You might be quite interested in reading or finding out more about this lovely company which will help you bring down your taxes and maybe even help you avoid paying your back taxes. You interest might get you into a lot of trouble, as there are a lot of tax relief scams going around.
The Federal Trade Commission, (FTC) is an independent agency set up by the US government to protect the rights of consumers and eliminate coercive monopoly has warned consumers not to get taken in by such claims.
These rogues are effectively using various methods of communication such as the radio, TV, Internet to propagate their schemes.
The modus operandi normally works with the person paying a fee upfront, usually running into thousands of dollars and the company will promise to get the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to reduce the tax bill by appealing to legitimate IRS hardship programs. You will end in bigger trouble than you are already in.
Phishing
The IRS has identified a number of these tax relief scams. One of these scams which the IRS warns the taxpayer to be alert to, is Phishing. This is a method used by cheats to trip up people into reveling personal or financial information. This information is used to impersonate the victim to access bank account, use credit cards and also to get loans in this person's name. Phishing normally appears as an email from an authentic source and in this case, the IRS. Just remember that the IRS never starts unsolicited e-mail contact with the taxpayers about their tax problems.
One of the tricks that these tax relief companies regularly pull, and which does not amuse the IRS at all, is the unreasonable claims that people make. These companies actually ask their client to put in claims which are totally unfounded. The IRS has a list of these claims. Its best you stay away from this kind of claims or you will be facing a penalty of $5,000.
The hard truth is that most people don't qualify for such programs. The tax relief companies will not settle the tax dues and in most cases don't even send the paperwork to the IRS. These companies will also not give your money back.
Credit card charges
Complaints received by the FTC indicate that many of the companies took thousands of dollars as fees in the beginning and made subsequent withdrawals by making unauthorized credit card charges as well as withdrawals from the bank accounts.
So be alert to these scams. It is not difficult; all you need to do is to read the notices from the IRS carefully. You could ask what the collection alternatives are. There is also a Taxpayer Advocate Service which is an independent organization within the IRS which offers free help to people who need to settle issues or resolve problems with the IRS.
Don't get taken in by companies which tell you that you are eligible for some tax relief. Remember only the IRS can really determine that.
