Thursday, July 19, 2012

Electronic Tax Filing News: Property Tax Scam


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There is nothing wrong with wanting to have lower property taxes. People often think they are paying too much for their property taxes, and they're probably right. Shady companies have taken this thought people have and turned it into a business venture.

As a good rule of thumb beware any e-mail you get that claims to lower payments or tell you how much you could be saving with “X” product. Most likely these e-mails are phishing for your personal information. If you do put in your information and send the e-mail, you may get no response, but that doesn't mean nothing will happen. Often times this is a way to scam you for your precious financial figures or social security numbers, and the “companies” may not even really exist.

You can always challenge your own property assessment, free of charge. You don't have to have a company do it for you for a fee. Beware anyone that offers you this service.

This article outlines some specific guidelines to watch out for:
  1. The letters or e-mails appear to come from government run agencies, but are really private companies.(make sure to look at the fine print and all forms before responding)
  2. Offers to file a challenge of assessment, a free service, for a fee. They may claim to be “faster” or “guarantee” a lower property tax value.
  3. They ever ask for your property deed or a copy of such.
  4. Any company that asks for your Social Security Number
These scammers often mail you in time or before the city does their own reassessments. In the event that your property tax values will diminish through scheduled updates, the scam artists will charge you a fee and claim to reduce your fees, but it would have been done for you anyway when the city does them as scheduled. These creeps prey on your ignorance, and use the city's own efforts against you to turn a profit.
This is a fake, make sure you don't fall for this!
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Please throw any advertisements like these away or delete them immediately. Mark them as junk in your e-mail and always go through your city assessors for your property tax needs. Tax scams are running rampant with the financial hardships many are facing. Do your best to educate yourself. It is often your only protection against these predators.

View my other articles about tax scams to continue your education!

With the economy in the shape it's in, people need all the money they make just to make end's meat. Don't let someone take advantage of you and your personal information to make their life easier by making your life harder. We at Online Tax Pros hope you can benefit from this information and have a great tax season!

Please leave a comment if you know of any other tax scams that are not listed here so we can spread awareness!

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Posted by at 9:11 AM 11 comments
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Monday, July 9, 2012

Top 5 Celebrity Tax Debts


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Celebrities are in the public eye all the time. They even have a devoted group of people who try to take photos of them in compromising positions just to prove they're not perfect and bulletproof. There's also another eye that these people are scrutinized under: Uncle Sam's. These are the top five highest tax debts I could find that are celebrities.


5.Marc Anthony
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I don't know which thing Marc Anthony is more famous for: being a top-selling international salsa artist, or being the ex-husband of Jennifer Lopez for a second time. Regardless, he owed a staggering total of $5.9 million dollars. This was not all one lump sum, but was compiled from a $1.8 million dollar bill held against his home in N.Y. From the state, a separate bill from the Internal Revenue Service for the same property at $1.6 million, and finally the $2.5 million he owed 5 years ago for back taxes from not filing income tax returns.





4.Nas
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The multi-platinum artist who's most successful album Illmatic is ranked 129 in the overall greatest album chart can also rank high in owing unpaid taxes. The artist owes $6 million and because he was unable to pay the debt, the IRS garnishes his wages. Every album that you buy of his now will go towards that debt. That would really lower my drive to put out new music, but how else do you pay it off? It would take a long time for sure working at a fast food restaurant.




3.Nicolas Cage
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Regardless of if you think Nicolas Cage is a good actor or not, his numbers do not lie. He has grossed over $2 billion dollars from his movies. That much money I would say is worth Sorcerer's Apprentice and Ghost Rider and every other bad movie he's done, since even those are still successful. He should have paid his taxes though, unfortunately. His debt with the I.R.S. from not paying his taxes became a ginormous $13 million dollars. This was paid back by auctioning “a few” of his homes. I'm sure he's not that worried, since he had about 15 before some were auctioned off. I sure wish I could say, “Ohh, I owe $13 million dollars in taxes? Here, just auction off a few of my homes, and keep the change...”



2.Willie Nelson
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This country singer who has written more than 2,500 songs and released close to 300 albums. That's quite a lengthy resume, and when his 1990 tax troubles were brought out into light, they shined to the tune of $16.7 million dollars! He allegedly settled for $6 million but never paid the amount. This caused all his possessions to be put into auctions. He later sued Price Waterhouse, claiming that they put his tax money in illegal tax shelters. This lawsuit was settled for an undisclosed amount. One possession he hid until his tax debt was settled in 1993 was his signature-covered original Martin N-20 Classical Guitar which he named Trigger. 


1.Wesley Snipes
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Wesley Snipes, as of December 9, 2010, the vampire hunter, Blade, will be serving 3 years in the McKean Federal Correctional Instition. His charge was failure to file federal income taxes for 3 years. The reason I see him as the one paying the biggest debt is not because of the amount he owes the government(which through my research I have found that no one really knows but Uncle Sam.) I have chosen him because he is serving time. No amount of money can compensate for time, because even though money can be earned and collected again, time is never refunded. It is a grim reminder that the ever-ticking clock is the worst punishment anyone can be dealt, because all the money in the world will never give this man his 3 years back with his family, friends and career. I wish the best for Mr. Snipes and his family.


All these people have been dealt a blow by the I.R.S. and our government. Their fame didn't save them, and they had to pay like normal citizens. Never forget that we should pay our taxes, no matter how much it pains us, even though it may not seem fair or just to us. Be sure to make certain your taxes are taken care of and in good hands, because when it comes down to it, you'll have to answer for your own tax debt.

When you file your online tax return, make sure it is with a reputable company, like Onlinetaxpros.com. We make it easy to file taxes online and look forward to helping you e-file your income taxes! Leave a comment if you know of any other celebrities with bigger tax debts or just want to give your opinion. Thanks for reading!

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Posted by at 11:54 AM 2 comments
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