The IRS "War On Expats

beautiful cuenca wrote:

I am ready to give up my citizenship. They have caused so much stress in my life because of this. Put liens on my houses in the states how much more can they do to people.

If those liens are still in place, check with an attorney and your accountant before you renounce, to see if losing your U.S. citizenship would hinder your ability to get the liens lifted.

cccmedia in Quito

Wow, it is late n just received your note. How stressful, for you. Did you taxes, before you left? Why in the world would they do that?

Meant owe taxes?

There is a huge scam going on, it is not the IRS, I bet. Google about the scam. I have friends in the States that were called n threatened by the IRS. NOT, IRS does not call. There is a hot line to call. If you had all your taxes cleared n paid before you left why in God's name would you owe? It is a scam and please go online and read about it.

Although I doubt that Beautiful fell victim to a pretend taxman calling her in Cuenca (which the IRS does not do), the telephone tax scam is real and has been peaking during the past two tax seasons.  Collectively, it is the biggest tax scam ever, according to the Treasury Department inspector general for tax matters.

Forbes and politico.com have been following the scam and how to avoid it.  Google: irs tax phone scam...and the name of either publication.

One piece of their advice:  if you get a call that might be a scam or is supposedly the IRS threatening you with jail or property confiscation, hang up...or ask for their phone number.  One potential victim asked for a phone number to call back and discuss it further...and the scammer immediately hung up.

cccmedia in Quito

Oh, nevermind.

I deleted my response to some of the other half-baked responses on this thread, but be mindful people, some here who claim 'US citizenship' and million dollar tax penalties for unnamed tax offenses and unsupported allegations of IRS harassment, may not be providing you with the whole story.

Take a look at their user profiles.

Just sayin'.

cccmedia wrote:

Although I doubt that Beautiful fell victim to a pretend taxman calling her in Cuenca (which the IRS does not do), the telephone tax scam is real and has been peaking during the past two tax seasons.  Collectively, it is the biggest tax scam ever, according to the Treasury Department inspector general for tax matters.

Forbes and politico.com have been following the scam and how to avoid it.  Google: irs tax phone scam...and the name of either publication.

One piece of their advice:  if you get a call that might be a scam or is supposedly the IRS threatening you with jail or property confiscation, hang up...or ask for their phone number.  One potential victim asked for a phone number to call back and discuss it further...and the scammer immediately hung up.

cccmedia in Quito

Of course the IRS will always mail you statements first, usually not call unless you requested a call.  Another thing to do is thank the scammer for the heads up, ask them to mail you the paperwork, tell them you will take care of it face to face at the local IRS office.

You should also notify the IRS about the call.  The IRS takes a dim view of that sort of thing.

Do they investigate or do anything about it? Hard to believe people can be so naive.

Yes they do.  And if they can get their hot little hands on you...federal charges.

Scam...scam....scam....what a world

According to Accounting Today,  Societe Generale SA and 3 other Swiss banks agreed to pay a total of $2.2 million in penalties to avoid criminal prosecution.  This is peanuts compared to the settlement reached last year with the Credit Suisse Group AG's main subsidiary which pleaded guilty and paid $2.6 Billion in penalties.  There are other banks negotiating similar deals, but there are 12 banks with criminal charges pending who are NOT being offered any kind of deals.

In related fraud news, the accountant who signed off on Bernie Madoff's $17 billion deal never audited it, just gave Bernie a pack of his letterhead and a signature stamp and Bernie did the rest.  He got no jail time, 250 hours of community service, no fines.  He had been very helpful to get Madoff, and he apologized profusely to his family, including his 91 year old father, his mother-in-law and everyone else, all of  whom had lost their life savings to Bernie

Well, mugtech, if you are going to roll on somebody, always roll up.  And I am sure that heartfelt apology made everything better.  Was it made in court as part of his plea deal?

quito0819 wrote:

Well, mugtech, if you are going to roll on somebody, always roll up.  And I am sure that heartfelt apology made everything better.  Was it made in court as part of his plea deal?

Was made in court, don't know if it was part of the deal, but he pleaded guilty in 2009, so he had a lot of time to get his moment in court right.  Needless to say he will not be working as a CPA, like a rolling stone "When you got nothin', you got nothin' to lose"  All he could give them was his sorrow.  Probably wind up selling used cars, at age 55 his financial future looks bleak.

Sentencing hearings are some of greatest free drama available.

suefrankdahl wrote:

Scam...scam....scam....what a world

Anyone in the U.S. notice that almost everytime tv ads, or radio ads are on, there is now an ad from some company offering IRS advice, and guarenteeing to get you a deal for pennies on the dollar if you have overdue IRS debts? Wonder how legit they are? Kind of seems a bit suspicious.

Since Mugtech brought up Madoff in unrelated news. People should watch the American Greed series on CNBC. Madoff gets all the attention, but he's really just one of many. Probably 100's if not thousands more like him still running the same type of scam in the financial sector. Be wise, cautious, and paranoid about who you decide to invest with.

There is a whole tax fraud division dedicated to this scam. At least three friends in Calif. have been called numerous times by these  jackoffs. I believe I heard it stems from Russia. They picked the wrong friends to call, as they just played a long asking stupid questions, and if they took dimes, quarters, etc.

mugtech wrote:

there are 12 banks with criminal charges pending who are NOT being offered any kind of deals.

US Banks? On Wall St? Just curious

suefrankdahl wrote:

mugtech wrote:

there are 12 banks with criminal charges pending who are NOT being offered any kind of deals.

US Banks? On Wall St? Just curious

Very funny
Swiss Banks

Accounting Today reported that in response to a request from a Senator (R-NH), the IRS will now provide to the taxpayer copies of fraudulent tax returns filed with their SS#(ID Theft).  Supposedly this will help the victims figure out the source of the ID theft.  Few believe that will be the case, especially since the IRS said the tax return copies will be redacted.

In other ongoing fraud news, the chief investigator for the IRS said there will be more criminal charges in the FIFA bribery case.  He said he does not know how many or when, but it takes a long time to take down international criminal organizations.  Seems the investigation started after the FBI started investigating the Russian mob and came across the FIFA dealings.

Wonder if the are looking at Blatter?

quito0819 wrote:

Wonder if the are looking at Blatter?

He was defiant a few days ago, called it quits today.  What changed?

Wants to spend more time with his family?  Indictments pending?

mugtech wrote:

quito0819 wrote:

Wonder if the are looking at Blatter?

He was defiant a few days ago, called it quits today.  What changed?

Have to imagine everyone is starting to rat everyone else out for some sort of plea type deal. Maybe Blatter already made a deal. Something like resign, give us names, and we will take it easy on you, and not leak out all the details of your corrupt dealings. Assuming he was part of the corruption. Which is pretty likely.

One wonders what it took to get the World Cup to Qatar?
Big numbers.

mugtech wrote:

One wonders what it took to get the World Cup to Qatar?
Big numbers.

You sound skeptical Mugs. Am sure it was all legit, and on the up and up. I mean really, what are the chances an oil rich country would be passing out suitcases full of cash around?

j600rr wrote:

mugtech wrote:

One wonders what it took to get the World Cup to Qatar?
Big numbers.

You sound skeptical Mugs. Am sure it was all legit, and on the up and up. I mean really, what are the chances an oil rich country would be passing out suitcases full of cash around?

Absolutely, j600rr!  Anybody who knows anything at all about the game knows you can't beat the120 degree weather that Qatar enjoys.

On a lighter note, one of the defendants (from Trinidad) used an article in the Onion to prove that the US was out to take control of FIFA. - and did so on YouTube.

Can always depend on the Onion, for a good laugh

Hello,
If you're referring to the 2020 America Report, it is akin to "news" reporting on the Faux News -- simply for entertainment and media histrionics. Rest assured - it just isn't true.
PS

THe IRS did not call me in Cuenca. They sent out notices to my U.S address. I thought it was a joke at first telling me to pay 1.2 million dollars or make a deal and pay 10%. Then after calling so many times and getting several agents on the phone who don't give a dam & telling me a different story I finally was told by one agent that someone used my social security number for the past three years and got a refund. The question is " How the hell would they issue a refund if i owe money????They would not give me the address the refund check went to. They told me to file a fraud document and call the credit companies to also report it which I did. I am so frustrated just dealing with each idiot I get on the phone. It is going to costs me thousands of dollars to get a tax attorney and you can't get that back when you prove they were wrong. The IRS put a lien on my home I own free and clear so I can't sell it. The U.S is so screwed up and the IRS hires what I call just phone operators because you can't deal with the same agent when you call back or get any help from anyone. They want to make it difficult. It is so crazy for me to owe that I would have had to make millions of dollars...I wish. Anybody know a good tax attorney? I tried to find one in Cuenca,

They did not call in Cuenca. I got notices to my U.S address and thought it was a joke especially when they offered to take 10%. They put a lien on my home and levied my bank accounts. For me to owe that money do you know how much i would have had to make in three years? They went back to 2005,206,2007 sent the notices out in 2010 and I am still dealing with them. They sent  a refund check out to someone using my social security which I was told by one agen which does not make any sense. if you the IRS they don't send you a refund. They told me there could be fraud and to file a certain document pertaining to the fraud and report it to the credit agencies and they would investigate it. They would not give me the address the refunds went to. Now you tell me that they are not screwed up???

You are wise to post on the forum about the latest details, Beautiful, because you are clearly having problems coping and seeing the situation in context.

1.  It's definitely frustrating trying to contact parties in the U.S. by overseas phone hookup.  That's a given.  Expecting it to be otherwise would be unrealistic.  This frustration-reality makes accomplishing things overseas take much longer.

Approach any calls you make to the U.S. about this with patience by preparing yourself mentally and emotionally.  It is likely this mess will not be cleared up quickly.  But there is no reason it can´t be cleared up.

2. Appreciate the fact that you have made progress.  You now know, at least in general terms, how this screw-up occurred.  Have faith in the concept that you will get this completely cleared up, even though you may not see the way out at this moment. 

3.  Obsessing over the fact that they won't give you the scammer's address is counter-productive.  Bringing the scammer to justice should not be your main concern right now.  You can most likely clear your alleged obligation without that.

If you switch point-of-view and look at this from the IRS perspective, of course they won't disclose the address.  They have lots of messed-up cases. They can´t permit a headline writer to say "Scammer Attacked by Victim After IRS Gives Out Home Address."  It is likely that you might not be able to achieve anything productive anyway by having the address.

4.  If you had unlimited funds, you might be wise to hire a "good tax attorney" and his investigator at $400 an hour for the attorney, the P-I fees plus expenses.  But there may be pro bono victim advocates or other resources.  Put your energy into researching and networking for that.

5.  Take any reasonable steps the IRS lays out for you, as this may resolve the situation eventually.

6.  If you post again, consider helping us to guide you by telling us more about the house with the lien.  Do you want to sell it?  Is it vacant or tenanted?  Is there a property manager or someone looking after it?  Would you go back to the U.S. if necessary to deal with the house or related issues?  Is it draining your resources to the point where your capacity for patience is being exhausted?  Do you have a friend or relative in the U.S. who can assist you with some of this if necessary?

cccmedia in Quito

Sorry but after having read about this poor person's problems and frustration, and then reading the advice you have put forth, I have to bud in and commend you. You are giving very sound advice and she would do well to listen and systematically move forward using the approach you recommend. I am Canadian and can say all my years on this lovely planet, our Government is no different. Every single dealing I have had with Canadian Government is so extremely frustrating. I currently live in the Province of Quebec, Canada and here we have to file two tax returns, one to The Feds. and another to Quebec. If you have an issue especially with Quebec, each person you deal with on the phone, I swear are from faraway land, can barely speak English or French, so talk about frustrating.

Back to the matter at hand, perhaps the lovely lady could setup a face-to-face meeting with the IRS? I know we can do this in Canada especially when the word "fraud" is in the picture. Regardless, the steps you are recommending are sound advice. You are a wise person!!! Bravo and thank God for good Samaritans like you.
Roberto- Canadian

Ccc media has the right approach.  Often the IRS gets information that it determines was not included on the original tax return and then does a worst case scenario and sends the taxpayer a suggested modification of the original tax return, and unless they hear otherwise, decides that the suggested modifications are real changes, please send the increase in taxes, penalties and interest.
Case in point.  I have had about 10 occasions when a taxpayer cashed in a cd, and since they were just getting their money back and had reported the interest earned, thought they were finished.  However, the holder of the cd reported to the IRS 100,000 in net proceeds which the taxpayer did not report.  The IRS assumed it was a 100,000 short term capital gain, taxed as ordinary income, and sent a bill for 25,000 in taxes plus penalties and interest.  We sent the IRS a letter saying it was a cashed cd, the taxpayer basis was 100,000, the tax return was correct as filed, please abate all taxes due, penalties and interest.  Within 90 days we received the IRS nevermind letter, case closed.
This is not to say the IRS is easy to deal with, they can be obtuse and not interested in your problem, especially if they figure you have been avoiding them since 2010.  The IRS will send you copies of all the tax returns filed using your SS#, that would be a start.  Since you were developing real estate projects I would hope that you kept all the paperwork and tax returns concerning said projects.
Good luck.

Bureaucrats can be very difficult. Always found it is best to stroke their egos. They are self-important people If you get them PO'd they will shut you down. It makes things worse. When I feel like screaming or otherwise losing it I get off the phone for the day. My 2 cents.