Florida Criminal Lawyer Blog

As Fort Lauderdale tax evasion criminal defense attorneys, we have been following media coverage of the IRS lawsuit against UBS, and the amnesty program for UBS accountholders who may have committed tax fraud, with interest. That’s why we were intrigued to read in the Wall Street Journal July 20 that the Internal Revenue Service has begun to look beyond accountholders at UBS to find tax evaders. According to the newspaper, the IRS is now stepping up enforcement of an existing rule requiring people with $10,000 or more in any foreign account -- no matter where it’s located -- to report any income they make from that account. That includes foreign companies, mutual funds, retirement accounts and even trusts to which the taxpayer is a beneficiary, as well as ordinary savings accounts.

These accountholders are being asked to come forward under the same voluntary disclosure program applied to UBS accountholders. In this program, people who have failed to declare income from foreign accounts can avoid heavy fines and potential prison time, in exchange for full disclosure of their assets and payment of back taxes and penalties. People participating in this program have until Sept. 23 -- which is now just under two months -- to file a form called the Foreign Bank Account Report or face penalties. For people the IRS believes simply made a mistake, those penalties include $10,000 for every year they failed to report income. For people accused of intentionally trying to avoid paying their taxes, the fine could be the greater of $100,000 or half the value of the account, per year.

As steep as those penalties sound, they are a drop in the bucket compared to the price of not coming forward, the Journal wrote. According to a statement from the IRS, a taxpayer with a $1 million account generating $50,000 a year in income over the past six years would pay $386,000 under the voluntary disclosure program. However, the same taxpayer could pay up to $2.3 million in taxes and penalties and face time in prison if he or she is caught by the IRS. Because the requirement to file is triggered even when the value of the account is only briefly over $10,000, tax attorneys and accountants expect the number of FBAR filings to soar this year, as accountholders make the extra effort to protect themselves from these high fines.

As Sarasota tax evasion criminal defense attorneys, we were particularly interested in the report that the IRS is conducting in-person interviews with many taxpayers who come forward under the voluntary disclosure program. According to the newspaper, one of the goals of this interview is to learn who promotes offshore accounts. Taxpayers may have an attorney for this process -- and under these circumstances, Balliro, Galasso, Leskovich & Seltzer can’t recommend it highly enough. In addition to helping clients disclose their accounts correctly and completely, and negotiating the best deal possible with the IRS, our Miami tax evasion defense lawyers can also protect them from IRS overreaching or their own nervousness during these stressful and difficult interviews.

Continue reading " IRS Looks Beyond UBS Clients to Search for Tax Evasion in Overseas Bank Accounts " »

Counties and cities across South Florida have recently announced plans to hike property tax rates. This news comes on the heels of announcements that preliminary annual assessments of property values are out in many areas. These assessments, along with the property tax rate itself, determine the property taxes each homeowner pays when tax bills are mailed in the fall.

In an ordinary year, this might not merit any special attention. However, Balliro, Galasso, Leskovich & Seltzer knows this is not an ordinary year for many people in our state. Thanks to the bad economy, thousands of people are out of work and even more are struggling with pay cuts or reductions in hours. Perhaps more importantly for homeowners, the Florida real estate market has turned upside down in the past few years. This has created a situation that threatens to over-bill many Florida homeowners on their property taxes.

To understand why, it’s important to know how the property tax system works. This year’s property taxes are officially supposed to be based on fair market value of the property as of Jan. 1, 2009. Assessors reevaluate each property by using sales prices for that or similar properties from between Jan. 1, 2008 and Jan. 1, 2009. Because home values have been plummeting over the past few years, it’s possible for these assessments to over-value the property, even though they use data only a year old. Along with some complicated adjustments caused by the homestead “recapture”/Save Our Homes rule, that means taxes could actually go up for some homeowners.

When property tax assessments are officially sent out this summer, homeowners will have the right to challenge them by asking for a hearing before the county’s Value Adjustment Board. If you plan to contest your property’s assessment, BGL&S would like to help. In response to this unprecedented property tax situation, we are proud to offer our services as Fort Myers property tax assessment appeal lawyers. In exchange for a percentage of the money we save you, we will represent you in the administrative hearing before the Value Adjustment Board, and in any appeal you may file in civil court.

Hiring West Palm Beach property tax assessment appeal attorney is not necessary to pursue your appeal, but it can make a big difference. First and foremost, the burden of proving the assessed value is incorrect is on you. State law actually gives county assessors a presumption of correctness; you must use paperwork and other evidence to show they are wrong. Furthermore, county laws give you a very limited time to file your appeal. For example, in Broward County, homeowners have until Sept. 18 to appeal an assessment that will be mailed in August -- about a month. And if you lose at this hearing, you must file a lawsuit in civil court to appeal -- which means having a Sarasota property tax assessment appeal lawyer to lay the groundwork can be invaluable.

Continue reading " BGL&S Offers New Property Tax Assessment Appeal Service for South Florida Homeowners " »

More South Florida residents are being pulled into the legal battle Swiss bank UBS is having with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, the Palm Beach Post reported July 11. Earlier this year, the IRS accused UBS of intentionally and knowingly helping American customers hide income to avoid paying taxes, by routing it through false companies overseas. The two organizations reached a plea deal in which UBS agreed to pay $780 million in exchange for no indictment. The next day, the IRS sued UBS in Miami for the names of 52,000 American accountholders suspected of tax fraud. The criminal settlement gives UBS the right to contest the lawsuit, but the IRS the right to indict the bank after all if it exhausts its appeals and still declines to turn over the names.

Individuals are increasingly drawn in to this international legal mess because of a “voluntary disclosure” program the IRS launched in March and ending in September. In anticipation of receiving the accountholder names, the agency announced that it would allow individuals to come forward and admit to their previously undeclared overseas accounts. In exchange for their honesty, back taxes and a one-time fine, the IRS has promised not to prosecute these people or levy the full amount of fines they owe. This is considerably more lenient than the penalties they face if prosecuted, which could include prison time and confiscation of the entire foreign bank account. One tax attorney interviewed by the Post said there are hundreds, maybe thousands, of people with offshore accounts in Palm Beach County alone.

Balliro, Galasso, Leskovich & Seltzer is proud to represent accountholders at UBS and other offshore banks who need to negotiate with the IRS to maintain a clean record. The Post quoted several West Palm Beach tax evasion defense attorneys for a reason -- these accountholders typically need legal representation to make sure they are not risking further prosecution, and getting a fair deal, when they come forward. While some accountholders probably knew they were failing to pay taxes they legally owed, published reports and our own experience as Miami tax fraud criminal defense lawyers suggest that others had no idea they owed taxes on the money. We do not believe people should go to federal prison because they mistakenly trusted UBS and other financial professionals to do the right thing.

Continue reading " South Floridians Taking Advantage of IRS Voluntary Disclosure Program to Avoid Prosecution in UBS Case " »

Florida law enforcement agencies have stepped up the little-known practice of confiscating vehicles used to commit traffic crimes, the Daytona Beach News-Journal reported June 30. According to the article, law enforcement in Florida has always had the power to seize vehicles used to commit crimes or to flee from officers. But that law was little used until recently, with only 11 vehicles forfeited in Florida in all of 2007. This year, the newspaper said, the total was 22 vehicles before the end of June. Defendants do not need to be convicted to have their property seized, a policy that raises concerns about abuses by police eager to generate revenue.

The article shares the experience of Kevin Eugene Jones, a motorcyclist caught riding at 141 mph on Interstate 4. He fled rather than pull over for police, but was eventually caught and charged with fleeing and eluding law enforcement, a charge that allows law enforcement to deem his custom motorcycle forfeited. Jones has not had a trial on the fleeing and eluding charge, but he had already lost his civil forfeiture case when he was offered a chance to buy back his bike at 70% of market value. He told the newspaper that he believed this was extortion, and others interviewed by the paper agreed, saying the forfeiture laws allow police agencies to make extra money by violating drivers’ rights.

As Sarasota traffic offense lawyers, we understand those concerns. Abuse of asset forfeiture laws is not just a theoretical concern -- as the article notes, the Volusia County sheriff’s office was investigated more than a decade ago for seizing property in legally weak cases. On the federal level, asset forfeiture laws are used in large-scale and serious criminal cases like drug trafficking, child pornography or racketeering. (This practice also has its critics.) Fleeing when the police try to pull you over is illegal, but the harm to society is substantially less than with these other crimes, which is why the penalty is also less.

Continue reading " Florida Law Enforcement Increases Practice of Seizing Vehicles Used for Speeding, Eluding Police " »