Steven Leahy

IRS Missed Deadline

February 28, 2023 by admin

Monday February 27, 2023 – Remember that February 17, 2023 deadline Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen set for The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to create a strategic plan for spending the $80 billion Congress handed them? Yeah, neither does the IRS.

The February deadline came and went and the IRS simply did not meet the deadline. The IRS has excuses: former Commissioner Charles Rettig’s term expired, there is a confirmation process for the subsequent nominee Daniel Werfel, and a friend came in from out of town. Treasury has been working with the IRS to develop a plan since last summer.

This delay raises questions about the agency’s credibility and casts doubt on its ability to efficiently spend the money. While the document is still in progress, taxpayers should expect revisions as needs change. But don’t worry. The IRS will complete it in good time- now get back to doing your return. There is a deadline you know!

Attorney Steven A. Leahy looks at the latest IRS arrogance on Today’s Tax Talk.

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/restoring-america/faith-freedom-self-reliance/negligent-irs-gets-80-billion-but-misses-deadline-for-the-money

https://www.forbes.com/sites/howardgleckman/2023/02/22/the-irs-misses-its-deadline-for-completing-a-plan-to-spend-80-billion-in-new-money/?sh=7691e7031c2f

Steven A. Leahy is a tax attorney in Illinois. He was the host of the long-running popular Radio Show “The IRS Radio Hour” heard every Sunday evening on AM 560 The Answer. Attorney Leahy is also the author of the book “Deal With Your IRS Problems Today!” You can get a FREE copy of this important book at FreeIRSBook.com. Or Call 24/7 (312)664-6649

Do ANY Rules Apply To The IRS?

February 23, 2023 by admin

Wednesday February 22, 2023 – The Supreme Court is currently hearing an IRS case that could have a major impact on all Americans. The IRS wants to be able to access bank and other business records without notifying anyone. As it stands, the IRS has wide-reaching authority to obtain these records by simply issuing a subpoena in secret.

This case will decide if these actions violate the Fourth Amendment rights of third parties, such as customers and clients.

The Chamber of Commerce wrote in a brief that businesses must choose between two options in response to an IRS summons: “challenging the summons by filing a petition with the Tax Court or complying with the subpoena and disclosing confidential information to the IRS.” This creates a catch-22 situation, as businesses cannot challenge the summons without first complying with it, and could be penalized for not doing so in the interim.

This District Court decision in this case, Polselli v. United States Polselli v. United States, No. 19-10956, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 260543, at *1 (E.D. Mich. Nov. 16, 2020), and the 6th Circuit Appellate decision affirming the case, dangerously limits the privacy rights of individuals, weakens businesses’ ability to protect their customers’ information, and creates an environment in which businesses are forced to comply with IRS requests or face consequences.

Attorney Steven A. Leahy reviews this case and the implications should the United Supreme Court uphold it on Today’s Tax Talk.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/nicksibilla/2023/02/20/supreme-court-to-decide-if-irs-can-secretly-access-bank-records/?sh=5d31a288486c

https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=1450107970258318149&q=Polselli+v.+United+States+irs&hl=en&as_sdt=400006&as_vis=1

Crypto AI??

February 21, 2023 by admin

Crypto-Tuesday February 21, 2023 – Crypto mining facilities are becoming increasingly important in the AI world, as they offer the perfect opportunity to host AI processing while remaining within the blockchain space. Through various projects AI-related activities can be done within a decentralized environment. Furthermore, with the emergence of new ledgerless protocol, blockchain solutions are being developed specifically for AI applications.

Miners are starting to redirect their resources to power these AI networks and their applications. This could prove to be a win-win situation for both miners and developers of AI-based applications, as miners would benefit from an additional source of revenue while developers would have access to powerful distributed computing resources at low costs.

Ultimately, this could lead to the further decentralization of the global economy by enabling more people across the world to participate in the development of AI-based applications. Consequently, this could provide a much broader range of services and products for consumers, creating an even more accessible global market.

The hardware underlying AI will be a critical aspect of decentralizing the global economy. Repurposing of a portion of crypto mining hardware to running AI processing could have a revolutionary impact on the development of AI-based solutions beyond finance.

Crypto mining rigs are based in diverse legal jurisdictions and owned by a variety of different parties. A globally distributed AI network spread across crypto mining rigs would be dramatically more difficult for governments or other parties to centrally control than an AI network centered in Big Tech-owned data centers.

This would make it easier for nascent AI projects to get off the ground and open up new possibilities for both businesses and individuals when it comes to developing, managing, and participating in AI solutions. In this way, these crypto-mined AI networks could become a major driver of decentralization within the global economy.

Attorney Steven A. Leahy discusses these new AI possibilities on Today’s Tax Talk.

https://coinflip.tech/markets

https://cointelegraph.com/news/cryptocurrency-miners-may-lead-the-next-stage-of-ai

IRS Algorithms

February 21, 2023 by admin

Monday February 20, 2023 – This space has been pointing out that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is planning to devote its increased budget to machine learning and data analytics, rather than hiring thousands of new revenue agents.

This shift towards the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in making IRS decisions less transparent, as AI algorithms can be difficult or impossible to understand and their decisions are often cloaked in bureaucratic secrecy.

To protect American taxpayers Congress must insist on IRS algorithmic accountability. This includes publicizing pre-existing data sets used to train the algorithm, making available a detailed explanation of the algorithm’s rules and how it makes decisions, and providing a mechanism for taxpayers to challenge algorithms that appear to be arbitrary or unfair. Further, any AI decision made by the IRS should include some form of human review and oversight.

The use of artificial intelligence in government is unavoidable. However, it is essential that taxpayer rights remain paramount and that any AI decision has sufficient safeguards to protect them from being harmed by rogue algorithms. By increasing transparency and oversight of the IRS’s use of AI, Congress can ensure that taxpayers are not unfairly targeted or harmed by misguided algorithms.

Attorney Steven A. Leahy looks at AI algorithms and IRS decision-making on Today’s Tax Talk.

Rise of the tax machines: IRS algorithms are coming for you

https://www.forbes.com/sites/nicksibilla/2023/02/20/supreme-court-to-decide-if-irs-can-secretly-access-bank-records/?sh=5d31a288486c

3M COMPANY vs IRS

February 17, 2023 by admin

Thursday February 16, 3033 – National Review’s Travis Nix asks the question “Who is in charge of tax legislation, the IRS and the Department of the Treasury or Congress. The question is raised because of a recent Tax Court decision of 3M Company vs Commissioner of the IRS.

In the 3M case, the IRS claimed 3M should pay 6% tax royalties on net sales from its Brazilian subsidiary, even though Brazilian Law caps payment at 1%. Thereby double taxing the 5% difference.

The decision allows the IRS to ignore foreign laws which limit inter-company transactions and disregards the keystone of U.S. transfer-pricing regulations that allocate income as if both companies were negotiating with a non-related company, resulting in tax avoidance and evasion.

The decision may have severe economic consequences, such as lost market access for U.S. companies and less economic growth in both countries. Should Congress enact legislation overturning this regulation by mandating the IRS to respect foreign law in transfer-pricing cases?

Attorney Steven A. Leahy reviews this important Tax Court case on Today’s Tax Talk.

Congress Should Stop the IRS from Taxing ‘Phantom’ Income

https://aboutbtax.com/6Hi

IRS Missed Deadline

Do ANY Rules Apply To The IRS?

Crypto AI??

IRS Algorithms

3M COMPANY vs IRS

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