Self-proclaimed “visionary tax attorney” Scott A. Waage of California has been permanently barred, along with his law firm, from preparing federal tax returns or providing tax advice. Mr. Waage did not admit the allegations against him, but he did agree to the injunction. According to the Justice Department, Mr. Waage’s tax fraud schemes cost the Treasury more than $10.7 million.
Attorney’s “Strategic Integrated Planning” Allegedly Helped Clients Commit Tax Fraud.
Mr. Waage developed and promoted a system he called “Strategic Integrated Planning” allegedly to help his customers avoid paying income taxes. One such tax fraud scheme involved the use of sham consulting corporations that provided no consulting services but were purported based in the clients’ own homes. Instead, the sham consulting businesses allegedly were used to pay and illegally deduct personal expenses.
Mr. Waage’s schemes allegedly included using employee-benefit plans to pay clients’ personal expenses and using pension plans to improperly increase and accelerate deductions and to avoid taxes on plan payouts.
The agreed injunction order also requires that Mr. Waage give federal authorities a list of all the clients who used his tax services since 2001 and that Mr. Waage give his former clients notice of the injunction order.
Whistleblowers Can Help Stop Tax Fraud So Everyone Pays Their Share.
The U.S. Treasury must be funded. So when some avoid paying their fair share of taxes, the burden falls too heavily on others. Those involved in tax fraud go to great lengths to hide income, to falsify documents, and to manipulate corporate structures — all to avoid paying their fair share of taxes. It can be difficult for the Internal Revenue Service to determine efficiently who is committing tax fraud. Whistleblowers can help direct the scrutiny of federal investigators to those engaged in tax fraud.
Because the participation of whistleblowers is extremely important to enforcing tax laws, the IRS Whistleblower Office can provide financial compensation to whistleblowers who voluntarily provide information resulting in the recovery of fraudulently unpaid taxes. The Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006 provides that a whistleblower may be eligible for a monetary award of 15 to 30 percent of the total amount collected by federal authorities because of the whistleblower’s information.
