United States v Woods No. 12-562 – Texas Gold may be found in taxes. At least, that’s what the IRS could claim. A Texas Billionaire and his business partner are now arguing the case that the IRS has set against them; allegedly they used a tax shelter to shield them from unpaid taxes.
Billy Joe Combs and Gary Woods started their partnership fourteen years ago. They opened their tax shelter referred to as COBRA, or “Current Options Bring Reward Alternatives.” Allegedly they generated losses in order to counteract a financial windfall that McCombs was expecting. Audits were performed, and the business partners were taken to district court to argue their sham. They may have been exposed, but the court still ruled against the IRS trying to claim a 40% penalty. The Supreme Court is now in the hot-seat; as they listen to oral arguments over whether COBRA was in fact a shield for Woods to avoid tax evasion. The truth of the tax shelters was already exposed as a sham by lower courts; however it was a partnership involved which means Billy Combs and Gary Woods would not be individually held accountable as a tax penalty can only apply to the partnership involved, and not to individual partners. IRS Lawyers argue that if the tax returns on the partnership were consistent with individual tax returns, the state tax penalty should be able to be applied; and this could affect hundreds of millions for penalties against other tax shelters as well.
The Justices of Texas hardly see tax fraud accusations, unlike Southern California and seasoned Lawyers of Vincent W Davis & Associates, so they could tell you that an IRS tax lien or state tax lien is the first major step that the IRS and/or state will take against a taxpayer in order to collect back taxes from an individual. Besides becoming a major strike against your tax record and your credit report, a tax lien acts as an insurance policy to ensure the tax liability is not overlooked if other creditors should file suit and attempt to collect from you, a bankruptcy is filed, or the taxpayer attempts to sell their real estate, buy other real estate, or even apply for credit.
If you have back taxes, that means you should already be checking your options of Installment Agreement Program where you’ll pay back in monthly installments, or an Offer in Compromise where you will provide a smaller fee that has been settled upon. Let the tax resolution lawyers of Vincent W Davis & Associates answer your call today.
If you have any questions or would like to schedule a Free Consultation, please feel free to call us at 626-446-6442 or visit us at www.taxresolutionlawyers.com, where you will also find additional information, testimonials, and success stories.
