Health & Fitness
IRS Tax Debt in Greenwich, CT: IRS Tax Debt Prevents Couple From Leaving the US
Tax debtors are prevented from leaving the US with an outstanding IRS tax liability.
The focus of our practice is assisting taxpayers with complex financial issues, including bankruptcy & financial restructuring and civil and criminal taxpayer representation, and we see many taxpayers and in Greenwich, Connecticut dealing with outstanding tax liabilities, either from failing to file properly or a failed business venture.
In addition, the new enforcement issue of foreign bank accounts and FBAR enforcement has created additional financial and tax headaches for our clients in Greenwich, Connecticut. Recent changes I the government view of enforcement has raised the stakes for taxpayers who owe money to the United States, whether in Greenwich, Connecticut or elsewhere.
A married couple was recently prevented from leaving the U.S. because they had fraudulently obtained a refund, transferred the money out of the country and refused to repatriate it or to make voluntary repayments to the IRS.
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The court applied the four-factor test in Mathewson, DC Fla., and found that
the couple had an outstanding tax liability,
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that the taxpayers’ departure from the U.S. would substantially prejudice the collection of that tax liability because they had no substantial assets in the U.S. and
the government had few other tools to use to collect against the couple’s foreign assets.
a review of the record showed that the couple had sufficient funds in a bank and some minority interests that they could liquidate to reduce their debt to the government. Therefore, the harm to the U.S. of losing the opportunity to obtain those funds outweighed the harm to the taxpayers.
The conclusion reached for those of us who routinely handle civil and criminal taxpayer issues is that taxpayers need to deal with these issues prior to simply exiting the United States, though in the case above it certainly seemed that the couple intentionally tried to avoid and/or frustrate collection of the tax debt by the IRS.
If you have any questions about civil or criminal issues in Greenwich, Connecticut or elsewhere please feel free to contact me at (203) 285-8545 or by email at egreen@gs-lawfirm.com.
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Stamford, CT 06901
Ph. (203) 285-8545 x 102
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