Senators Barack Obama (D-IL)), Norm Coleman (R-MN) and Carl Levin (D-MI) have introduced a bill designed to crack down on the use of offshore jurisdictions as tax havens and toughen penalties for abusive shelter transactions.
The bill, S. 681, would establish a list of 34 "Offshore Secrecy Jurisdictions" and authorize the Treasury Department to impose sanctions on foreign jurisdictions found to be impeding the enforcement of U.S. tax laws.
Also included is a prohibition against tax shelter patents and a requirement that transactions must have a meaningful economic substance other than tax avoidance (as an aside, codifying the economic substance doctrine has been in some 51 bills since 1999, seven of which have seen committee or floor action—IRS, among others, has not looked favorably on the notion).
Targeting tax preparers, the bill would prohibit charging fees contingent upon tax savings or refund size.
RJ Goodman , 02 March 2007 @ 18:59 PM Might want to read the regs before you change them None of this seems particularly new.
In particular "Targeting tax preparers, the bill would prohibit charging fees contingent upon tax savings or refund size," this is already prohibited in circular 230 (unless he's talking about closing the loophole for amended returns)
I'm more than a little concerned that he's setting up taxpreparers, who in my experience are a major force for keeping taxpayers compliant, as the bad guys in the tax gap. I'd rather see more funding for finding and prosecuting the taxpreparers who are already in violation of existing law (and professinal ethics) than creating new laws!
Harry Winning , 02 March 2007 @ 01:19 AM Too much govrnment intrusion Can someone please get these strangers out of my life!! Will it soon be illegal to advise anyone how to avoid tax consequences or is this just another way to improve lawyers participation (compensation) in the tax system?
RJ Goodman , 02 March 2007 @ 18:59 PM
