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The Roz Report
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2022
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How to Ride the Wave to Tax Resolution Success Buckle Up, Folks: The IRS Is Probably Going to Get A Lot Bigger!
For more than a year, I’ve hadmy eye on the Biden administration’s plans for the IRS. There were big things in the works that date back to early 2021. That March, the IRS commissioner sat down with the HouseWays and Means Committee and asked for a budget increase—and key members wanted to give it to him. But the IRS only received $12.039 billion, a paltry 4.6% increase over FY 2020. “We’ve got to put more money into the IRS, to get youmore agents, to do audits, to get youmore revenue offices to enforce collection, more people to answer the phones, to fix up the technology,”Representative Tom Suozzi said. Now, that promise is in doubt. As I write this, Biden’s Build Back Better Act may never see the light of day in its current format. In it was a MASSIVE budget increase for the IRS, nearly $80 billion. The amount of money andmanpower is truly unprecedented. If the act passed or passes in some other form, the IRS will go from 3,000 revenue officers collecting taxes to 7,500 . That’s 1,500 more than the agency had at the height of its power 10 years ago. Between the budget increase and that officer boost, collection activity will spike to an all-time high. I’ve been watching this act like a hawk because of the implications for our Roz Strategies members. What does this legislation, if passed, mean to you?Well, it means that whether you consider yourself a tax resolution specialist or not, it’s time to “By this time next month, you could be working tax resolution cases, charging higher fees, helping more clients, and building more wealth for yourself and your family.”
Charles Rettig, U.S. Commissioner of Internal Revenue
familiarize yourself with the tax resolution process! The Build Back Better Act I’m looking at right nowmight not pass the Senate, but some version of it eventually will in early 2022. And when it does, the IRS will use its new power to go after your clients. A huge boom in audits is on the horizon. Just 10 years ago, the audit rate was 75% higher than it is today, andmore revenue agents and updated technology will bring it right back up. That newmanpower is anticipated to bring in $700 billion through enforced collection activity over the next 10 years. Oldmistakes and oversights unintentional or not will be uncovered, because that’s the Biden administration’s goal: closing the“tax gap” betweenmoney owed andmoney collected. It’s a scary thought for taxpayers, but if you start learning about tax resolution work now, you can help your clients through it. Tax resolution work is easier than you think. Every case is different, so if you wait to learn everything there is about tax resolution before you start, you’ll never start. If you can fill out a
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New Year — New You? FOOD FOR THOUGHT
What would it take for you tomake a change for the better, then implement that change within 55 days? Many people think the beginning of a new year will inspire them enough to hit their personal goals, but most peter out on their NewYear’s resolutions in less than a month. As good as a new year/new beginning sounds, desire alone isn’t enough of a motivator to change. Many years ago, whenmy daughter Erica was a sophomore at the University of Colorado Boulder, pursuing her Ph.D. in psychology, she worked as a lead peer educator on a program called Bounce Back. This programwas designed to help students who were on the verge of failing come off academic probation. At the time, Erica was excited to be part of it, but she was nervous, too, and wondered if students older than her would take her seriously. What I remember the most was she told me when she met the students, she was surprised to learn that they were really smart and that all they needed was motivation to do better. I remember thinking, “Motivation is hard. I wish I knew the secret to motivate myself more.” Erica is a little like me in the sense that she has to study hard to learn. However, she’s focused and driven when she wants to achieve a goal. For her, the motivation seemed like the easy part. I can’t remember all the details of Bounce Back or how she and the team helped the students, but the success rate was almost 100%. There are many ways you can inspire yourself to achieve a goal. One of the ways we at Roz Strategies help people in our world of tax resolution become successful is through our “5- Day to 5K Challenge”we’ve put on the last two years in June after tax season. The 5-Day Challenge Michael does is a great motivator for several reasons. The top three are as follows: 1) It’s only an hour a day for five days, which is a short amount of time for a person to invest in; 2) it’s easy to do; and 3) the most important reason of all, people who participate see results in five days! We are a society of instant gratification, which is okay sometimes. There’s nothing like a quick win to get you motivated to continue on your path to achieving more. I’m all about how can we help our members prosper. I always joke with others that I come up with ideas for Michael to implement. For example, our annual Success Summit came about because I said to Michael, “Wouldn’t it be fun for you to be on stage for three days and teach people how to be successful in their practices?”
I’m also always looking for new ways to either improve on what we have or learn something new to pass on. With that said, I’m in the process of learning something new. I hope to get this going in June with our Roz Strategies members. That new something I want to do is a contest. I’ve always wanted to have a contest for our members, but I’ve never been able to figure out all the details on how to put one on. I have many entrepreneur friends who have put on contests, and they’ve shared the details with me on how they did it. But I haven’t had enough confidence to do one myself. Last November, at Genius Network, the mastermind group Michael and I belong to, rolled out the first contest for their members, giving people 55 days to implement it. Genius founder Joe Polish is the expert at putting on contests because he used to hold them annually when he was a coach to carpet cleaners. Many times, he’d give away a new car! Since I learn by doing, this is my opportunity to finally learn the model. What’s interesting is that Joe has saidmany times the reason he used to put on contests for his members was because it motivated people to do their marketing and be successful! And that is my main reason for always wanting to host one.
I’m in the middle of working on my Genius 55-Day contest. Not everything Michael and I set out to do turns out to be a winner, so I can’t tell you how this adventure will turn out, but I look forward to seeing where this path takes me. I will share more in my next month’s column. To be continued! –Roslyn Rozbruch
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PRACTICE CORNER FROM THE
IRS Announces 2 Significant Changes to the OIC Program
2. Offset Bypass Refund Relief: The IRS has the statutory authority and discretion to offset refunds when the taxpayer owes any other federal debt or state taxes. However, prior to Nov. 1, 2021, taxpayers who submitted an OIC could not obtain refunds shown on their tax returns for the year the IRS accepted their offer and had no administrative remedy available to them for that. Under the new OIC policy, the IRS will now forgo the refund offset and issue the refund if the taxpayer only owes federal taxes and is experiencing economic hardship through an offset bypass refund (OBR). The new OIC policy enables certain taxpayers to seek the OBR while their OICs are pending before the IRS. The new procedures allow qualifying taxpayers who are experiencing financial hardship to seek an OBR during the pendency of their OIC. These individuals would be able to retain their tax refunds as long as they meet certain criteria as per the Internal Revenue Manual (IRM). These two significant policy changes should cause more taxpayers to take advantage of and qualify for the OIC program. This is great for them and practitioners, too!
Effective Nov. 1, 2021, taxpayers will be allowed to keep their income tax refunds in the year their offer in compromise (OIC) is accepted and enables certain taxpayers to seek offset bypass refunds (OBR) mentioned below, while their OICs are pending. The specifics of the two policy changes are: 1. Tax Refund Offset Relief: The IRS will no longer offset claimed refunds for the calendar year in which the OIC was accepted. They will no longer apply that refund to the outstanding tax liability for the year(s) included in the OIC agreement, Form 656. In other words, the IRS will now forgo taking the post-offer acceptance refund and applying it to the year(s) of the offer acceptance. Prior to Nov. 1, 2021, the IRS kept any refunds, including interest, that taxpayers might be owed for tax periods extending through the calendar year in which the IRS accepted the offer. This could be a game-changer for many taxpayers who are considering submitting an OIC with the IRS. The benefit for the year of OIC acceptance will vary based on the amount of refund.
–Michael Rozbruch
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Yvette D. Best Founder’s Mastermind Member Spotlight
One thing leads to another, and for Yvette D. Best of Best Services Unlimited LLC, that especially rings true. Yvette has been in the accounting field since 1989. In 2012, she received her bachelor’s degree; in 2015, she got her MBA; and in 2020, she became an enrolled agent (EA). Yvette has built a reputation as a tax and business expert and loves providing tax-saving strategies to small-business owners. But until she became an EA in 2020, she couldn’t represent her clients before the IRS. “I realized I could really transformpeople’s lives through tax resolution,”she says. “If you have even just $5,000–$20,000 in debt, with the way the IRS charges interest and penalties, that can leave you on a hamster wheel as bad as a payday loan.”
After Yvette implemented the APP strategies, she went to the Tax Resolution Summit in 2020 and joined Founder’s Mastermind that weekend. “I thought I would get a couple of tax resolution clients,”she says, “but at the same time, I was changingmy business client model to retainer-based. 2022 will be the first year that everyone will be retainer-based with APP, plus some other business options.” 2022 is also the year that Yvette plans to focus almost exclusively on tax resolution. In fact, she is coaching her husband, Thomas Armstrong, to take the EA exam and has plans to hire two administrative employees to handle the back-office work. Yvette says this will free her time to focus on doing the things she has learned fromMichael, such as always getting her fee upfront. “Pricing, that’s my struggle,”Yvette says. “Here’s an example: I emailed Michael about a client who wantedme to write a letter to get his penalties abated, but he didn’t want to pay me for representation. Michael was like, ‘Why would you ghostwrite?’Why?Well, I want to help everybody, but I needed to get that out of my spirit. So, I did. Now it’s all or none.” Yvette also frequently uses another tactic she learned fromMichael to great effect. And it’s a simple one. “It’s the best thing that ever happened, and it’s just one line: ‘What credit card would you like to put this on?’And then don’t say anything.” Yvette has found her clients soon fill the silence with a credit card number. The bottom line is that helping people is what means the most toYvette. “The fact that I really can help people transform their lives for the better, that gives me such a good feeling.”She shared a story of one her clients she recently helped. He
came to her with $45,000 owed to the IRS and years of unfiled tax returns. He was unemployed at the time, soYvette placed him into non-collectible status. “He just got a new job, so before the IRS comes tome, I’mgoing to them,”she says. “We’re definitely going to get a partial-pay installment plan, and it’s probably going to be $10,000 or so.” While Yvette has learned and done so many new things during the pandemic, there is one thing she wasn’t able to do — travel. She and Thomas, who have been married for 25 years, consider international travel their “fifth child.” Their other four include three adults and their youngest, age 12, who is “everybody’s kid.”“My older children really love on their brother, and I’m proud of them because of the difference in age,” she says. “Yeah, he’s everybody’s kid. That little boy is awesome.” WhileYvette waits for the chance to travel again, she knows where she wants to go. “Since we weren’t able to do anything for our 25th anniversary this year, our next trip on the horizon is an Asian excursion for 60 days,”Yvette says with excitement. “I’ll be all over the internet — I’m in Bali today. Now I’m inThailand!”
One thing also led to another with Yvette’s introduction to Michael and Roz Strategies. She purchased the Audit Protection Program (APP) in 2019. “The first year, I made about $25,000 in revenue, and I was like, ‘Okay, I’ve got something here,’”she explains. This year she made an extra $60,000 in revenue fromher APP.
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The 2022 Audit Protection Network Plaques Have Been Mailed Out!
Be sure to display your plaque on your desk, conference room, or reception area. Having it on display is a great way for your clients to ask about your Client Care Package (which includes Audit Protection) and be excited to have you offer it! If you would like extra plaques at our cost, plus shipping, contact Karen in our office at Karen@RozStrategies.com. This past December, we held our Platinum Mastermind meeting at the Hilton Universal City hotel. And even though everyone worked hard on their businesses, they also knew how to have fun, too!
STRATEGIZE * IMPLEMENT * MULTIPLY
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S H O U T
Kudos to Patrick Noone for acquiring four tax resolution clients in one week—all from referrals! You’re right when you say, “When people know, like, and trust you, referrals are the gift that keeps on giving!” Congrats to DaveTudor for negotiating a deal with the IRS and having $834,000 in additional taxes, penalties, and interest waived for a client whom the IRS claimed owed $1,7000,000. Way to go, Victoria Blasiak , for giving a presentation to realtors and also leaving your cards in a real estate broker’s office and getting retained by two people, one for $12,000 and the other for $6,000! Nice going, Antonio Nava , for giving a presentation titled“Make Tax Sexy” at NAHREP’s (National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals) L’Attitude conference. High-five to R.C. Thornton for appearing on Michael Banovac’s podcast “Millionaire Brand Creation” to discuss taxes for real estate agents. Way to go, Guy Finocchiaro , on successfully abating $22,000 in penalties for an LLC client! High-five to Peter Marchiano for receiving over $63,000 in passive income in 2021 from the Audit Protection Plan System andToolkit, now called the Client Care Package. Peter implemented the Client Care Package four years ago in his
practice, and the total income he has received since implementation is $213,000! High-five to Ken Allen , whomade $115,000 in passive income in 2021 with the Client Care Package! Kudos to LuSundra Everett and Timalyn Bowens for speaking at the Tax & Accounting Summit 2021. Kudos to Yvette Best , whose Client Care Package generated $59,428 in passive income for her this tax season! Congrats to Roxanne Richardson for securing a client with a $10,000 deposit and a $3,000 monthly retainer! Congratulations to MonicaMendez on passing the EA exam! Way to go, CandaceWansley , for sending out her lien letters and receiving praise fromone recipient who said her letter stood out from the 90 letters he received, and all the other letters were“crap” in comparison and whoever designed her letter and brochure should receive five stars! Way to go Eugene Ganeles, Lloyd Conley , and Dionne Cheshier for personalizing our done-for-you Tax Resolution Times Newsletter and mailing them out! High five to Douglas Dick, Samirah Amatullah, Jan Telesky, Eugene Ganeles, Tina Pittman, Ross Hitchen, Corinne Adams,
Congratulations to Platinum Mastermind Member Jesus Abikarram* on the release of his new book, “Free Yourself From IRS.”
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Form 1040 tax return, you can complete an offer in compromise. The best way to learn is by doing, and if you are in our Roz Strategies membership, we offer technical case support to answer all of your questions. If you’ve been on the fence about adding tax resolution to your practice or hiring someone else to take care of the 1040 work while you jump into tax resolution full time, consider this a sign: There is no better time than now. There’s also no better time than now to market for tax resolution work you’re already doing. It’s January, and everyone has taxes on the brain! The IRS is growing, and that growth could be a huge win for your business. All you have to do is take advantage of it. By this time next month, you could be working tax resolution cases, charging higher fees, helpingmore clients, and buildingmore wealth for yourself and your family. So, what are you waiting
for? Put your pedal to the metal andmake 2022 your best year yet! –Michael Rozbruch
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O U T S ! John Behrle, Ira Levine, Wilbur Kruse , and Thomas LoCurto for sending out their referral letters!
Do you have a story or picture to share with us about something you’ve implemented, a client you’ve helped with a tax problem, or anything else you’d like to share? If you do, email it to Info@RozStrategies. com, and we will give a Shout Out to you!
A special shout out to David Rappaport and Ron Friedman for sharing photos of your office decked out with your Client Care Package’s Audit Protection Network Member Plaques! They look awesome!
David Rappaport
Ron Friedman
SAVE THE DATE FOR 2022!
THURSDAY, AUG. 25 – SATURDAY, AUG. 27, 2022 MORE INFO TO FOLLOW!
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11271 Ventura Blvd. #612 Studio City, CA 91604 Inside This Issue pg 1 ∙
The IRS Is Growing — And You Can Take Advantage
New Year — New You?
pg 2 ∙
Significant Changes to the OIC Program
pg 3 ∙
Founder’s Mastermind Member Spotlight
pg 4 ∙
Show Off Your Plaque!
pg 5 ∙
Shout Outs!
pg 6 ∙
A Russian Billionaire’s Daring Attempt to Escape the IRS
pg 8 ∙
IRS Terror Tale of the Month A Russian Billionaire’s Daring Tax Escape — and How the IRS Caught Him
No one can escape the IRS — not even Russian-born billionaires. In the fall of 2021, entrepreneur Oleg Tinkov found that out the hard way. After years on the run, he pled guilty to filing a false tax return and agreed to pay the IRS over $500 million in back taxes, interest, and penalties. Tinkov’s story is worthy of a “James Bond”movie. He was born in Russia and became a U.S. citizen in 1996. From there, he went on to found Tinkoff Credit Services (TCS), an online bank based in Russia. That was all well and good until 2013, when TCS went public. Tinkov’s net worth soared to more than $1.1 billion — and three days later, he renounced his U.S. citizenship.
Tinkov hoped that by renouncing his citizenship and fleeing the country, he could avoid hefty U.S. taxes on his IPO gains. When his accountant reminded him that he was legally required to fill out an expatriation statement and pay exit taxes on assets over $2 million, Tinkov lied to his face. Then, he did something worse. “When his accountant later inquired whether his net worth was under $2 million, rather than answer the question, Tinkov filled out the expatriation formhimself falsely, reporting that his net worth was only $300,000,” the Department of Justice (DOJ) reported.
paperwork, he fled to London in 2014, but he couldn’t stay ahead of the agency for long. The IRS caught up with him, and he pleaded guilty to filing a false tax return in October 2021. In a DOJ press release about the case that same month, acting U.S. Attorney Stephanie M. Hinds for the Northern District of California delivered a stern message: “Tax evaders should take notice of the long reach of U.S. law enforcement.” The IRS made an example of Tinkov, forcing him to pay more than double the amount he originally owed. Nomatter how clever a tax evader’s plan is, the agency is always two steps ahead.
Tinkov cheated the IRS out of nearly $250 million in exit taxes! After filing his false
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