Posted by AccountingWEB on 02/16/2012 - 16:28
Once again, the IRS has presented us with its annual list of the most frequently used tax scams, also known as the Dirty Dozen. I for one am getting pretty bored with the tax scams on this list - they hardly change at all from year to year. It's time for some creative criminals out there to come up with something new.
I'd like to hear about the fun things that desperate taxpayers do when they simply don't have the funds to pay their taxes. How about taking a child care credit for your television set or treating your watchdog as a company employee? These boring stories about people who pose as IRS agents over the phone are putting me to sleep.
I'd like to hear about the fun things that desperate taxpayers do when they simply don't have the funds to pay their taxes. How about taking a child care credit for your television set or treating your watchdog as a company employee? These boring stories about people who pose as IRS agents over the phone are putting me to sleep.
Reader comments
If the scammers styles are repeatedly the same, I wonder why there are still a lot of people getting fooled. The IRS dirty dozen tax scams may not be that known to every taxpayer. There may be a lack of info dissemination.
Posted by liraM from USA on Feb 22, 2012 - 1:37 am
My brother ran a Schedule C Anvil Repair Shop from his garage in order to claim home office deduction, depreciation, etc. He told me the freight bills were a killer. :)
Posted by John Hiatt from Valley Forge, PA on Feb 16, 2012 - 4:55 pm
Could it be that the criminals continue to be creative, but the IRS investigators and auditors are trained to look for the old scams so they are not discovering the new ones?
The creativity of the self-interested criminal is generally far ahead of the salaried regulator. Look at Wall Street.
The creativity of the self-interested criminal is generally far ahead of the salaried regulator. Look at Wall Street.
Posted by John Garrison, curmudgen, CPA from undisclosed location on Feb 16, 2012 - 4:35 pm
Gail, I loved this article, and I feel the same way! Our tax scammers are lacking in creativity of late. Back to the good ole days of phone calls with return messages from counntries that allow outrageous charges when you return them....those were the days.....
Posted by Bill Simmons from Round Rock, Texas on Feb 16, 2012 - 4:23 pm
Send your comments
- 2273 reads
