an annual event where private and government tax professionals to discuss current events and best practices relating to International Tax Enforcement and Voluntary Disclosures. The event will be Wednesday, June 22, 8:30 a.m. to noon, in Paramus, NJ.

Topics will include:

*Current Events in Civil and Criminal Tax Enforcement
*Defending against the IRS assessment of “Continuation Penalties” for failure to file information returns.
*Gotchas: The unanticipated consequences of late filing, amended return filings and quiet voluntary disclosures and best practices for penalty mitigation
*Voluntary Disclosure Updates
*When and why does the IRS/DOJ impose penalties against banks, financial advisors and return preparers for their client’s failure to file FinCen Form 114 and other information returns?

Register for the event.