The Employee Retention Credit (ERC) was one of multiple federal programs that served as a financial lifeline to many businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic. By providing refundable credits to eligible businesses, the ERC helped many businesses stay afloat while also continuing to support their employees.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is cracking down on taxpayers who use Maltese pension plans to avoid federal income tax liability. Signed in 2011, the U.S.-Malta Tax Treaty opened a loophole that allowed (or at least arguably allowed) taxpayers to contribute appreciated assets to Maltese personal retirement plans and then take staggered tax-free distributions.

Submitting fraudulent loan documents to a federally insured bank is a federal crime. This is true regardless of whether the submission results in the issuance of a loan. The federal bank fraud statute (18 U.S.C. Section 1344) is extremely broad, allowing for prosecution of any one who “knowingly executes, or attempts to execute, a scheme or artifice . . . to defraud a financial institution.”

If you are wondering whether your employer will tell the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) about your income, the answer is almost certainly, “Yes.” While some unscrupulous companies may choose not to report anything to the IRS, most companies report their employees’ income not only because it is required, but also because it allows them to reduce the amount they owe.

For international partnerships, facing a federal tax audit is a complicated and high-risk proposition. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is heavily focused on enforcing partnership tax compliance, and under its BBA Centralized Partnership Audit Regime, it is taking a rigorous and structured approach to examining partnerships’ returns.