In the criminal justice system, tax-based offenses are considered especially heinous. The dedicated detectives who investigate these costly felonies are members of an elite squad known as the IRS Criminal Investigations unit. These are their stories.
FinancialStrategy
A Billion Dollars Later, Now What?
Los Angeles recently celebrated a milestone that sounds impressive until you read the fine print: its mansion tax has now raised roughly $1 billion since voters approved it. Champagne all around, right? Well, maybe hold the cork. Because according to reporting, less than 1 percent of that money has actually gone toward affordable housing — the very reason voters were told this tax existed in the first place. And now California is considering a new “billionaire tax” on assets over $1 billion, which is already driving wealthy residents like Google founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page to prepare out-of-state moves.
When “Fair Share” Sounds Like “Find the Exit”
Raising taxes on the rich is usually a party trick politicians pull out when they want applause, not when they actually plan to do it. Lately, though, some of them are dusting it off again, and high earners are reacting the same way people do when the waiter raises an eyebrow and says, “So . […]
The Fine Art of Getting Caught
When most people think of taxes, they think of income tax — the annual bloodletting every April that funds everything from fighter jets to the world’s slowest website redesigns. But there’s another tax that quietly siphons billions every year without nearly as much drama: sales tax.