Green & Sklarz LLC is seeking a legal assistant/receptionist for our New Haven office.  The person will work as the receptionist and legal assistant.  We are a busy law firm.  This person's primary job duties will be: reception, client service, and assisting lawyers and other professional staff with office needs.  There is an expectation of upward mobility (FYI - all of our previous receptionists have moved up whether as paralegals or as enrolled agents). While no experience is necessary, applicants should be self-motivated and able to function in a high pressure and demanding environment. You will often be the first voice heard, and face seen by clients, thus customer service skills are highly important, including a positive attitude. Any applicant should be familiar with, and able to ... 02/12/2020

Listen in on this weeks episode as I am joined by a very special guest, Andrew Keyso, the former IRS Chief of Staff and current Acting Chief of Appeals. During this talk Andy discusses the impact of the Taxpayer First Act, where Appeals is heading, the role of the hazards of litigation, and what taxpayers need to know about their hearing with the IRS Independent Office of Appeals, and much more!Website:  https://taxrepllc.com/tax-rep-network-podcast-episode-71-the-view-from-irs-appeals-chat-with-andy-keyso-acting-chief-irs-independent-office-of-appeals/ YouTube: https://youtu.be/JdrIzohQZIk   01/21/2020

John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that DEVON WILLIAMS, 30, of Atlanta, Georgia, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Janet C. Hall in New Haven to eight months of imprisonment, followed by one year of supervised release, for preparing false tax returnsAccording to court documents and statements made in court, Williams formerly owned and operated Perfect Preparers, LLC, a tax preparation business based in New Haven.  Between approximately 2014 and 2017, Williams prepared numerous federal tax returns for clients that contained inflated deductions, including false deductions for unreimbursed employee expenses, charitable donations, and mortgage interest.  Some returns contained false Schedule C (sole proprietorship business) information... 01/15/2020

We routinely represent taxpayers in civil and criminal tax cases.  We wanted to let everyone know that  IRS agents arrested embattled attorney Michael Avenatti in Los Angeles late Tuesday during a break in a hearing before the California State Bar, the U.S. attorney's office confirmed , saying he allegedly violated the terms of his pretrial release on charges he embezzled client funds.Michael Avenatti, famous for representing Adult Actress Stormy Daniels and had been positioning himself for a run for President, was arrested Tuesday, cutting short a hearing on whether his law license should be suspended while the California State Bar investigates disciplinary charges.The hearing was on whether Avenatti's law license should be suspended while the State Bar investigates disciplinary charge... 01/15/2020

 If you or someone you know was impacted by the peparing of a false return by Liberty Tax please contact us immediately at egreen@gs-lawfirm.com or (203) 285-8545. Justice Department Announces Settlement With Liberty Tax ServiceGovernment and Liberty Jointly Propose Order Requiring the Company to Enact Compliance Controls Affecting more than 2,800 Liberty Tax Service Stores The Justice Department announced today that it has filed a complaint with a U.S. District Court in Norfolk, Virginia, seeking entry of a court order requiring Franchise Group Intermediate L 1 LLC, (Liberty) the national franchisor and owner of Liberty Tax Service stores, to refrain from specific acts, enact enhanced internal compliance controls regarding the detection of false tax returns, and pay for an independent ... 12/04/2019

What do you do when your practice begins to take over your life, and it now seems that you are working for it instead of the other way around? Joining me on this week's podcast was the amazing Amy Vetter, who is not only a friend but one of my life coaches. Listen in as we discuss work-life balance, pivoting to find your passion, and bringing balance into your life and practice.Check out the podcast episode here: https://taxrepllc.com/tax-rep-network-podcast-episode-67-amy-vetter-on-rebalancing-your-practice-and-life/ Want to connect with Amy? check out https://www.amyvetter.com 11/02/2019

I just posted this week's podcast with my friend Jason B. Freeman where he walks us through the impact of the community property laws on IRS collection and what it means for those of us working to help taxpayers resolve their outstanding tax debts. Check out the podcast in any of the major platforms (Google Podcast, ITunes, Apple Podcasts) or here on the podcast page: Website:  https://taxrepllc.com/tax-rep-network-podcast-episode-66-impact-of-community-property-laws-on-irs-collection-with-jason-freeman/ YouTube: https://youtu.be/vEzU932teMc 10/20/2019

On this week's podcast I am joined by Walter Pagano, CPA, CFE.  Walter is the head of Tax Controversy and Forensics at Eisner Amper in New York, and he covers what everyone needs to know about the new IRS target letters for owners of Crypto Currency, and what to do if you or one of your clients receives one.Check out the episode here:Website:  https://taxrepllc.com/tax-rep-network-podcast-episode-64-crypto-currency-with-walter-pagano/ YouTube: https://youtu.be/ZcOPr243vas 09/24/2019

Taxpayers often become frustrated and scared when dealing with the IRS on a back tax debt. In reality, however, resolving a tax debt is reasonably straightforward and can save taxpayers from unnecessary distress.  My article covering this topic is now out in Wealth Strategies Journal and can be read here for FREE: https://wealthstrategiesjournal.com/2019/09/06/resolving-tax-debts-is-easy-its-all-about-the-process/ Eric L. Green, Esq.Green & Sklarz LLC700 State Street, Suite 100New Haven, CT 06511Ph. (203) 285-8545Email: egreen@gs-lawfirm.comwww.gs-lawfirm.com  09/11/2019

In this week's podcast we review the techniques that can be used by tax practitioners to reopen an assessment that is closed.  Given that tax enforcement by the IRS is being done more and more by automation with no human being involved, taxpayers are finding their responses and correspondence ignored.  We review the various techniques to reopen these assessmnets and get them abated or reduced, including Audit Reconsideration, Doubt-as-to-Liability Offers, CDP, Refund cases and bankruptcy. You can check out this week's episode in ITunes, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or here:  Podcast Page:  https://taxrepllc.com/tax-rep-network-podcast-episode-62-reopening-a-closed-assessment/YouTube: https://youtu.be/VeQYBFWjsrg Want to build your Tax Rep practice? Join us inside Tax Rep LLC and get... 08/31/2019

I focus my practice on civil and criminal tax representation.  We represent taxpayers in New Haven, Connecticut, New York and elsewhere.  As the IRS recently reminded taxpayers, significant tax debt may jeopardize your passport or your ability to acquire one. The IRS certifies taxpayers with the United States Department of State as having a “seriously delinquent tax debt” if they owe at least $52,000 (including interest and penalties). The State Department is required by law to deny passport applications or renewals to taxpayers with this certification. Furthermore, the IRS may ask the State Department to revoke a taxpayer’s passport. The goal of the passport program for the IRS is to force taxpayers to come in and deal with their tax issue.  Taxpayers can avoid the passport denial/revo... 08/25/2019

The week of June 10th I will be in Las Vegas having just spoken all week for the AICPA at its Engage Conference 2019.  I will then be heading to Salt Lake City to speak at Scaling New Heights.  In between, on June 14th I will record a special "AMA" episode of the Tax Rep Podcast from Las Vegas."AMA", or "Ask-Me-Anything".  If you have burning questions about the IRS, or simply a client matter that has you stumped, email me at Podcast@TaxRepLLC.com and we will answer your questions on the episode.Check out the podcast here at www.TaxRepLLC.com/Tax-Rep-Network-Podcast Thanks,Eric 05/26/2019

During this week's podcast episode I review the recent changes in IRS Collection, including the adjustments done for an older vehicle, the program the IRS uses where they certifiy taxpayers to the State Department for passport suspension or revocation if they have delinquent taxes and are not dealing with the issue, and review the statistics just realeased by the IRS in the 2018 IRS Data Book.Check out this week's episode in ITunes, Google Podcasts, Apple POdcasts or on either the Tax Rep Website or YouTube:Website: https://taxrepllc.com/tax-rep-network-podcast-episode-56-2019-irs-collection-update/YouTube: https://youtu.be/62fdP03ApCgThanks,Eric L. Greenwww.TaxRepLLC.com  05/26/2019

We represent business owners and individuals in bankruptcy and commercial litigation frequently.  On March 31, 2019, in Wood v. Dept. of Housing & Urban Development (In re Wood), 18-5006 (Bankr. S.D. W.Va. Mar. 31, 2019), the court addressed the issue concerning whether a debtor’s tax overpayment was protected by the automatic stay and was an asset that the debtor could exempt.  The U.S. Treasury had offset a deficiency owed to the Department of Housing and Urban Development, or “HUD”, with a federal tax overpayment after a bankruptcy was filed.  Typically, if one department of the federal government is a creditor of a taxpayer, and another is a debtor, the government will offset the payments.  The Court held that in bankruptcy, such offsets are not allowed. In Wood, the debtor, Larry W... 04/13/2019

I focus my practice on civil and criminal tax representation.  Now that tax season is in full swing, the Department of Justice reminds taxpayers to choose tax preparers carefully.The Justice Department’s Tax Division, in collaboration with U.S. Attorney’s Offices, takes legal action throughout the United States, including seeking court orders to shut down tax return preparers who prepared false tax returns, and criminally prosecuting fraudulent tax return preparers to punish dishonest tax return preparers for their fraudulent activities and to protect taxpayers and government funds.“Most tax return preparers provide competent and professional advice,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard E. Zuckerman. “For those tax return preparers who choose to engage in fraudulent... 04/13/2019

Join us for our 3rd annual full-day criminal tax conference, where attendees will learn everything they could want to know about the criminal tax process!  This year's conference is named "Shopping the Preparer" which is when IRS Criminal Investigations sends in undercover agents to see if a tax preparer is playing games.So join us on May16th either in person or via live webcast and catch all the entertainment as our star line-up of speakers covers everything from the criminal tax process threough prosecuting bad preparers!Eric L. Green, Esq.Green & Sklarz LLC700 State Street, Suite 100New Haven, CT 06511www.gs-lawfirm.comPh. (203) 285-8545 02/27/2019

I represent taxpayers in New Haven and the rest of Connecticut who have civil and criminal tax issues, and have recently seen an uptick in those folks coming to us who have not filed tax returns, some for many years.  In fact, the non-filer issue is a major priority for the IRS, who have stated publicly that they have identified more than 7 Million taxpayers who have failed to file returns, and that the IRS plans to roll-out an initiative to target these tax scofflaws.In addition, it is worth noting that the willful failure to file a tax return is a federal tax crime under the Internal Revenue Code's Section 7203.So what can non-filers do, and how can we help them get their tax return issue resolved with the IRS?  It depends upon why they failed to file in the first-place.If the failure... 02/20/2019

We do a lot of Criminal Tax Work and we hold the IRS Criminal Investigation professionals in very high esteem for the work they do and their professionalism.  It is therefore always noteworthy when a former IRS Agent becomes the target of criminal prosecution for tax violations.A former special agent for the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation was sentenced to serve 51 months in prison for filing false tax returns, obstruction of justice, and stealing government money, announced Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard E. Zuckerman of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Alex G. Tse for the Northern District of California.According to the evidence introduced at trial, Alena Aleykina, 45, who is also a Certified Public Accountant and holds a mast... 10/24/2018

Episode 28 of the Tax Rep Network Podcast just hit the podcast network and it features a discussion with me and the IRS Criminal Investigation's Special Agent in Charge of the Boston Field Office, Kristina O'Connell.  The topic was, of course, how IRS Criminal Investigation uses confidential informants to build a tax case.During the discussion Kristina covers not only how the IRS uses confidential informants to build their tax cases, but how taxpayers can become a confidential informant and be paid for their information.  Check out Episode 28 here: https://taxrepllc.com/tax-rep-network-podcast/ Thanks, and look forward to seeing you inside Tax Rep Network!  08/06/2018

The focus of our practice is civil and criminal taxpayer representation, and so we wanted to make everyone aware that the IRS has announced it will begin to shut down the 2014 Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program (OVDP). The program will close on September 28, 2018. Therefore, U.S. taxpayers with undisclosed foreign financial assets have a limited amount of time to use the OVDP before the program ends.Background More than 56,000 taxpayers have used one of the IRS disclosure programs since the ODDP initially launched in 2009. Those taxpayers have paid a total of $11.1 billion in back taxes, interest and penalties. The number OVDP disclosures peaked in 2011, when about 18,000 people applied. The number has steadily fallen to only 600 disclosures in 2017.The programs have enabled U.S. tax... 03/14/2018