Everything You Wanted to know about the New Jersey Tax Amnesty Program but were too Stupid to Ask

On July 1, Gov. Phil Murphy signed into law a tax amnesty measure that offers relief to many taxpayers in a variety of situations and will help bridge the revenue shortfall in the state budget. It requires the Director of the Division of Taxation to establish a period not exceeding 90 days in duration, which shall end no later than Jan. 15, 2019. Anyone behind on taxes owed for the time period between Feb. 1, 2009, and Sept. 1, 2017, would be eligible to participate, as long as they are not under criminal investigation.

Similar to New Jersey’s prior six amnesty initiatives, the new law provides for complete forgiveness of all penalties and one-half of the balance of accrued interest that is due as of Nov. 1, 2018, in return for non-refundable payment of the tax and remaining one-half of accrued interest due, and a waiver of the right to appeal any liability paid under amnesty.

Additionally, a significant aspect of this amnesty law is that it not only applies to un-assessed amounts, but also to amounts currently under audit or being contested with the Division of Taxation, either at its Conference Branch or in the New Jersey Tax Court.

The new law applies to all state taxes administered by the Division of Taxation (e.g., gross income, sales and use tax, corporate business tax, motor fuels and so on) but does not apply to unemployment-type taxes administered by the Department of Labor.

Specifically, it applies to state tax liabilities for tax returns due on and after Feb. 1, 2009, and prior to Sept. 1, 2017. Consequently, for example, it can be used to obtain relief for a taxpayer’s 2009 through 2016 gross income tax, corporate business tax returns, and for all sales and use tax quarters ending Dec. 31, 2009, through June 30, 2017.

The Division of Taxation has not yet announced starting date for the amnesty period, which must end by Jan. 15, 2019. Thus, the taxpayers will have to make an amnesty payment within the time period established by the Director to take advantage of amnesty relief.

SELIG & Associates. Aggressive Tax Advocates We Solve Serious Tax Problems. For a FREE legally privileged consultation with a Federal Tax Practitioner and licensed Attorney call (212) 974-3435

Former CFO of Bankrate Sentenced to 10 Years in the Slammer 4 Orchestrating a Complex Accounting and Securities Fraud Scheme

The former chief financial officer of Bankrate Inc., a publicly traded financial services and marketing company formerly headquartered in North Palm Beach, Florida, was sentenced today to 10 years in prison for orchestrating an accounting and securities fraud scheme that caused more than $25 million in shareholder losses.

Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Ariana Fajardo Orshan of the Southern District of Florida and Inspector in Charge Delany DeLeon-Colon of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Criminal Investigations Group made the announcement.

Edward J. DiMaria, 53, of Fairfield County, Connecticut, was sentenced by Chief U.S. District Judge K. Michael Moore of the Southern District of Florida, who also imposed three years of supervised release and ordered DiMaria to pay restitution in the amount of $21,234,214.  On June 28, DiMaria pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to making false statements to a public company’s accountants, falsifying a public company’s books, records and accounts, and securities fraud; and one count of making materially false statements to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).  

“While serving as Bankrate’s CFO, Edward DiMaria blatantly manipulated the company’s publicly reported financial statements by repeatedly lying and directing others to lie to auditors, regulators, and shareholders,” said Assistant Attorney General Benczkowski.  “The significant sentence handed down today underscores the serious nature of corporate fraud and the damage it causes to shareholders and to the public’s trust in our financial markets.  The sentence also demonstrates the Department’s commitment to prosecuting corporate misconduct to the fullest extent of the law.”

“The U.S. Postal Inspection Service has an extensive history of investigating complex financial fraud schemes in order to protect investors as well as the integrity of the financial marketplace from fraudulent activities by trusted insiders who abuse their positions,” said Inspector in Charge Delany DeLeon-Colon. “Anyone who engages in this type of financial fraud scheme should know they will be found and they will be held accountable.”

As part of his guilty plea, DiMaria admitted that between 2010 and 2014 he directed and conspired to commit a complex scheme to artificially inflate Bankrate’s earnings through so-called “cookie jar” or “cushion” accounting, whereby millions of dollars in unsupported expense accruals were purposefully left on Bankrate’s books and then selectively reversed in later quarters to boost earnings.  In addition, DiMaria admitted that he conspired with other Bankrate employees to misrepresent certain company expenses as “deal costs” in order to artificially inflate publicly reported adjusted earnings metrics.  DiMaria made materially false statements to Bankrate’s independent auditors to conceal the improper accounting entries, and he caused Bankrate’s financial statements filed with the SEC to be materially misstated, he admitted.

Hyunjin Lerner, Bankrate’s former vice president of finance, previously pleaded guilty for his role in the conspiracy.  Lerner was sentenced by Judge Moore earlier this year to serve 60 months in prison. 

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s National Headquarters Fraud Team investigated the case.  Assistant Chief Henry Van Dyck and Trial Attorneys Emily Scruggs and Jason Covert of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case, with assistance from the U.S Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida.  The SEC also provided assistance in this matter.

SELIG & Associates Aggressive Tax Advocates We solve Income, Payroll and Sales Tax Problems. For a FREE legally privileged consultation with a Federal Tax Practitioner and licensed Attorney call (212) 974-3435

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93% of Prison Inmates are Men and yet, the Inspector General Claims Female Inmates Lack Access to Basic Needs

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• The Office of the Inspector General at the U.S. Department of Justice made public a report on the Federal Bureau of Prisons’ (BOP) management of its female population. 

• One expert found the results “damning” and another found them “horrifying.”

• The report found a lack of access to basic needs for female inmates.

A majority of female inmates in prisons across the U.S. have not been provided basic needs, including feminine hygiene products and access to trauma and pregnancy programs, a Department of Justice (DOJ) investigation into the Federal Bureau of Prisons’ (BOP) management of its female inmate population revealed in a report made public Tuesday.

“Our review identified instances in which BOP’s programming and policy has not fully considered the needs of female inmates, which has made it difficult for inmates to access certain key programs and supplies,” Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz’s report states. While female inmates made up just 7 percent of the total BOP sentenced inmate population of 146,084 as of September 2016, correctional officers have noticed that females have much different, and in some cases stronger, needs. One of the main conclusions from the report, which gathered information between 2012 and 2016, was that while about 90 percent of women are affected by physical and emotional trauma early on in their incarceration, the BOP was unable to provide its trauma treatment program to all eligible female inmates because it only staffed one program director to each institution.  

Is Your Insurance Company Taking Advantage of You? David Selig settles residential and commercial property insurance claims, including business interruption, burglary, fire, windstorm and losses caused by water damage. For more information call David Selig at (212) 974-3435.

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