NEWSWIRE

Former IRS Agent Sentenced for Investment Scam

A former Internal Revenue Service revenue agent has been sentenced to nearly three years in prison for his involvement with a scam that bilked investors out of more than $8 million by persuading them to buy unregistered securities in various Internet companies.

TaxMasters Goes Bankrupt

Tax resolution chain TaxMasters has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

House GOP Proposes Tax Bracket Consolidation

House Budget Committee chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wisc., has introduced a Republican-backed alternative to the Obama administration’s fiscal 2013 budget, including a proposal to consolidating the current six individual income tax brackets into just two brackets of 10 and 25 percent.

IRS Forms 'SWAT Team' for Tax Dodge Crackdown

The Internal Revenue Service is staffing up with high-powered talent to crack down on companies shifting profits from country to country to lower their tax bills, a hot strategy the agency has targeted before with only limited success.

Retirement Optimism on the Rise

More Americans are feeling optimistic about their retirement savings, according to a new survey.

IRS Proposes Requiring Periodic Updates of Employer Information

The Internal Revenue Service has proposed regulations that would require taxpayers with Employer Identification Numbers to periodically provide the IRS with up-to-date information.

Mets Owners Settle with Madoff Trustee

An investment group including New York Mets chairman and CEO Fred Wilpon and Mets president Saul Katz have agreed to pay $162 million over five years to settle with the trustee overseeing the liquidation of Bernard Madoff’s investment firm.

Tax Preparer Convicted of Promoting $763M Tax Refund Scheme

A Southern California tax preparer was convicted in a Seattle courtroom for helping nearly 1,000 people claim more than $763 million in fraudulent tax refunds by preparing falsified tax returns on their behalf.

IRS Needs to Fix Security Controls

Weaknesses in the Internal Revenue Service’s financial and tax-processing systems continue to jeopardize the confidentiality, integrity and availability of sensitive taxpayer information, according to a new report by the Government Accountability Office.