Did You Participate in a 419 Plan, 412i Plan, Or Abusive Tax Shelter? You Could Be Fined, Or Sued! Ezine Articles
Lance Wallach
Can you or your business afford to pay the IRS $2
Did you get a letter from the IRS threatening to impose this fine? If you haven't already, you still may. Consider yourself lucky if you have not because this means that you have more time to straighten this situation out. Do not wait for this letter to come from the IRS before you call an expert to help you. Even if you have been audited already, you could still get the letter and/or fine. One has nothing to do with the other, and once the fine has been imposed, it is not able to be appealed.
Many businesses that participated in a 412i retirement plan or a 419 welfare benefit plan are being audited by the IRS. Many of these plans were not in compliance with the law and are considered abusive tax shelters. Many business owners are not even aware that the welfare benefit plan or retirement plan that they are participating in may be an abusive tax shelter and that they are in serious jeopardy of huge IRS penalties for each year that they have been in this type of plan.
Insurance companies, CPAs, sellers of these 419 welfare benefit plans or 412i retirement plans, as well as anyone that gave tax advice or recommended participation in one or more of these plans, also known as a material advisor, is in danger of being sued, fined by the IRS, or both.
There is help available if you think you may be involved with one of these 419 welfare benefit plans, 412i retirement plans, or any abusive tax shelter. IRS penalty abatement is an option if you act now.
Lance Wallach, the National Society of Accountants Speaker of the Year, speaks and writes extensively about retirement plans, Circular 230 problems, and tax reduction strategies. He speaks at more than 40 conventions annually, writes for over 50 publications, is quoted regularly in the press, and has written numerous best-selling AICPA books, including Avoiding Circular 230 Malpractice Traps and Common Abusive Business Hot Spots. Contact him at 516.938.5007, wallachinc@gmail.com, or visit: http://www.taxadvisorexperts.org
The information provided herein is not intended as legal, accounting, financial or any other type of advice for any specific individual or other entity. You should contact an appropriate professional for any such advice.
412i Litigation
ReplyDeleteIf you purchased a 412i defined benefit pension plan pursuant to section 412i of the Internal Revenue Code, you may have been the victim of fraud. Please visit my website at www.alaplan.com for more information.
POSTED BY RANDAL FORD AT 8:26 PM NO COMMENTS:
LABELS: 412I DEFINED BENEFIT PENSION PLAN, 412I LAWSUITS, 412I TAX SHELTER FRAUD LITIGATION
SUNDAY, MARCH 1, 2009
412i Tax Shelter Fraud Litigation - How It Works
PARTIES:
Typically, these transactions will include an Insurance company, accountant, tax attorney, and a promoter (someone with an insurance background, perhaps an actuary, who knows how to structure the policy itself). These groups will use insurance brokerages and sub-agents (licensed in the various states) to sell the policies themselves.
INSURANCE COMPANIES
AMERICAN GENERAL LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY® INDIANAPOLIS LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY®
HARTFORD LIFE AND ANNUITY INSURANCE COMPANY® PACIFIC LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY®
OTHERS ! BANKERS LIFE®?
PROMOTERS, ATTORNEYS, ACCOUNTANTS
KENNETH HARTSTEIN ECONOMIC CONCEPTS, INC. PENSION SERVICES, LLC OTHERS
HOW THESE PLANS WORK:
In the late 1990’s, the individuals and groups above devised a scheme to sell abusive tax shelters under the auspices of Section 412(i) of the tax code. A 412(i) is a defined benefit pension plan. It provides specific retirement benefits to participants once they reach retirement and must contain assets sufficient to pay those benefits. A 412(i) plan differs from other defined benefit pension plans in that it must be funded exclusively by the purchase of individual life insurance products. To create a 412(i) plan, there must be a trust to hold the assets. The employer funds the plan by making cash contributions to the trust, and the Code allows the employer to take a tax deduction in the amount of the contributions, i.e. the entire amount.
The trust uses the contributed funds to purchase some combination of life insurance products (insurance or annuities) for the plan. As the plan participants retire, the trust will usually sell the policies for their present cash value and purchase annuities with the proceeds. The revenue stream from the annuities pays the specified retirement benefit to plan participants.
These defendants (with the aid and knowledge of the insurance companies) used the traditional structure and sold life insurance policies with excessively high premiums. The trust then uses the large cash contributions to pay high insurance premiums and the employer takes a deduction for the sum of those large contributions. As you might expect, these policies were designed with excessively high fees or “loads” which provided exorbitant commissions to the insurance companies and the agents who sold the products.
The policies that were sold were termed Springing Cash Value Policies. They had no cash value for the first 5-7 years, after which they had significant cash value. Under this scheme, after 5-7 years, and just before the cash value sprung, the participant purchases the policy from the trust for the policy’s surrender value. In theory, you have a tax free transaction.
The IRS does not recognize the tax benefit of such a plan and has repeatedly issued announcements indicating that such plans are contrary to federal tax laws and regulations.