Florida Prisoner Caught Filing Fraudulent Federal Income Tax Returns
It seems that prison isn’t a good enough reason to keep you from cheating on your federal income tax.
WJHG (Source Below) has reported that Michael William Joseph III, an inmate of the Apalachee Correctional Institution in Florida, has pleaded guilty for filing fraudulent federal income tax returns to the IRS. This wouldn’t be Joseph’s first conviction of tax fraud, however. He has been serving time for faking federal income tax returns dating all the way back to 2006.
Prison, however, hasn’t kept Joseph from trying to scam the government with some fake federal income tax returns. He had filled out a series of tax forms with fabricated amounts of income and deductions. He had used the identities of his co-inmates in order to validate his returns. The illegitimately refunded federal income tax would then be deposited to various accounts he had control over.
What had tipped off Joseph’s tax scam was the size of his illegal refunds. Joseph had sought a total of nearly $180,000 in federal income tax returns. For a time it seemed that Joseph had managed to pull his scheme off when the government cashed him out for an alleged $50,000.
But investigators quickly got wind of his scam and successfully retrieved over $17,500 of the unlawfully refunded federal income tax from his personal bank account. An additional $11,600 was found in the mother’s ex-husband’s backyard.
The fifty three year old Joseph was indicted on various charges including but not limited to filing false federal income tax returns. Other charges include theft and mail fraud, amounting to a prison sentence of up to twenty years.
Categories: Federal Tax, Income Tax, State Tax, Tax Evasion, Tax Law Tags: avoiding taxes, federal income tax, federal tax, income tax, IRS, tax code, tax court, tax crime, tax evasion, tax fraud
Apple Pays Federal Income Tax Worth $6 Billion In 2012
Even the extremely successful Apple isn’t safe from the taxman. If anything, it’s due to pay some of the highest federal income tax in the United States.
MacRumors has reported that Apple has paid a total of $6 Billion in federal income tax for 2012. The amount tallies up to about a fortieth of the total corporate tax collected by the United States government. That is a little above 2% from the overall total, solidifying Apple as one of the highest taxed companies in the country.
Despite its staggering federal income tax bill, Apple has been often criticized for using the legal system to cut down its federal income tax. Apple allots an estimated 70 percent of its total revenue abroad. This allows Apple to make use of foreign laws to shield itself from high United States federal income tax.
Still, Apple claims that any federal income tax exemptions it may enjoy are well within the laws of the United States government.
Apple has been reported to be one of the first corporations to utilize what is now known as the “Double Irish with a Dutch Sandwich”. The method allows a company to cut down its federal income tax by coursing its profits through various European subsidiaries before returning back into the corporation. The result is a substantial decrease in owed federal income tax. Because of Apple’s success with the method, it isn’t uncommon for notable multinational corporations to use the same method to curb its own federal income tax.
Categories: Federal Tax, Income Tax Tags: corporate tax, federal income tax, federal tax, tax increase, tax the rich
Paying Less and Saving Money on Taxes
Tax season often sneaks up on a person and many people are not prepared to see what happens when their taxes are done come the beginning of the next year. Many families are scared to death when it comes to figuring out their taxes. This is because taxes are the largest expense that a family will run across through out the year. Often times a family will find out that they are paying more in taxes than what is required. There are many tips to help you not fall into this category.
Computer
One of the most popular ways to help you save taxes is to purchase a computer program such as TurboTax or H&R Block’s TaxCut. These programs are becoming more in depth every year can help you save money in several ways. By using one of these programs you will find that you will be able to e-file your tax return. This will help you to save on filing costs or having to pay an accountant or another type of tax preparer. A bonus is that because you have filed electronically you should get your money back in about two weeks.
Itemize
People sometimes lose out on money they are deserved because they do not itemize the deductions that they have. The reason why they do not itemize is because they are trying to save time. However what they are really doing is losing out on probably hundreds of dollars. Taking the time to itemize can help you get a larger return in the end. It is definitely worth the additional time that is need.
Purchase A House
If you are a person who has thought about purchasing a house but has not yet made the final decision you are losing out. You could be paying less tax by being able to deduct interest on the mortgage loan. If you are living in a home but are renting from someone the person you are renting from is receiving the extra dollars from your house. You might want to consider buying the house from your landlord.
401K
Another option for paying less tax is to sign yourself up for a 401K plan. This is a plan that puts money from your paycheck into a retirement account for you. The good thing here is that the money that is transferred into the 401K is not taxable income. Therefore you are paying less in taxes.
There are also other benefits to a 401K such as being able to borrow money from the plan. Many people with bad credit often turn to personal loans with bad credit lenders. With a loan from your 401K plan this will not be necessary because in reality you are borrowing from yourself.
Transfer Credit Card Debt
Another popular way to help you save money when it comes to tax time is to use the equity you have in your home as a debt consolidation loan. Your credit card interest is not tax deductible but the interest from a mortgage loan is. Many people will use a refinance or a second mortgage to help pay off their debts and then claim the interest on their taxes.
If you take the time to do your taxes the proper way you will find that you will have many more tax deductions and will owe a lot less in the amount of taxes that you pay. A little patience while doing the taxes can reward you with more money in the end.
Author Bio
Darrell is a guest post contributor. He loves to write on finance based issues.
Categories: Federal Tax, Income Tax, State Tax Tags: federal tax, income tax, saving money on taxes, taxes