The Tax Law Group provides assistance to various clients assiting in getting the civil cases commenced by IRS resolved. In most cases, IRS and other federal agencies avoid filing civil suits against taxpayers, because IRS has a powerful collection leverage without the court's powers. However, if the assets at issue are outside of the U.S. and may not be levied upon, IRS may initiate civil proceedings targeting those assets and attempting to repatriate those to the U.S. We provide defense in such matters.
The oft repeated myth is that setting trusts, one may escape tax liability. However, there are many ways of setting trusts, and in most of the trusts' organization there is nothing that can protect a taxpayer against IRS disregarding a trust altogether. IRS deals with trusts in a simplified way, explaining its position as follows:
Contention: An “untaxing” package or trust provides a way of legally and permanently avoiding the obligation to file federal income tax returns and pay federal income taxes.
Advocates of this idea believe that an “untaxing” package or trust provides a way of legally and permanently “untaxing” oneself so that a person would no longer be required to file federal income tax returns and pay federal income taxes. Promoters who sell such tax evasion plans and supposedly teach individuals how to remove themselves from the federal tax system rely on many of the above-described frivolous arguments, such as the claim that payment of federal income taxes is voluntary, that there is no requirement for a person to file federal income tax returns, and that there are legal ways not to pay federal income taxes.
The Law: The underlying claims for these “untaxing” packages are frivolous, as specified above. Furthermore, the Internal Revenue Service issued Revenue Ruling 2006-19, 2006-15 I.R.B. 749, warning that taxpayers may not eliminate their federal income tax liability by attributing income to a trust and claiming expense deductions related to that trust.
Promoters of these “untaxing” schemes as well as willful taxpayers have been subjected to criminal penalties for their actions. Taxpayers who have purchased and followed these “untaxing” plans have also been subjected to civil penalties for failure to timely file a federal income tax return and failure to pay federal income taxes.
Section 7408 provides a cause of action for injunctive relief to the United States against a party suspected of violating the tax laws. On November 15, 2001, the United States filed complaints for permanent injunctions pursuant to section 7408 against three individuals (David Bosset, Thurston Bell, and Harold Hearn) for failing to sign tax returns, promoting schemes that they knew were false or fraudulent, and engaging in the preparation of documents that understate tax liability. United States v. Bosset, No. 8:01-cv-2154-T-26TBM (M.D. Fla. 2001); United States v. Bell, No. 1:CV-01-2159 (M.D. Penn. 2001); United States v. Hearn, No. 1:01-CV-3058 (N.D. Ga. 2001).
On January 29, 2002, a consent order was entered in United States v. Hearn in favor of the United States. The order permanently enjoined Mr. Hearn and his representatives from, among other things, promoting or selling tax shelter plans, including but not limited to the section 861 argument. (See Section I.B.2 of this outline concerning a section 861 argument.) In the order, Mr. Hearn agreed that he relied upon the frivolous section 861 argument in making false or fraudulent statements on federal income tax returns regarding the excludability of wages and other items from income. A permanent injunction order was entered in United States v. Bosset on February 27, 2003, barring Mr. Bosset from promoting the frivolous section 861 argument. A permanent injunction order was entered in United States v. Bell on January 29, 2004, enjoining Mr. Bell from promoting frivolous positions for fraudulent tax schemes. The Third Circuit affirmed the permanent injunction against Bell in July 2005. United States v. Bell, 414 F.3d 474 (3d Cir. 2005).
In September 2004, a federal district court granted a preliminary injunction against James Binge and Terrence Bentivegna enjoining them from promoting abuse tax shelters and preparing federal tax returns. The court found that the plan promoted by these two individuals (doing business as Accounting & Financial Services) encouraging others to form various trusts without a legitimate legal basis in order to avoid federal taxes was an abusive tax scheme. United States v. Binge et. al, No. 5:04-CV-01419 (N.D. Ohio Sept. 27, 2004); see http://www.usdoj.gov/tax/txdv04658.htm; see also 2004 TNT 218-12 (Sept. 27, 2004). In March 2005, a federal district court in Florida permanently barred Fred J. Anderson, Deborah A. Martin, and Richard A. Walters from promoting sham trust tax schemes that assisted customers in establishing trusts, foundations, and corporations that the customers used to illegally eliminate or reduce their federal tax liabilities by claiming improper deductions. See http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2005/March/05_cdr_105.htm; see also 2005 TNT 45-46 (Mar. 8, 2005).
In April 2005, a federal district court in Georgia permanently enjoined Jonathan D. Luman from promoting and selling his “Tax Buster Guide” which falsely instructs customers they can refuse to file tax returns or pay federal taxes based on various frivolous arguments. See http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2005/April/05_tax_190.htm; see also 2005 TNT 93-17 (Apr. 7, 2005).
In June 2005, a federal district court judge in Los Angeles sentenced five individuals (including the leader of the operation, Lynne Meredith) associated with a tax fraud group known as “We the People” to prison terms ranging from 20 months to 121 months. The convictions were based on evidence that the group conducted seminars falsely instructing attendees, among other things, that they could shield income and assets from federal income taxation by using bogus “pure trusts.” See http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/cac/text_only/pr2005/086.html; see also 2005 TNT 109-30 (Jun. 7, 2005).
In November 2005, a federal district court judge in Dallas sentenced Daniel A. Fisher to nearly 20 years imprisonment and ordered him to pay a $1,000,000 fine. The conviction was based, in part, on evidence that Fisher prepared, or aided in preparing, income tax returns that were fraudulent because they involved the creation of sham business entities and transactions aimed at eliminating taxes owed by the taxpayers. See http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/txn/PressRel05/fisher_daniel_irs_sen_pr.html; 2005 TNT 222-27 (Nov. 16, 2005).
In May 2006, a federal district court judge in Washington sentenced David Carroll Stephenson to 8 years in prison and ordered him to pay more than $8.5 million in restitution to the IRS. The conviction was based on evidence that Stephenson assisted hundreds of taxpayers in forming and operating sham trusts designed to evade paying income taxes. See 2006 TNT 97-27 (May 18, 2006).
Furthermore, persons making frivolous arguments may be denied the ability to practice before the IRS. In July 2004, the Treasury Department denied a request for reinstatement to practice before the IRS made by Joseph R. Banister, now a CPA but formerly an IRS Criminal Investigations agent. Mr. Banister made various frivolous arguments, including the contention that only foreign-source income is taxable and the contention that the Sixteenth Amendment was not ratified, which led to the decision to deny his request. See 2004 TNT 145-3 (July 14, 2004).
Relevant Case Law:
United States v. Andra, 218 F.3d 1106 (9th Cir. 2000) – in affirming the conviction of a promoter of an untaxing scheme for tax evasion and conspiracy, the court found that it was proper to include the tax liabilities of persons Andra recruited into a tax fraud conspiracy when calculating the effect of his actions for sentencing.
United States v. Clark, 139 F.3d 485 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 525 U.S. 899 (1998) – the court upheld convictions of defendants involved with The Pilot Connection Society for conspiracy to defraud the United States and aiding and abetting the filing of fraudulent Forms W-4.
Robinson v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 1995-102, 69 T.C.M. (CCH) 2061, 2062 (1995) – the court quoted language from Hanson v. Commissioner, 696 F.2d 1232, 1234 (9th Cir. 1983) that “[n]o reasonable person would have trusted this scheme to work.”
King v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 1995-524, 70 T.C.M. (CCH) 1152 (1995) – the court found King, who had followed the Pilot Connection’s “untaxing” techniques, liable for penalties for failure to file returns and for failing to make sufficient estimated tax payments.
United States v. Raymond, 228 F.3d 804, 812 (7th Cir. 2000), cert. denied, 533 U.S. 902 (2001) – the court affirmed a permanent injunction against taxpayers who promoted a “De-Taxing America Program,” forbidding them from engaging in certain activities that incited others to violate tax laws. The court said, “[W]e conclude that the statements the appellants made in the Just Say No advertisement were representations concerning the tax benefits of purchasing and following the De-Taxing America Program that the appellants reasonably should have known were false.”
United States v. Kaun, 827 F.2d 1144 (7th Cir. 1987) – the court affirmed the district court’s injunction prohibiting the taxpayer from inciting others to submit tax returns based on false income tax theories.
United States v. Krall, 835 F.2d 711 (8th Cir. 1987) – the court held that the trusts used were shams. The defendant, an optometrist, exercised the same dominion and control over the corpus and income of the trusts as he had before the trusts were executed. The court further found the defendant illegally attempted to assign his earned income to the various trusts.
United States v. Scott, 37 F.3d 1564 (10th Cir. 1994) – the court concluded the true grantor of the trusts was in substance the purchaser, who was also the trustee, as well as the beneficiary. It was as if there were no transfers at all. Therefore the purchaser was subject to tax on all the income of the various trusts. The defendants were the promoters of a multi-tiered trust package marketed to purchasers as a device to eliminate tax liability without losing control over their assets or income.
United States v. Meek, 998 F.2d 776 (10th Cir. 1993) – the court upheld Meek’s conviction of willfully failing to file an income tax return and willfully attempting to evade taxes. Meek’s trust had been formed through his membership in an organization (a “warehouse bank”) that provided its members the opportunity to warehouse their funds until directed to disburse them. The warehouse bank’s numbering system for conducting transactions protected its members’ privacy, thus hiding their assets and income.
Source: http://www.irs.gov/taxpros/article/0,,id=159932,00.html#_Toc153765529
Civil Cases Defense
