Have you heard that the government is handing out up to $26,000 per employee to businesses affected by COVID-19? Even if you don't run a business, you probably have endured the barrage of radio and TV ads for the crop of new firms that can purportedly help businesses tap their share of this government bonanza.
The employee retention tax credit is a legitimate part of the CARES Act pandemic aid enacted 2020. Its name is an acronym for coronavirus aid, relief, and economic security. The program has helped thousands of small employers who kept workers on the payroll despite a decline in revenue. It has also birthed a cottage industry engaged in selling assistance to filers, often making representations that are exaggerated or are flatly untrue. In fact, the barrage of fraudulent claims has grown so rapidly that the IRS has suspended processing of new applications through January and added shady employee retention tax credit mills to its 2023 Dirty Dozen list of tax fraud risks.
While the application process can be complex, it is well within the capability of most business owners and their tax professionals. Yet despite (or perhaps because of) the fact that many certified public accountants told their clients they did not qualify, a whole new tax credit industry has emerged, often claiming special expertise in securing the credit where a qualified tax professional couldn't. As a result, new applications skyrocketed in 2023, long after the acute pandemic effects had abated....
A new exchange of sharp political statements has emerged after US President Donald Trump made claims on Truth Social that were directly rejected by Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghaliba...