Liquor Smuggler Forfeits Booze & Vehicle After Guilty Plea (Tax Problems? Better call SELIG & Associates)

The New York State Department of Taxation and Finance and the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office announced Juncheng Chen of 136-18 64th Road, Flushing, Queens, pleaded guilty to attempting to smuggle untaxed liquor into New York State for resale. As part of his plea, Chen agreed to forfeit his vehicle, a Chevrolet Suburban SUV, and the alcohol seized when he was arrested. “Those who smuggle untaxed liquor are profiting at the expense of their neighbors and depriving local communities of critical funding for public programs and services,” said New York State Commissioner of Taxation and Finance Michael Schmidt. “We’ll continue to work with all levels of law enforcement to ensure those responsible are held accountable.” Chen will pay nearly $1,300 in tax as restitution as well. He faces additional monetary fines for penalty and interest when he’s sentenced on September 3 in Rye City Court. The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Nicole Gamble of the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office Economic Crimes Bureau. “We are committed to stopping any criminal who attempts to defraud the system and therefore steal from the people of New York State,” said Westchester County District Attorney Anthony A. Scarpino, Jr. “We will continue to work closely with Commissioner Schmidt and his investigators at the NY State Department of Taxation and Finance to prosecute crimes that affect all of us.” Chen was arrested by investigators with the Tax Department’s Criminal Investigations Division in December 2017 after his vehicle was stopped by New York State Police in Rye, NY. The vehicle was packed with more than 700 liters of liquor, which he purchased at multiple liquor outlets in New Hampshire.

Selig & Associates

We take a practical approach to problem solving and strive to obtain the best possible outcome for our clients

212-974-3435

We successfully solve IRS and New York State Tax problems, including suspended Drivers Licenses and Passports. Specializing in large dollar Payroll, Sales and Income Tax Representation for Individuals, Professional Practices and Businesses. 

We negotiate excellent Payment Plans, Audits, Offers in Compromise, Payroll & Trust Fund Recovery Penalties, and most other tax issues. Do you have Unfiled Tax Returns? We can have them prepared and filed for you within 48 hours, guaranteed. Same day and emergency appointments are available Monday through Friday in our New York City office. 

To schedule a Free and Legally Privileged Consultation with a Federal Tax Practitioner and Attorney contact us Online

or Call (212) 974-3435

IRS Automatically Waiving Estimated Tax Penalties (for eligible 2018 tax filers only)

The Internal Revenue Service is automatically waiving the estimated tax penalty for the more than 400,000 eligible taxpayers who already filed their 2018 federal income tax returns but did not claim the waiver. The IRS will apply this waiver to tax accounts of all eligible taxpayers, so there is no need to contact the IRS to apply for or request the waiver. Earlier this year, the IRS lowered the usual 90% penalty threshold to 80% to help taxpayers whose withholding and estimated tax payments fell short of their total 2018 tax liability. The agency also removed the requirement that estimated tax payments be made in four equal installments, as long as they were all made by January 15, 2019. The 90% threshold was initially lowered to 85% on January 16  and further lowered to 80% on March 22. The automatic waiver applies to any individual taxpayer who paid at least 80% of their total tax liability through federal income tax withholding or quarterly estimated tax payments but did not claim the special waiver available to them when they filed their 2018 return earlier this year. "The IRS is taking this step to help affected taxpayers," said IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig. "This waiver is designed to provide relief to any person who filed too early to take advantage of the waiver or was unaware of it when they filed."

Refunds planned for eligible taxpayers who paid penalty

Over the next few months, the IRS will mail copies of notices CP 21 granting this relief to affected taxpayers. Any eligible taxpayer who already paid the penalty will also receive a refund check about three weeks after their CP21 notice regardless if they requested penalty relief. The agency emphasized that eligible taxpayers who have already filed a 2018 return do not need to request penalty relief, contact the IRS or take any other action to receive this relief. For those yet to file, the IRS urges every eligible taxpayer to claim the waiver on their return. This includes those with tax-filing extensions due to run out on Oct. 15, 2019. The quickest and easiest way is to file electronically and take advantage of the waiver computation built into their tax software package. Those who choose to file on paper can fill out Form 2210 and attach it to their 2018 return. See the instructions to Form 2210 for details. Because the U.S. tax system is pay-as-you-go, taxpayers are required by law to pay most of their tax obligation during the year, rather than at the end of the year. This can be done by having tax withheld from paychecks, pension payments or Social Security benefits, making estimated tax payments or a combination of these methods. Like last year, the IRS urges everyone to do a "Paycheck Checkup" and review their withholding for 2019. This is especially important for anyone who faced an unexpected tax bill or a penalty when they filed this year. It's also an important step for those who made withholding adjustments in 2018 or had a major life change. Those most at risk of having too little tax withheld include those who itemized in the past but now take the increased standard deduction, as well as two wage earner households, employees with nonwage sources of income and those with complex tax situations. To get started, check out the IRS’s new Tax Withholding Estimator, available on IRS.gov. More information about tax withholding and estimated tax can be found on the agency's Pay As You Go webpage, as well as in Publication 505.

Selig & Associates

We take a practical approach to problem solving and strive to obtain the best possible outcome for our clients

212-974-3435

We successfully solve IRS and New York State Tax problems, including suspended Drivers Licenses and Passports. Specializing in large dollar Payroll, Sales and Income Tax Representation for Individuals, Professional Practices and Businesses. 

We negotiate excellent Payment Plans, Audits, Offers in Compromise, Payroll & Trust Fund Recovery Penalties, and most other tax issues. Do you have Unfiled Tax Returns? We can have them prepared and filed for you within 48 hours, guaranteed. Same day and emergency appointments are available Monday through Friday in our New York City office. 

To schedule a Free and Legally Privileged Consultation with a Federal Tax Practitioner and Attorney contact us Online

or Call (212) 974-3435

Company owner charged with falsifying federal records, tax evasion and a whole lot more (better call SELIG & Associates)

The owner of an automobile transport company has been charged with falsifying federal records, fraud, identity theft and tax evasion. U.S. Attorney Aaron Weisman says 39-year-old Michael Chaves, was arraigned in federal court on Friday. His bond was set at $100,000. Weisman says Chaves is accused of attempting to influence and impede inspections of his business by falsifying U.S. Department of Transportation records, and of using someone else’s personal identifying information to continue operating after being ordered to shut down for safety violations. 

Selig & Associates

We take a practical approach to problem solving and strive to obtain the best possible outcome for our clients

212-974-3435

We successfully solve IRS and New York State Tax problems, including suspended Drivers Licenses and Passports. Specializing in large dollar Payroll, Sales and Income Tax Representation for Individuals, Professional Practices and Businesses. 

We negotiate excellent Payment Plans, Audits, Offers in Compromise, Payroll & Trust Fund Recovery Penalties, and most other tax issues. Do you have Unfiled Tax Returns? We can have them prepared and filed for you within 48 hours, guaranteed. Same day and emergency appointments are available Monday through Friday in our New York City office. 

To schedule a Free and Legally Privileged Consultation with a Federal Tax Practitioner and Attorney contact us Online

or Call (212) 974-3435

NY Business Owner Accused of Forging Invoices & Pocketing Sales Taxes

Facing Multiply Felonies Including Criminal Tax Fraud

(you'd better call SELIG & Associates)

On August 8^th 2019 the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance announced felony charges against Virginia Reed, owner of PC Innovations, Inc. She’s accused of failing to pay more than $96,000 in sales tax collected from her customers and falsifying business records.

“Businesses that disregard their tax obligations deprive the communities where they operate of revenue for vital services and put similar businesses at a competitive disadvantage,” said New York State Commissioner of Taxation and Finance Michael Schmidt. “Profiting at the expense of your community isn’t just unfair, it’s criminal, and those responsible must be held accountable.”

Tax Department investigators allege Reed, 61, failed to pay to the state at least $96,311 in sales tax collected from customers between February 2013 and September 2016. She’s also accused of filing multiple sales tax returns during the same period that significantly understated the amount of sales tax collected from customers. Investigators uncovered many invoices that were allegedly altered to hide the true amount of sales tax collected. Reed  is charged with multiple felonies, including criminal tax fraud, grand larceny, and offering a false instrument for filing. Reed was arraigned on Wednesday, July 31, and is scheduled to reappear on August 26.

A criminal complaint is only an accusation; the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

Selig & Associates

We take a practical approach to problem solving and strive to obtain the best possible outcome for our clients

We successfully solve IRS and New York State Tax problems, including suspended Drivers Licenses and Passports. Specializing in large dollar Payroll, Sales and Income Tax Representation for Individuals, Professional Practices and Businesses. 

We negotiate excellent Payment Plans, Audits, Offers in Compromise, Payroll & Trust Fund Recovery Penalties, and most other tax issues. Do you have Unfiled Tax Returns? We can have them prepared and filed for you within 48 hours, guaranteed. Same day and emergency appointments are available Monday through Friday in our New York City office. 

To schedule a Free and Legally Privileged Consultation with a Federal Tax Practitioner and Attorney contact us Online

or Call (212) 974-3435

Do it Yourself Tax Help

Don’t need an Accountant and Attorney to solve your Tax Problem? 

Introducing the $99.99 Self Help Solution 

for Do it Yourselfers

(for a limited time only) 

STEP 1

We will contact the IRS and find out exactly how much you owe. 

STEP 2

We will find out if all of your federal Tax Returns have been filed. If you’re not in compliance, we’ll obtain Wage and Income transcripts from the IRS and with this information, your missing tax returns can be prepared by the tax return preparer of your choice. 

STEP 3

We will tell you in writing how to best address your tax problem and we’ll provide you with the specific forms needed to get things done (the right tools for the right job).  

Selig & Associates

147 W. 35^th Street. Suite 1602

New York. NY 10001

(212) 974-3435

We take a practical approach to problem solving and strive to obtain the best possible outcome for our clients

We successfully solve IRS and New York State Tax problems, including suspended Drivers Licenses and Passports. Specializing in large dollar Payroll, Sales and Income Tax Representation for Individuals, Professional Practices and Businesses. 

We negotiate excellent Payment Plans, Audits, Offers in Compromise, Payroll & Trust Fund Recovery Penalties, and most other tax issues. 

Do you have Unfiled Tax Returns? We can have them prepared and filed for you within 48 hours, guaranteed.

Same day and emergency appointments are available Monday through Friday in our New York City office. 

Call (212) 974-3435

Unpaid Payroll Taxes - Woman Convicted of Obstructing The IRS - better call Selig & Associates

A federal jury recently convicted a distraught woman of engaging in a corrupt endeavor to obstruct and impede the due administration of the Internal Revenue Laws, announced Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division. According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, the despondent woman obstructed the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in its attempts to collect payroll taxes due and owing for a Company, by providing false and misleading information to the IRS Revenue Officer attempting to collect the taxes owed. The company was a management services business for healthcare providers and it failed to pay payroll taxes due from its employees for the third quarter of 2013, the fourth quarter of 2013, and the first quarter of 2014. The dejected woman, whose duties at the company were central to the business’s operations, made statements to the IRS Revenue Officer that attempted to minimize her involvement in and knowledge of the business as well as the involvement of one of the owners of the business. The demoralized woman also told the IRS she did not know how to obtain bank statements and other documents related to the business, despite regularly accessing such records as part of her responsibilities for the company. In a related case, one of the owners pleaded guilty to failing to collect, truthfully account for, and pay over payroll taxes relating to the company and to failure to file his personal tax return for 2013. A United States District Judge scheduled sentencing for Dec. 4, 2019. The doomed woman faces a maximum of three years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000, in addition to a term of supervised release and restitution.

We take a practical approach to problem solving and strive to obtain the best possible outcome for our clients

212-974-3435

We successfully solve IRS and New York State Tax problems, including suspended Drivers Licenses and Passports. Specializing in large dollar Payroll, Sales and Income Tax Representation for Individuals, Professional Practices and Businesses. 

We negotiate excellent Payment Plans, Audits, Offers in Compromise, Payroll & Trust Fund Recovery Penalties, and most other tax issues. Do you have Unfiled Tax Returns? We can have them prepared and filed for you within 48 hours, guaranteed. Same day and emergency appointments are available Monday through Friday in our New York City office. 

To schedule a Free and Legally Privileged Consultation with a Federal Tax Practitioner and Attorneycontact us Online or call (212) 974-3435

Do NYS Tax Enforcement Agents Play Fast and Loose with the Rules? "SOME DO" says David Selig of Selig & Associates

Two weeks ago the State levied a business-owner’s bank account because he owed about $17,000 in unpaid sales taxes. The next day the business-owner came to our office and hired us to negotiate an affordable re-payment plan between him and the State.  

Two days later I entered the business-owner into an excellent installment agreement, and as a matter of procedure, provided the Agent [who had issued the bank levy] with the exact amount of money that that was in the bank account, so that these funds could be applied to the taxpayer’s debt. 

So far so good . . . Not so fast Skippy

That’s when things went south. The Agent said the the business-owner would have to call her himself and that she and the business-owner needed to have a “conference-call” with the bank. I refused and explained to the Agent that an Accountant and Attorney represent the business-owner and that under no circumstances would our client call her. 

The Agent was adamant and demanded that I give her the business-owner’s telephone number so that she could speak with him directly. Again, I refused and explained to her that an Accountant and Attorney represent the business-owner and that she was not to contact him directly. Whereupon the Agent said “the installment agreement is only pending” that it hadn’t been approved yet, and  some other not so thinly veiled threats. 

I had heard enough and asked to speak with her supervisor. The Agent refused and said the supervisor would agree with her. I said “maybe so” but that I still want to speak with her. The Agent said, “she’s not available”; that her supervisor was very busy, and that she would send her supervisor an email asking her to call me.  That's when I asked the Agent for her supervisor’s name and telephone number. The Agent angrily refused to provide me with either and said, “She’ll call you” then abruptly hung up.  

Well, it’s been over a week and still no call - which begs the question, is this just a poorly trained Agent? Or alternatively, does the State in its zeal to collect and cajole taxpayer’s into compliance, condone and encourage this sort low level nonsense. 

Selig & Associates, we take a practical approach to problem solving and strive to obtain the best possible outcome for our clients

We successfully resolve most IRS and New York State Tax problems including suspended Drivers Licenses and Passports. Specializing in large dollar Payroll, Sales and Income Tax Representation for Individuals, Professional Practices and Businesses. 

We negotiate excellent Payment Plans, Audits, Offers in Compromise, Payroll & Trust Fund Recovery Penalties, and most other tax issues. Do you have Unfiled Tax Returns? We can have them prepared and filed for you within 48 hours, guaranteed. Call (212) 974-3435 or contact us online. 

Same day and emergency appointments are available in our New York City offices. Schedule a Free and Legally Privileged Consultation with a Federal Tax Practitioner and Attorney by calling (212) 974-3435 or contact us online.