Amid Tax Evasion Allegations, Selig asks: “Has the Nigerian Email Scam Finally Met its Match?”

Selig & Associates. New York's #1 Tax Representation Firm 

What is Tax Evasion?  Tax evasion is the illegal evasion of taxes by individuals, corporations and trusts. Tax evasion often entails taxpayers deliberately misrepresenting the true state of their affairs to the tax authorities to reduce their tax liability and includes dishonest tax reporting, such as declaring less income, profits or gains than the amounts actually earned, or overstating deductions.

Tax evasion is an activity commonly associated with the informal economy. One measure of the extent of tax evasion (the "tax gap") is the amount of unreported income, which is the difference between the amount of income that should be reported to the tax authorities and the actual amount reported.

In contrast, tax avoidance is the legal use of tax laws to reduce one's tax burden. Both tax evasion and avoidance can be viewed as forms of tax noncompliance, as they describe a range of activities that intend to subvert a state's tax system, although such classification of tax avoidance is not indisputable, given that avoidance is lawful, within self-creating systems.

Are tax problems keeping you awake at night? 

"Nigeria - the Epitome of Gall"

Fiduciaries of the Nigerian government an oxymoron if there ever was one are desperately claiming that 700,000 Companies have illegally poached profits away from the Nigerian Federal Inland Revenue Service (“FIRS”).

Swindlers, cheaters and thieves have nothing on the Nigerian Government, says David Selig of Selig & Associates. Nigeria’s highly questionable allegations are being made in the shadow of falling oil prices and years of unprecedented financial mismanagement.

Nigeria’s financial recession has metastasized into a full-blown depression, says Selig. And now that oil prices are plummeting and emails from Nigeria are being routed directly into spam, the entire economy is taking a shellacking.

In response to the shortfall, Tunde Fowler (the Executive Chairperson of Nigeria's Federal Inland Revenue Service) said he expected 10 million new taxpayers to start paying into the system. But to date, Mr. Fowler’s grandiose extrapolations have not materialized. Nigeria’s economy is in the toilet and our “new taxes” (which is a Sanskrit for email enterprise) aren’t living up to their potential. Conversely, the Nigerian citizenry says that unrestrained chicanery and tinseled explanations are to blame. They’re taking on water, said a Somali pirate, and not even the old Wumi Abdul Nigerian email scam can save the ship. 

The Honorable Mr. Fowler also said: “There were plans to twin tougher enforcement with a waiver on interest and penalties for the period 2012 through 2015. We will give them a 45-day window to come forward and register and that will make them eligible for that waiver. The government, is struggling to fund a record 6.06 trillion naira ($18.6 billion) 2016 budget that aimed to stimulate growth by tripling capital expenditure, set FIRS a target of raising 4.95 trillion naira in taxes, up from 3.73 trillion last year.”

An example of the email enterprise has been published in its entirety herein below.

Dear Respected One,

GREETINGS,

Permit me to inform you of my desire of going into business relationship with you. I got your contact from the International web site directory. I prayed over it and selected your name among other names due to it's esteeming nature and the recommendations given to me as a reputable and trust worthy person I can do business with and by the recommendations I must not hesitate to confide in you for this simple and sincere business.

I am Wumi Abdul; the only Daughter of late Mr and Mrs George Abdul. My father was a very wealthy cocoa merchant in Abidjan,the economic capital of Ivory Coast before he was poisoned to death by his business associates on one of their outing to discus on a business deal. When my mother died on the 21st October 1984, my father took me and my younger brother HASSAN special because we are motherless. Before the death of my father on 30th June 2002 in a private hospital here in Abidjan. He secretly called me on his bedside and told me that he has a sum of $12.500.000 (Twelve Million, five hundred thousand dollars) left in a suspense account in a local Bank here in Abidjan, that he used my name as his first Daughter for the next of kin in deposit of the fund.

He also explained to me that it was because of this wealth and some huge amount of money his business associates supposed to balance his from the deal they had that he was poisoned by his business associates, that I should seek for a God fearing foreign partner in a country of my choice where I will transfer this money and use it for investment purpose, (such as real estate management). Sir, we are honourably seeking your assistance in the following ways.

1) To provide a Bank account where this money would be transferred to.

2) To serve as the guardian of this since I am a girl of 26 years.

Moreover Sir, we are willing to offer you 15% of the sum as compensation for effort input after the successful transfer of this fund to your designate account overseas. please feel free to contact ,me via this email address

wumi1000abdul@yahoo.com

Anticipating to hear from you soon.

Thanks and God Bless.

Best regards.

Miss Wumi Abdul

Celebrity Tax Counsel Selig & Associates Stands With Brad Pitt + Do It Yourself Guide to Innocent Spouse Relief

Brad Pitt’s a great guy, a fantastic artist, and most of all, an incredible father, and I particularly enjoyed him in Inglorious Bastards, although being partial to all things German, I could never quite bring myself to watch the end, says David Selig of Selig & Associates. So when my learned brother Attorney Bradley Dorin told me that [Brad Pitt] was getting a divorce, we sprang into action.

 

To this end, if Brad Pitt receives Alimony, he will have to pay income tax on his annual alimony award, and since we expect him to win a big chunk of change in this divorce, it may be better for him to treat the money as child support, which would be 100% taxable to his ex-wife, says Selig. 

Nota bene, alimony is tax deductible by the payer and child support is not. Additionally, when the property is divided, there could be significant tax consequences that Brad Pitt shouldn’t be responsible for. Specifically, says Selig, he needs to be compensated for his ex-wife’s tax basis, even though IRC §1041 says the division of property in a divorce is not a taxable event, in many cases, a devastating tax bill awaits the eventual seller. In a nutshell, Tax Basis is the price used to determine the capital gains tax when property is sold, viz. the purchase price. For example, if the eventual Divorce Settlement Agreement has Brad, in addition to all the real property, personal property, financial investments and business interests he’s entitled to, receiving $10,000,000 worth of stock, he’ll still be hit with a whopping tax bill when he sells, and that’s not fair! says David Selig.

1. How do I request Innocent Spouse Relief?

File IRS Form 8857, Request for Innocent Spouse Relief, to ask the IRS for relief. You need not file multiple forms. One form can cover multiple years.

2. Should I include a letter when filing Form 8857?

You may include a letter and any other information you would like IRS to consider.

3. When should I file Form 8857?

You should file Form 8857 as soon as you become aware of a tax liability for which you believe only your spouse or former spouse should be held. The following are some of the ways you may become aware of such a liability.

•    The IRS is examining your tax return and proposing to increase your tax liability.

•    The IRS sends you a notice.

However, you generally must file Form 8857 no later than 2 years after the first IRS attempt to collect the tax from you that occurs after July 22, 1998. (But see the exceptions below for different filing deadlines that apply). For this reason, do not delay filing because you do not have the required documentation. See the answer to question 35, “What constitutes a collection activity for purposes of starting the two-year statute of limitations that cover the filing of Form 8857?” below.

Exception for equitable relief.

On July 25, 2011, the IRS issued Notice 2011-70 expanding the amount of time to request equitable relief. The amount of time to request equitable relief depends on whether you are seeking relief from a balance due, seeking a credit or refund, or both:

Balance Due – Generally, you must file your request within the time period the IRS has to collect the tax. Generally, the IRS has 10 years from the date the tax liability was assessed to collect the tax. In certain cases, the 10-year period is suspended.

Credit or Refund – Generally, you must file your request within 3 years after the date the original return was filed or within 2 years after the date the tax was paid, whichever is later. But you may have more time to file if you live in a federally declared disaster area or you are physically or mentally unable to manage your financial affairs. See Pub. 556, for details.

Both a Balance Due and a Credit or Refund – If you are seeking a refund of amounts you paid and relief from a balance due over and above what you have paid, the time period for credit or refund will apply to any payments you have made, and the time period for collection of a balance due amount will apply to any unpaid liability

Exception for relief based on community property laws.

If you are requesting relief based on community property laws, you must file Form 8857 no later than 6 months before the expiration of the period of limitations on assessment (including extensions) against your spouse or former spouse for the tax year for which you are requesting relief. However, if the IRS begins an examination of your return during the 6-month period the latest time for requesting relief is 30 days after the date of the IRS’ initial contact letter to you. The period of limitations on assessment is the amount of time, generally 3 years, that the IRS has from the date you filed the return to assess taxes that you owe. If you do not qualify for the relief described above and are now liable for an unpaid or understated tax you believe you should be paid only by your spouse or former spouse, you may request equitable relief. See the Exception for equitable relief above.

Selig & Associates we represent people with tax problems.