Just in time for the holidays, Congress passed, and President Obama approved, a short-term extension of the Temporary Payroll Tax Continuation Act of 2011. The deal ensures that the social security withholding tax on employees stays at the current rate for the next few months.

Instead of the payroll tax reverting back to the rate of 6.2 percent, the law keeps the rate at 4.2 percent until the extension ends in March, 2012. A jump in the payroll tax rate to 6.2 percent would have equated to an average tax increase of $1,000 per year for 160 million Americans. To put it in simpler terms, the typical worker’s salary in this country would have been reduced by approximately $40 per pay period without the law.

But not all wage-earners benefit from the temporary extension. The deal includes a “recapture” provision for high-wage earning employees who receive more than $18,350 during the two month period that the law is in effect. Such high-wage earners are slapped with an additional income tax equal to 2 percent for the two month period. This recapture tax is not subject to any deductions or credits. However, the good news for these high-wage earners is that the recapture tax could be abolished when congress returns from the winter recess to negotiate a full-year extension of the payroll tax.

The deal also included several non-tax related provisions. For one, it extended the emergency federal unemployment benefits by two months to ensure that approximately 1.8 million jobless workers would not run out of benefits in January. It also extended the so called “doc fix” by delaying for two months a scheduled 27 percent reduction in payments to Medicare physicians. And to appease Republicans, the law requires President Obama to decide within the next 60 days whether he will go along with the proposed construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline.

Employers are urged to implement the new payroll tax rate as soon as possible but not later than January 31, 2012. Any offsetting adjustments for Social Security tax over-withheld during January should also be made as soon as possible but not later than March 31, 2012. Workers need not take any action to realize the short-term cuts as employers and payroll companies are tasked with handling the withholding changes.

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San Francisco CA – October 26, 2011 – The United States (“U.S.”) and Korean Governments have entered into SCIP to combat tax evasion in the partnering countries.  The agreement between the U.S. and South Korea will allow the IRS to obtain records from South Korea’s National Tax Service (NTS) to verify and compare information reported by South Korean Americans to both agencies.  The NTS is focused on monitoring illegal schemes by South Korean businesses and individuals that move funds abroad, avoid taxes offshore and participate in money laundering schemes.

The IRS is interested in the actions of U.S. taxpayers centered in South Korea, particularly South Korean investors, who invest money illegally through affiliates in other countries.  SCIP mandates that Foreign Bank Account Holders (“FBA”) properly report their assets.  Since 2009, South Korea has entered into information-sharing agreements with 14 regions and countries including the British Virgin Islands, Costa Rica, The Cayman Islands, Malaysia, Panama and, now, the United States. 

Woori Bank, the oldest continuously operating bank in Korea, in response to SCIP, will call upon tax attorney Steve Moskowitz to help South Koreans comply with disclosing overseas holdings to the IRS.  Two seminars addressing SCIP and IRS programs will be held at the Domain Hotel in Sunnyvale, CA on November 3, 2011 and the Walnut Creek Marriott Hotel in Walnut Creek, CA on November 4, 2011.

Mr. Moskowitz, with over three decades of experience in tax law will address The Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (“FBAR”) and a proven course of action, among other tax concerns for South Koreans.

“The IRS is targeting South Koreans living in the United States, who are suspected of tax evasion, and has every right to request financial information from the South Korean government regarding Korean-Americans living in the United States,” says Steve Moskowitz.  “This could include real estate records, bank account information, tax returns and other pertinent information.  Many South Koreans living in the United States are nervous because they may have an inheritance from parents, have amassed funds prior to immigrating to the United Sates or possess investment funds and are unsure about reporting these assets,” he adds.

Woori Bank is headquartered in Seoul, Korea and includes the former Commercial Bank of Korea, Hanil Bank and Peace Bank.  Steve Moskowitz is the founding partner of Moskowitz LLP, and routinely provides advice regarding Offshore Accounts, Amnesty Programs, Passive Foreign Investment Companies (“PFIC”), Qualified Electing Funds (“QEF”), market-to-market calculations, informational returns, compliance and all other tax issues.

Legal Analyst Steve Moskowitz Comments

San Francisco, CA- The jury of eight women and four men are seated for the trial of Barry Bonds.  They are a cross-section of ages and professions, including an engineer, two nurses, an investment firm executive and a phlebotomist.  Barry Bonds arrived at court today looking calmer than his initial appearance yesterday.  Is his defense that he thought he was using flax seed oil and a pain relieving balm and not steroids believable?  

The prosecutors must show Bonds' testimony was knowingly false to the grand jury. Bond's trainer Greg Anderson chose not to be present at the trial has been ordered back to prison for his refusal to testify. Steve Moskowitz, Attorney and Legal Analyst will be providing Comcast TV daily coverage of the trial reporting from the standpoint of a litigator. Jeff Novitzky, the agent who started the BALCO investigation took the stand to talk about the investigation and offered the details of the investigation, which even included combing through BALCO trash looking for evidence of steroid use and substantiating financial records.

Attorney Steve Moskowitz is featured on Sports and the Law every Thursday evening on Chronicle Live providing the legal perspective on athletes that are accused of wrong-doing, the legal issues of the NFL, NBA and MLB, back room deals and more. Steve is also the senior partner of the Law Offices of Stephen Moskowitz, LLP.  For over 30 years Steve and his Law firm, located in the San Francisco financial district, resolve tax related issues and a wide variety of other tax matters foreign or domestic, civil and criminal.   Visit www.stevemoskowitz.com or call 415-394-7200.

Jury Selection Begins Today

San Francisco, CA- With a badly tarnished reputation and a not guilty plea, Barry Bonds will appear in U.S. District Court today for the start of his trial. He will listen to arguments asking a jury to decide whether baseball's home run king set his historic mark while using a long list of banned drugs. Bonds faces one count of obstruction and four charges of lying to a grand jury. Bonds began the day looking nervous but by the time the day ended and the jury was selected it could be the Prosecution that will ultimately be nervous about the outcome of the case. One of the jurors chosen, one of the two African American women on the jury, said during questioning that she thought only Major League Baseball should be involved in steroids, not the government. All it takes is one juror to have reasonable doubt for Bonds to be acquitted.

Steve Moskowitz, Attorney and Legal Analyst will be covering the trial and reporting on the legal angle of proceedings for Comcast on a daily basis.  He and his team have followed the developments of the case from the initial indictment three years ago and are able to offer an intuitive, open opinion of the proceedings from a litigation standpoint. Judges and lawyers today are questioning over 100 prospective jurors to select the final 12 plus two alternates for the pool.  In the past, Steve has pointed out that this task is challenging as there is little chance there is a juror in town that has not heard or read something about the case. Opening arguments are to begin Tuesday, with the trial expected to last three to four weeks. 

Attorney Steve Moskowitz is featured on Sports and the Law every Thursday evening on Chronicle Live providing the legal perspective on athletes that are accused of wrong-doing, the legal issues of the NFL, NBA and MLB, back room deals and more. Steve is also the senior partner of the Law Offices of Stephen Moskowitz, LLP.  For over 30 years Steve and his Law firm, located in the San Francisco financial district, resolve tax related issues and a wide variety of other tax matters foreign or domestic.   Visit www.stevemoskowitz.com or call 415-394-7200.

Court Hears Arguments on Press Organizations’ Motion to Unseal Jury Questionnaires - Public’s Access to Voir Dire and Trial

San Francisco, CA - Federal District Court:  Today the Court heard arguments from Barry Bonds’ defense team, the US Attorney, and the Attorney for the Press Organizations on whether or not the Court would unseal information regarding the prospective jurors in this case.   The court will issue its ruling in the coming days. Also, the Court requested that the Defense and Government agree upon what instruction the Judge should tell the jury about “why” Greg Anderson is not testifying.  

It has long been upheld that there is a constitutional right of access to a criminal trial which includes access to the process by which jurors are selected.   At least in California, this includes access to the written juror questionnaires.  Notwithstanding this long upheld precedent, there are limited exceptions where the Court can control access.  For the Bonds case, it appears that the Court, without solicitation, ordered the sealing of the prospective juror questionnaires. The Attorneys for the Press Organizations requested that the Court vacate this order and grant immediate access.

At issue today in the Court was whether or not the public would have access to prospective juror information obtained during voir dire (the questioning of prospective jurors in court). Voir dire is used to determine if any juror is biased and/or unable to deal fairly with the issues or if there is cause to not allow a juror to serve.  In addition, one of the inherent purposes of the voir dire is for the attorneys to get an understanding of the personalities and likely views of the people on the jury panel.

In Opposition, the United States Attorneys cited a memorandum and opinion which came up in the Rod Blagojevich matter, wherein that Court limited access to the names of the jurors and the questionnaires in an effort to allow “jurors to remain anonymous during and for a brief period after trial ...”  See Blagojevich, 2010 WL2934476.    Further, the defense did not oppose the US Attorney’s Opposition. 

In addition, the parties also discussed the procedural matters for the trial as well as the need for agreement over evidence that the Government intends to include on its Exhibit list regarding voice messages left on Kimberly Bell’s voice mail. The Court will hear arguments on the voice messages on March 17, 2011.

Legal Analyst Steve Moskowitz has his team covering the court proceedings to witness what evidence is being admitted, which evidence is crucial to the Bonds case and what other topics are occurring in the courtroom and might play a role in the case.   Attorney Steve Moskowitz is featured on Sports and the Law every Thursday evening on Chronicle Live and provides the legal perspective on athletes that are accused of wrong-doing, the legal issues of the NFL, NBA and MLB, back room deals and more. Steve is also the senior partner of the Law Offices of Stephen Moskowitz, LLP.  For over 30 years Steve and his Law Firm, located in the San Francisco financial district, resolve tax related issues and a wide variety of other tax and legal matters.

For more information visit our website or call 415-394-7200

Covering all Angles of Sports and the Law

San Francisco, CA-     The latest on the Barry Bonds court proceeding is being covered by Steve Moskowitz Attorney and Legal Analyst who is providing the legal perspective on the Bonds case almost on a daily basis.  The focus this week has been on Barry Bonds’ former trainer and what evidence can be presented to the jury.  Greg Anderson, Bonds’ former trainer is willing to return to prison because of his refusal to give testimony.  Moskowitz says that will help the Bonds case but may not be enough.  Steve also points out, there’s little chance there is a juror in town that has not heard or read something about the case and whether the evidence is admitted in court or not it’s already in the minds of the jurors.  

Legal Analyst Steve Moskowitz has his team covering the court proceedings to witness what evidence is being admitted, which evidence is crucial to the Bonds case and what other topics are occurring in the courtroom and might play a role in the case.  Whether speaking about Bonds or other sports headlines, Steve Moskowitz offers an intuitive, open opinion of what is possible within the bounds of the law. Embracing and explaining the challenges of the law is a passion of Steve's and his easy manner makes him the attorney to contact when sport news breaks.

Attorney Steve Moskowitz is featured on Sports and the Law every Thursday evening on Chronicle Live and provides the legal perspective on athletes that are accused of wrong-doing, the legal issues of the NFL, NBA and MLB, back room deals and more. Steve is also the senior partner of the Law Offices of Stephen Moskowitz, LLP.  For over 30 years Steve and his Law firm, located in the San Francisco financial district, resolve tax related issues and a wide variety of other tax matters foreign or domestic.

Visit our main site or call 415-394-7200.

Owing taxes is not a crime, but his willfully not filing tax return is

San Francisco, CA - It is not a crime to owe money to the IRS. If Wesley Snipes had filed his tax returns but couldn't pay he would not be going prison. Willfully not filing is where it gets serious. This law has been around for years, but its now aggressively being enforced by the IRS and state. The IRS is after the regular taxpayer, not just celebrity examples.  

Tax Attorney Steve Moskowitz has represented thousands of clients who have not filed their returns and they have not been criminally charged. If you do not file it the IRS makes up tax returns and sends you a bill often for more than you would owe if you had filed. The IRS and State can then take your wages and assets for non-payment. The Law Offices of Steve Moskowitz, LLP represents the regular businessman and taxpayer and protects their rights.

For many years Steve Moskowitz has used the airwaves to talk about the importance of coming forward before the IRS or State comes to you. The Law Offices of Steve Moskowitz, LLP is a tax law firm representing individuals and businesses with any type of tax situation such as IRS and state audits, civil and criminal matters, payroll and sales tax returns, tax planning, and preparation of current and delinquent tax returns. Practicing tax for over 30 years they are located in the Financial District of San Francisco.