Firms Gamble Pensions to Fund Exec Perks

(NEWSER) - Low inflation could force the IRS to decrease the amount workers can contribute to their 401(k) plans to $16,000, USA Today reports. It would mark the first time the government has ever lowered contribution limits. Though a spokesperson says it’s too early for speculation, the IRS may not have any choice. "A strict interpretation of the code could lead them to believe that's their only option," a consultant says. More»

Through lump-sum payments, executives net millions extra

(NEWSER) - A change in federal disclosure requirements has revealed that some companies are inflating the value of retirement plans for—guess who?—top executives. By converting pensions, which generally pay out in installments over a retired employee’s lifetime, to a lump-sum payment, CEOs can increase the value by 10% to 40%, netting millions of extra dollars even as average workers’ 401(k)s plummet alongside the markets, the Wall Street Journal reports. More»

105 busted in sweep

(NEWSER) - The Internal Revenue Service is cracking down on fraudsters as tax return seasons begins. The agency has stepped up efforts to prevent identity theft, and caught 260,000 bad returns last year, up from 50,000 in 2010, and prevented a total of $1.4 billion in bad refunds being sent out, Reuters reports. New screening measures have been put in place and hundreds of check-cashing operations are being audited. More»

Douglas Shulman offers public apology

(NEWSER) - Ever had a run-in with a rude IRS agent? Well, Douglas Shulman’s sorry about that. The IRS commissioner offered a rare apology today to three identity theft victims who said they’d been mistreated by his employees, the AP reports. “We need to walk in each taxpayer’s shoes,” Shulman told the House Oversight subcommittee. “We obviously need to do better.” More»

More than 10 years later, he collects $1.1M from IRS

(NEWSER) - Two years before Enron’s 2001 implosion, a whistleblower tipped off the IRS to the company’s abusive tax shelters and fictitious income. Now that whistleblower is finally getting his reward, to the tune of $1.1 million from the IRS, the Washington Post reports. He remains anonymous, but his lawyers acknowledge that he testified before the Senate Finance Committee in 2004, where he complained about his “frustrating and discouraging” interactions with the IRS. The tipster’s reward is the maximum that was allowed under law at the time he blew the whistle: 15% of the unpaid taxes that his information led the IRS to recover. More»