Florida Man Charged with Violent Threats against IRS

There are some pretty fierce-sounding gangster names in the history of American white-collar crime.  You’ve got your “Greasy Thumb,” your “Pistol Pete,” “The Butcher,” and “Big Tuna,” just to name a few.  I gotta believe that some of these guys imagined their thuggish names in print or reveled in the thought of becoming a household name.  But the latest tax criminal out of South Florida clearly didn’t give his nickname much thought.

“The Squirrel” borrowed an acquaintance’s phone to call the FBI and inform them that a nearby IRS building would “go up in smoke” in two hours.  The police traced the call to the phone’s owner who thought the perp’s name was “The Rabbit,” (obviously not a memorable enough name) but when he was found, he was quick to correct the authorities, telling them that his true moniker was actually The Squirrel (because that’s so much better, right?).  I can imagine him spelling it out for the FBI and making sure they got it right.  Maybe this is just me, but if I’m caught and I’m going to go through the trouble of correcting my thug name, I’m going to come up with something a little better than “Squirrel.”

And, although he did confess to placing that call to the FBI, the lawyer in me sees at least a couple harmless interpretations of the phrase “go up in smoke.”  Maybe he saw a vision of the place burning down and he called to warn them.  Maybe.  By the way, Florida seems to be a gathering place for not just anti-tax folks, but the serious IRS-haters and tax criminals.  I’m still not sure why.

If this article has inspired you to work on your own nickname, you might want to check out this gangsta name generator, although I personally have to question the results as mine came out “La Llorona,” which I think means “the crybaby” (feminine form).  Gangstaname.com generated a more accurate name, I think: “Machete Masta Crab Whacka.”

IRS Fails Taxpayers Again in 2015

Based on the interim report published by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA), the IRS achieved a 38.5 percent Level of Service and a 24.6 average hold time on IRS phone lines during the 2015 filing season.  I don’t really know what Level of Service entails, but I know that 38 percent is really only good if we’re talking batting average.  You may be wondering, “How do you get such a low score?  I could probably score higher than 38 percent on a test by guessing.”  Well, this is how: you get 45.6 million phone calls and you answer only 4.2 million of them.  BAM.  Done.

Read the report.  It will make you cringe.

Tax Day 2015 Has Arrived!

Free food is great and all, but is that really what you want on Tax Day?  I suppose if you’ve already filed and you’re just waiting for a refund check, then you may have an appetite for a free Hard Rock Cafe burger, a Schlotzksky’s sandwich, or red velvet cake at Tony Roma’s.  But if you’re like many other taxpayers, you have had to work for every dime you earn and you maybe haven’t had time to get your taxes done yet.  Of course, it is also difficult to be motivated to file when you know you’re going to owe.  It you fit this description, then maybe you’re looking for a more valuable bit of Tax Day info, like how to file an extension.

Keep in mind that the automatic extension is “automatic” because it is granted to anyone who asks without the need to show reasonable cause, not because it happens automatically.  You have to so something.  You have to ask for it**.  The IRS website is extremely sluggish right now due to all the extra traffic it gets this time of year, but requesting an extension online using Form 4868 is still the fastest and most convenient way to do it.

You can file it with your electronic payment, through your tax filing software, or through your tax professional.  You’ll need your name, address, and social security number.  You will also be asked to estimate your 2014 tax liability, provide the amount you have paid towards that liability (if any), the amount you are sending in with the form (if any), and lastly, the total remaining liability.

So, what do you get when you file an extension?  How is six extra months?  Congratulations, you may take a deep breath and relax a little because you don’t have to file until October 15th now.  But, there is one big “BUT” associated with filing an automatic extension: an extension to file does not also give you an extension to pay.  If you don’t pay on time then you’ll be charged interest and late payment penalties.

**You don’t even have to request an extension if you are a US citizen living abroad, or if you are serving in the military outside the US.