This is the world we're now living in kids. It's one were the privileged are allowed
to do just about anything they want, and to make up for that privileged loss of revenue, YOU will be scrutinized just that much more.
And we let them WHY?
http://www.wtop.com/?nid=111&sid=1743474
US to detail accord with Swiss over UBS accounts
Experts predict the accord will force the bank to hand over up to 5,000 of the 52,000 names sought by the IRS. The conditions of the handover will be such that Switzerland will not break its own banking secrecy laws, the Swiss government has pledged.
UBS has admitted to helping some U.S. clients hide large sums of money in offshore accounts. The bank earlier this year turned over more than 250 client names and paid a $780 million penalty in a deferred prosecution agreement with the U.S.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
IRS to Mine Payment Data on Mortgages
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125176078680774177.html
The Internal Revenue Service will expand a program designed to catch tax cheats that searches for inconsistencies between mortgage payments and income.
After prompting from an IRS auditor, the agency will study whether it should make greater use of data on mortgage-interest payments provided to it by banks. The IRS currently uses such data to send notices to non-filers who it believes should have filed a return.
The data could also be used to target for audits individuals who don't file tax returns, or who report less income than they paid in mortgage interest, according to a letter released Monday by the Treasury inspector general for tax administration.
The IRS move will expand a regional research project on mortgage interest to a nationwide level by December 2011. Such initiatives, called Compliance Initiative Projects, typically involve examination of a small number of tax returns to evaluate new enforcement strategies.
Howard Levy, a tax attorney with the Cincinnati firm Voorhees Levy, said mortgage-interest data might be the best source of information the IRS has on small-business owners, such as roofers or carpenters, who are paid in cash and don't report all their income to the IRS.
"That [IRS Form] 1098 might be one of the few trails IRS could pursue to find out if there is income coming in," Mr. Levy said.
One Republican lawmaker cautioned Monday that the IRS plan could snare taxpayers who have coped with job losses by borrowing or using savings or retirement accounts to make their house payments.
"We shouldn't presume that
