BAMAPHIN 22
04-13-2006, 06:27 PM
Maggie Loftus thought her day couldn't get any worse when IRS agents told her that her tax returns (To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.) were being audited.
Then they told her that the paid preparer who had done her taxes was suspected of submitting dozens of false claims that boosted clients' refunds and defrauded the government of more than $8 million.
For her, the bottom line was expensive: more than $5,000 in tax repayments, plus interest and penalties.
"I was totally shocked that a professional tax person could have done something like this to me," says Loftus, a single mother (To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.) of three and former client of the preparer based in St. Paul. "I had no idea that there was anything that wasn't right."
Today, as paid preparers complete more than 60% of the individual tax returns filed by Americans, questions are increasingly being raised about the reliability of those preparers, as well as about the federal government's limited oversight of the tax-preparation (To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.) field.
A USA TODAY review of scores of federal court proceedings against alleged problem preparers found that thousands of taxpayers have been hit with repayment demands and penalties since 2001 as the IRS moved to recover millions of dollars in tax losses. The victims, some of whom offered a rare inside look at their tax woes, often include immigrants, military recruits and others unfamiliar with the tax system.
Many of the preparers have been accused of using improper deductions and credits to inflate the size of tax refunds (To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.) in apparent efforts to attract new clients and increase profits, the court records show. Others charged a percentage of the inflated refunds as their fees.
To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
Then they told her that the paid preparer who had done her taxes was suspected of submitting dozens of false claims that boosted clients' refunds and defrauded the government of more than $8 million.
For her, the bottom line was expensive: more than $5,000 in tax repayments, plus interest and penalties.
"I was totally shocked that a professional tax person could have done something like this to me," says Loftus, a single mother (To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.) of three and former client of the preparer based in St. Paul. "I had no idea that there was anything that wasn't right."
Today, as paid preparers complete more than 60% of the individual tax returns filed by Americans, questions are increasingly being raised about the reliability of those preparers, as well as about the federal government's limited oversight of the tax-preparation (To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.) field.
A USA TODAY review of scores of federal court proceedings against alleged problem preparers found that thousands of taxpayers have been hit with repayment demands and penalties since 2001 as the IRS moved to recover millions of dollars in tax losses. The victims, some of whom offered a rare inside look at their tax woes, often include immigrants, military recruits and others unfamiliar with the tax system.
Many of the preparers have been accused of using improper deductions and credits to inflate the size of tax refunds (To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.) in apparent efforts to attract new clients and increase profits, the court records show. Others charged a percentage of the inflated refunds as their fees.
To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.