Free Republic

Roughly one year after Congress approved tens of billions in IRS funding, the agency has unveiled plans to crack down on tax preparers with “questionable practices.” The news comes amid heightened scrutiny of a popular small business tax credit. “We are devoting more resources to addressing unscrupulous preparers who are leading their customers to underreport income or overclaim credits and deductions,” IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel said in a letter sent on Monday to Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden, D-Ore. Tax experts say these preparers create issues for filers who may later face an IRS audit or future tax liability....

Three of America's largest tax preparation companies have been accused of sharing tens of millions of taxpayers' sensitive financial data with tech giants Google and Meta without their consent. A seven-month congressional probe, led by Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, alleges H&R Block, TaxAct and TaxSlayer used visitor tracking technology embedded in websites to share the information. In a potential violation of federal law, the investigation found data was in some cases misused by Facebook parent company Meta for targeted advertising. According to the report, alongside sharing data such as addresses and phone numbers, companies also shared details about taxpayers' filing...

A bill introduced by two House Republicans earlier this month would force tax preparers to undergo continuous training and pass costly, restrictive licensing exams. According to a report from The Daily Signal, Reps. Diane Black and Pat Meehan presented the bill as a way to fight tax fraud and other criminal activity.

Tax-preparing companies are getting paid by an Obamacare exchange to enroll people in Obamacare plans, The Daily Caller has learned. At least 79 tax service providers, including offices of major companies like Liberty Tax Service and Jackson Hewitt Tax Service, are listed as certified Obamacare enrollment entities in the state of California, according to state exchange records. California’s Obamacare exchange, Covered California, pays enrollment entities for signing people up for Obamacare. “Certified Enrollment Entities are paid a flat-fee of $58 per successful application and $25 per successful annual renewal,” according to California Health Benefit Advisers. ”The Enrollment Entities compensate the...

*snip* The Tax Division has assisted the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in tracking down tax cheats who use offshore accounts, combating abusive tax shelters, stopping tax defiers and shutting down tax schemes and scams. *snip* Further success against offshore scheme promoters was achieved in May 2009 and February 2010, in United States v. Liddell and United States v. Bright, respectively, where the Ninth Circuit granted the IRS access to business records identifying customers who used offshore credit cards to shield income.