Author Archives: Russ

Survivor Trial to the Jury

Posted on January 24, 2006 by Russ

Richard Hatch’s fate now lies with a jury in Providence, RI. Hatch, the former Survivor winner is either a greedy man who didn’t want to pay the taxes he owed or he did the best he could to understand the … Continue reading →

Posted in Tax Evasion | Tagged | 4 Comments

A Prison Scam of a Different Sort

Posted on January 23, 2006 by Russ

There’s been news of prisoners scamming the IRS by filing phony tax returns. Today we have the opposite happening—a tax professional and a jailer in Texarkana, AR allegedly filing phony returns using Social Security Numbers of prisoners. The two were … Continue reading →

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LLCs vs. S Corps in California

Posted on January 23, 2006 by Russ

In my practice, I see a lot of S Corporations, but very few LLCs (I can count the number on one hand). Yet, according to Christopher Hoyt of the University of Missouri at Kansas City (writing in the TaxProf Blog), … Continue reading →

Posted in California, Entity Formation | 4 Comments

Hatch Trial Continues

Posted on January 22, 2006 by Russ

The trial of former Survivor winner Richard Hatch on ten counts including tax evasion continues in Providence, RI. Today’s New York Times has an excellent story on the trial, including reactions from some of his fellow contestants. Hatch, who took … Continue reading →

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Throwing Out the Trash

Posted on January 21, 2006 by Russ

Over ten years ago, in the nearby City of Orange, a trash magnate was born. His name was Jeffrey Hambarian, and he was a hometown hero. Mr. Hambarian had an interesting method of operating his business. He told his vendors … Continue reading →

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Ohio Is Traded…Again

Posted on January 19, 2006 by Russ

Last year residents of Ohio who made estimated payments sent their payments in the second half of the year to San Francisco (the Fresno IRS Service Center). Well, Ohio has been moved (again), now to the Kansas City Service Center. … Continue reading →

Posted in IRS, Ohio | 1 Comment

H&R Block v. Intuit

Posted on January 17, 2006 by Russ

While driving this past week, I heard a radio commercial for Intuit’s TurboTax, stating that more returns were prepared on TurboTax than by H&R Block. Well, not so fast, says Block. The Kansas City based Block filed a lawsuit against … Continue reading →

Posted in Tax Preparation | 5 Comments

All Rapped Out

Posted on January 17, 2006 by Russ

After taking a few days off for an annual convention, would I return to an in-basket bereft of the usual tax evaders? Hardly. Joe Kristan of Roth Tax Updates reported on some of the more felonius evaders, including Richard Hatch … Continue reading →

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Virtual Profits = Taxes?

Posted on January 10, 2006 by Russ

The TaxProf Blog links to an extremely interesting article by Julian Dibbell on whether virtual profits in online multi-player games are taxable under the Internal Revenue Code. There’s also a link to a second article on CNET titled “The Tax … Continue reading →

Posted in IRS | Tagged | 1 Comment

Why the Franchise Tax Board Is “Fun” to Deal With

Posted on January 9, 2006 by Russ

Let’s assume you disagree with a decision that the Franchise Tax Board (FTB) makes on your tax return. You go through the FTB appeals process, and get nowhere. California then allows appeals to the Board of Equalization (BOE). Today, let’s … Continue reading →

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