Another repeat, but one that is a continual issue with cash business. It may be “cash and carry,” but cash is taxable in all ways. And cash reporting (or lack thereof) can be a problem. Our #1 Bozo Tax Tip is brand new for this year and it will be up tomorrow! Anyway, let’s be suspicious:
Given my practice area, I deal with individuals who occasionally make large cash deposits. I tell them that they shouldn’t mind the completion of a Currency Transaction Report. The IRS gets so many of them that as long as you’re paying your taxes it’s not a big deal.
On the other hand, if you break up your $11,000 transaction into two $5,500 deposits, you can get in trouble. Big trouble. A suspicious activity report (SAR) might be issued. The IRS doesn’t get as many of these, and a lot of them are investigated. And that’s what leads into this tale of woe.
We’re focusing today on a public figure. He was a prosecutor, and he used the Bank Secrecy Act (among other laws) to help send many individuals—primarily in organized crime—to prison. He then became Attorney General of his state, serving two terms in that office. He was then elected Governor.
But our public figure had a problem. He enjoyed the world’s oldest profession. While traveling to Washington, D.C. he used a service called the Emperor’s Club. He funded his nighttime activities by making multiple wire transfers of just under $10,000.
Come on, could a politician who used to use the Bank Secrecy Act actually get blindsided by the Act? Yes. Eliot Spitzer’s wire transactions were duly reported by North Fork Bank. That led to an IRS investigation which led to an FBI investigation which led to a governor becoming an ex-governor.
So if you want to send money, go big-time. Send more than $10,000. But whatever you do, don’t break up your cash transactions into smaller pieces to evade the reporting requirements. One day you might find two armed federal agents at your door, reminding you, “You have the right to remain silent….”
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