Tax Talk - The 20/20 tax resolution blog

20/20 Tax Resolution Senior Tax Consultant David Miles, E.A. was recently published in The National Association of Enrolled Agents (NAEA) March-April 2010 bi-monthly publication, EA Journal. Miles’ article, “A Closer Look at the Disqualified Employment Tax Levy” was ultimately the lead and cover article that was distributed to its 11,000 tax professional members.

For those who are unaware of the presence of the NAEA, according to their website, “The NAEA is the professional society representing enrolled agents (EAs), which number some 40,000 nationwide. Its 11,000 members are licensed by the U.S. Department of the Treasury to represent taxpayers before all administrative levels of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), including examination, collection and appeals functions.

While the enrolled agent license was created in 1884 and has a long and storied past, today’s EAs are the only tax professionals tested by IRS on their knowledge of tax law and regulations. They provide tax preparation, representation, tax planning and other financial services to millions of individual and business taxpayers. EAs adhere to a code of ethics and professional conduct and are required by IRS to take Continuing Professional Education. Like attorneys and certified public accountants, enrolled agents are governed by Treasury Circular 230 in their practice before the IRS.”

Miles’ article is constructed as guidance for the practitioner community, but it does have valuable insight to the IRS’s approach to businesses that are continuing to owe employment taxes quarter after quarter.  His closer look into the IRS’s new collection tool, The Disqualified Employment Tax Levy, proves to be informative for both tax practitioners and business taxpayers.

20/20 Tax Resolution is proud of Miles’ position as not only an advocate for the taxpayer, but also as a leader and contributor to the practitioner community.

To read Miles’ article in its entirety please click here.

Please contact 20/20 Tax Resolution with any further questions regarding this article.

Susan Taylor Martin of the St. Petersburg Times wrote a very interesting article on the U.S. anti-IRS sentiment that has been brewing in the collective American psyche for nearly half a century. Martin’s article was in response to the Texas software engineer who recently flew a plane into the Austin IRS building after years of being disgruntled by the existence of the IRS.  Also recently in the news was the Ohio man who bulldozed his home after the IRS placed liens on his properties and was facing foreclosure.  Thankfully, this type of destruction is a rare occurrence and, as Martin’s article points out, is representative of an extreme example of the existing anti-IRS sentiment.

However, this “sentiment” has presented itself enough times that the IRS has developed a separate agency, The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA), to handle the threats directed at the IRS. All TIGTA’s investigations from 2004 through 2010 are listed directly on TIGTA’s website with highlights of the numerous threats, bribes, and criminal behavior directed towards the IRS.

Over the years 20/20 Tax Resolution has seen thousands of businesses and individuals in extremely stressful conditions as a result of their back tax scenarios with the IRS and State tax authorities.  Owing back taxes is never an easy position to be in, but there are logical and rational approaches to address the situation.  Contacting a tax professional for guidance is the best first step.