IRS documents reveal that the agency has done little to crack down on private placement life insurance — a tax avoidance tool for wealthy investors — despite its concerns about the tax strategy. Check out the #exclusive in @taxnotes.com (free link) bit.ly/3W2Sxpr

Freedom Law School's Peymon Mottahedeh is among influencers who promote misleading tax strategies on social media. While Mottahedeh has managed to avoid prison, some of his followers haven’t been as lucky. The latest @taxnotes.com #investigation from @cadystanton.bsky.social bit.ly/4dxJJOD

The IRS has spent decades working to complete a modernization project, which has faced cost overruns and delays as well as recent setbacks caused by DOGE, former IRS employees say. At the moment, there is no end in sight. Read the story in @taxnotes.com bit.ly/4A6JXWq

A Utah company is pitching investors on a strategy allowing them to avoid income taxes while helping disaster victims. The deal might be too good to be true, but that isn't stopping some tax professionals from promoting it. Read the investigation in @taxnotes.com bit.ly/4gDe2E4

I partnered with @planetmoney.bsky.social to trace the lifecycle of a tax loophole that began in Malta. We listen to the secret tapes that show how the wealthiest Americans fought back against the IRS with help from a top Trump administration official. Listen to the episode: n.pr/4uBJDM6

The leaked tapes that show how the rich avoid taxes : Planet Money

Tax avoidance -- that is, legally reducing your tax bill -- is as American as apple pie. But the line between tax avoidance and tax evasion is often a grey one. On today’s show, a collaboration with T...

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It was great working with @fountain.bsky.social on this!

Tax Notes@taxnotes.com · 4mo ago

Check out today's episode of NPR's Planet Money, featuring Tax Notes investigations editor @laurenloricchio.bsky.social. 👇 In this collaboration with Tax Notes, Lauren helps trace the lifecycle of a tax loophole that began in Malta.

The IRS has begun the process of firing a special agent leading investigations into abuse of Malta pension plans and Puerto Rico’s Act 60 tax incentives, raising questions about the future of those enforcement efforts. Read the story in @taxnotes.com bit.ly/4u6pr4p

Unwatched: How State Audit Selection Systems Bypass Oversight bit.ly/4tLcyMU The latest @taxnotes.com investigation from Paul Jones and Emily Hollingsworth, outside the paywall

Treasury missed the March 16 deadline to post an annual report online that is used to evaluate whether it is fulfilling its obligations under the Freedom of Information Act. The delay comes during #SunshineWeek and amid ongoing concerns about the Trump administration’s transparency. bit.ly/4smwjKA

Convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein established tax-advantaged trusts that could help shield his assets after he was indicted in 2006 for soliciting prostitution in Florida, according to documents released by the Justice Department. Read the story for free in @taxnotes.com : bit.ly/4lr3V7q

The IRS has awarded millions of dollars’ worth of contracts to Palantir Technologies, a company embroiled in controversy over reports that it is helping the Trump administration build a searchable database of tax data and other information about U.S. citizens. Read more: https://taxnotes.co/4roK8Ye

Citizens for Equality in Tax Enforcement has urged @ronwyden.bsky.social to investigate why the IRS has failed to finalize proposed regulations that would designate Malta pension plans as a listed transaction. Read the story in @taxnotes.com bit.ly/4a9F2ZR

When the IRS moved to curb abuse of Malta pension plan arrangements, advisers turned to a powerful Washington tax lobbyist for help. @laurenloricchio.bsky.social & @chandrawallace.bsky.social explain how Kenneth Kies was engaged by a company offering Malta pension plans: https://taxnotes.co/4aEAN8O

When the IRS moved to curb abuse of Malta pension plan arrangements, advisers turned to a powerful Washington tax lobbyist for help. Read the investigation for free in @taxnotes.com taxnotes.co/4aEAN8O

Don't miss @cadystanton.bsky.social's two-part series Priced Out: How a 1990s Housing Policy is Worsening the Housing Crisis Congress Gave Developers Flexibility. It’s Costing People Their Homes. bit.ly/49H0ANk Absent Congress, Protecting LIHTC-Funded Housing Has Fallen to States bit.ly/4keXnIn

Tax Notes is launching a #FOIA newsletter in the new year! If you work in tax, law, public policy, or journalism, this newsletter is for you! Subscribe to get access to the latest documents and stories based on our findings. @taxnotes.com bit.ly/4jetKq7

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Investigations initiated by the IRS into abusive tax schemes fell by 63 percent from the previous year, according to an annual report released December 12. Read the story in @taxnotes.com bit.ly/4oWaiQ8

Before Switzerland’s largest life insurance company agreed to pay the U.S. government more than $77 million for facilitating tax evasion, it arranged private placement life insurance policies for Russian oligarchs, leaked documents from @icij.org show. Story in @taxnotes.com taxnotes.co/3XdFjUq

Our latest @taxnotes.com investigation into Puerto Rico's Act 60 tax incentives examines legal opinions used by wealthy investors to dodge their tax obligations. Check out the story from me, Sarah Paez, and @chandrawallace.bsky.social, now outside the paywall: bit.ly/4ouqd96

Legal opinions argue that taxpayers can source gains to Puerto Rico that were accrued before establishing residency in Puerto Rico in some circumstances. That advice could put taxpayers on the wrong side of the IRS. Our latest @taxnotes.com investigation bit.ly/3Jj4rpy

An IRS effort to increase audits of passthrough entities had just launched when a conservative lobbying effort was mobilized to dismantle it. Read the story outside the @taxnotes.com paywall bit.ly/47i6ou7

A Texas resident is having buyer’s remorse after purchasing “sovereign tribal tax credits” and learning the credits may not be respected by the IRS. Story in @taxnotes bit.ly/3INo3li

A Look Inside the IRS Response to Trump’s DEI Orders Read the story for free in @taxnotes.com bit.ly/3IrqcTv

A Texas lawyer concluded that the tribal tax credits being sold by White River Energy Corp. “are real and recognized by the U.S. Congress and Government,” even though the IRS says the credits don’t exist. Story in @taxnotes.com bit.ly/4gnXyz3

Legal Opinion Describes Tribal Credits as ‘Real and Recognized’ | Tax Notes

Tax Notes is the first source of essential daily news, analysis, and commentary for tax professionals whose success depends on being trusted for their expertise.

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Hundreds of thousands of taxpayers who are victims of identity theft and are facing long waits to get their refunds. Staff reductions and budget cuts could make things worse. My latest for @taxnotes.com bit.ly/4fL6wGc

Staff and Budget Cuts Could Exacerbate Identity Theft Delays | Tax Notes

Tax Notes is the first source of essential daily news, analysis, and commentary for tax professionals whose success depends on being trusted for their expertise.

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The IRS’s largest compliance division is poised to have less staff than it did in 2018, after its employees have left through voluntary separations imposed by the Trump administration. Story in @taxnotes bit.ly/4m4HZOI

Andrew De Mello has been removed as acting IRS chief counsel and replaced by Kenneth Kies, Treasury assistant secretary for tax policy, a move that was announced internally last month by IRS Commissioner Billy Long. Story in @taxnotes.com bit.ly/46ODdAc

Reviews of the IRS’s artificial intelligence and data analytics may be limited under changes implemented by the Trump administration. Story in @taxnotes.com bit.ly/4nHYMIJ

Congressional Republicans are poised to pass an expansion of a popular 40-year-old tax credit. But shortcomings in data and reporting mean no one is sure exactly how effective it is. The latest from @cadystanton.bsky.social bit.ly/3I6YMlq

The National Taxpayer Advocate calls for improvements to the IRS's FOIA program in her 2026 objectives report to Congress. The report cites the @taxnotes series Faults in FOIA, which highlighted problems with FOIA at the IRS. Read the series: taxnotes.com/tax-notes-ex...

Tax Notes Exclusives | Tax Notes

Tax Notes is the first source of essential daily news, analysis, and commentary for tax professionals whose success depends on being trusted for their expertise.

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