If you’re insanely wealthy, hold on to your seat: the Internal Revenue Service is out to get you. That is, if you have been scamming Uncle Sam. Last tax season it was made apparent that the IRS was leaner, meaner, and that it was on the lookout for tax evaders. This past fall, the IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman announced something called a “Global High Wealth Exam Group.” The main task of this group is to make sure that the richest people in America are paying what they owe in taxes.

If you own a nice house in a nice neighborhood, you don’t have to worry. When they say “global wealth” they MEAN global wealth. Like, so wealthy that you would not even be reading this yourself, you would be paying a servant to read it to you. People with incomes in the tens of millions of dollars. According to the most current IRS information, in the year of 2004 there were about 47,000 individual taxpayers with a net worth of $20,000,000 or more.

This past year the news presented us with many articles about the wealthiest people in the country stashing assets in offshore accounts to prevent their massive stacks of cash from being proportionately, and legally, taxed. In fact, by last November, almost 15,000 individuals had “voluntarily” reported their illegal activity to the IRS. That just goes to show you that if you make enough money, you can buy the prerogative to avoid going to jail for breaking the law by being forced to volunteer financial information.

The disturbing, selfish behavior of some of the richest individuals in the nation is not the only reason for this new program. When a person reaches a certain category of wealth, things get more complicated with trust arrangements, private equity and hedge funds, private foundations, and multi-tiered partnerships. Also, the world has gotten smaller, and many of these entities are foreign based which complicates things for the IRS further. It makes sense that it would take a team of experts to tease all of these issues out.

Hence, the “wealth squads” came out in part this tax season, manned with entire teams of IRS agents, partnership experts and international examiners. Specialists in the areas of retirement plans, insurance and annuity arrangements, exempt organizations, and financial instruments will be introduced to go through the Forms 1040 AND any and all related returns. The Internal Revenue Service informs us that a criminal investigation agent might potentially be asked to join the task force.

So what are these poor, defenseless multi-millionaires to do? Well, if they have been honest in the past and paid the fair amount of money that they owed to the nation, they have no reason to be concerned. For the rest, it may have appeared to be a good idea to walk on the wild side of audits a few years ago, but now it doesn’t seem like such a smart decision.

Mallory Megan works for Rapid Recovery Solutions and writes articles on new york collection agencies This article, IRS Vows To Make The Wealthiest Of The Wealthy Pay Their Dues has free reprint rights.

On November First of 2009, financial institutions and other creditors were told to follow the Red Flag provisions of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003. The goal of the Red Flag rules is to prevent and mitigate identity theft. Identity theft could be defined as any fraud that involves people getting particular benefits by pretending to be someone else.

Broad in scope, the Red Flag rules definition of financial institutions is any organization engaged in insurance, banking, or similar activities, and a good amount of the definitions come with leeway to expand compliance demands. Any consumer account involving multiple payments or transactions that is offered to organizations can be subject to the rules.

The rules in a nutshell dictate that any creditor or financial institution that may be subject to a reasonable and foreseeable risk of identity theft should craft an identity theft prevention program in order to stay in compliance. These programs should include identification on any activity that may be seen as identity theft. They should pursue red flags that have already been identified, and should take action to prevent and mitigate theft. Finally, period review and updating of red flags are necessary to comply with the Red Flag provisions.

Additionally, the Red Flag rules state that an institution’s identity theft prevention program will be written and managed by senior company management. Training and overseeing this service are required.

Identity theft is an expensive and disparaging issue; business and consumer losses came to about $56.6 billion in 2005 alone. However when one thinks about how detrimental identity theft can be to a business, not complying with these regulations can be even more harmful and expensive. Potential losses, costly investigations, regulatory fines and potential lawsuits are all negative consequences of non-compliance. It seems as though their best bet is to follow the rules.

Mallory Megan works for Rapid Recovery Solution and writes articles on medical collection agencies. Check here for free reprint licence: Identity Theft Rules That Retailers Must Follow.

So you have the debt collector on the phone, you owe more money than you can count and you feel like you have nowhere to turn. You might be considering bankruptcy as a quick fix solution to all of your financial woes. But keep in mind that while bankruptcy may cure some immediate problems, the effects of bankruptcy are long term. Having bankruptcy on your credit report can hinder your ability to get a job, a living environment, and any type of credit. So before you jump in to bankruptcy, it is crucial to weigh its pros and cons.

It is a fact that bankruptcy brings a large amount of benefits to the table. First of all, it absolves you of most of your debt. It has the capacity to aid you with missed debt payments, repossessions, lawsuits, and defaults. If you have really awful credit, bankruptcy could be the trigger that can jump start you on your way to rehabilitation.

Bankruptcy will put an end to the phone calls from creditors, repossessions, canceled credit cards, declined charge authorizations, the collections letters, and lawsuits. In addition, you have the ability to hold on to your car if you keep up with the payment, and you are also permitted to keep your home if you remain current on those payments as well. Also, bankruptcy will allow stop creditors from making a claim after you file for it, even if your financial situation changes.

However, bankruptcy is like a big red stamp on your financial history that says “DON’T GIVE ME MONEY!” It will remain on your credit report for ten years and has a severe, negative impact on your credit score. If you are thinking about buying a home after filing for bankruptcy, get ready to wait. It will most likely take you two years before you can purchase a house, although some lenders allow for home loans after one year.

Additionally, bankruptcy won’t cure all of your financial problems. It does not help most tax debt situations, or student loan debt. You will also have to fork over your credit cards, and some of your possessions. Unfortunately, and perhaps unfairly, declaring bankruptcy also sometimes carries a stigma that has the potential to be embarrassing. If you find yourself in a bind and are not sure whether to file for bankruptcy or not, try calling your creditors up first to see if there is any type of repayment plan you can work out together. Even though bankruptcy is always an option, in most cases it should be viewed as a last resort.

Mallory Megan works for Rapid Recovery Solution and writes articles on medical collection agencies. This article, Considering Bankruptcy? Think About These Pros And Cons is available for free reprint.