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.
taxplanning
The Ultimate Celebrity Flex – Your Own Tax
Getting something named after yourself usually means you’ve accomplished something, good or bad. Charles Ponzi didn’t invent fraud, but he was so good at it that his name lives on in infamy. Ernesto Miranda had no idea that confessing to kidnapping and rape would establish a new Constitutional right. Edward Murphy had no idea that his offhand remark about a technician wiring sensors incorrectly would lead to the law that if anything can go wrong, it will.
When TikTok Becomes TaxTok
Buckle up, buttercups — it’s time to talk about the avalanche of advice flooding Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and beyond. You know the kind: “Just buy a short-term rental and poof — zero tax!” It’s catchy. It’s viral. And it’s mostly hype. Sure, short-term rentals can offer tax advantages, maybe even significant ones. But the idea that you […]
ChatGPT, Tax Planner
Remember when we thought robots were just coming for factory jobs, truck driving jobs, and maybe your nephew’s job at Taco Bell? Well, surprise: now they’re gunning for your tax pro. That’s right, the machines have been let loose on the U.S. tax code, and the results are equal parts brilliant, terrifying, and hilarious.
Houston, We Have No Taxes
You know how you sometimes hear about highflying companies sending miserly tax checks to Uncle Sam? Well, buckle up — SpaceX might just be the star of that show. According to a New York Times exposé, SpaceX has privately told investors that because of a 2017 tweak to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, it may never have to pay federal income tax, even if they do succeed in helping mankind colonize Mars.
Sparks Just Got Pricey
By now you’ve seen the clip. A kiss cam at a Coldplay concert outside Boston zoomed in on a couple enjoying a night of yellow lights and “Viva La Vida.” Except it turns out they weren’t just anyone. They were both high-level execs at the same company. Both married. Just not to each other.