LANSING, MICH—
Lothamer, the largest Tax Resolution firm in Michigan, provides assistance to qualified taxpayers under the newly implemented IRS program “Fresh Start”. Unlike other national tax representation firms, Lothamer provides localized Michigan tax help for the “Fresh Start” tax penalty relief initiative.

The “Fresh Start” initiative, announced March 7th, helps struggling taxpayers through a number of channels, one being the abatement of the failure to pay penalty from the 2011 tax year until October 15th, 2012. Due to failure-to-file penalties not being omitted, the IRS urges taxpayers to file 2011 returns by April 17th, 2012, or file an extension to mid-October. Taxpayers qualifying for penalty relief include wage earners having been unemployed for a minimum of 30 consecutive days during 2011 or up through April 17th, 2012, as well as self-employed individuals that experienced at least a 25% reduction in business income due to economy-related issues

We received a phone call the other day from a man wondering if we could connect him to JK Harris. He had been calling JK Harris, never getting connected, and he needed an update on his account with them. The Lothamer employee who answered was confused, and apologized telling this man that we are not affiliated with JK Harris, but if he needed any tax help in the future to give us a call back and that we’d be happy to help him. After this conversation, the Lothamer employee tried calling the national JK Harris number as well as a few local numbers, and none of them even rang.

The holiday season can be stressful. With crowded malls, searching long and hard for the right gifts, staying within budget, and making sure you don’t forget anyone on your holiday card list – sometimes the cheer is taken right out of the season. Now imagine how much harder all of that would be if you had a levy on your bank account? Or, if the IRS was flooding your mailbox with overdue tax notices?

Talk about taxing.

Are you currently in the process of trying to sell or refinance your home, or thinking about doing so? It’s difficult enough to sell a home in the current economy, but if you have a tax lien, it can be that much tougher. Many people may need to sell their home because they have been forced to relocate for employment reasons. Or perhaps you’re trying to sell or refinance to get out from under a payment you can’t afford. Whatever the reason, most sellers will want to attempt to get their homes sold prior to Dec. 1, so that potential buyers can take advantage of the tax credit for first-time home buyers.

MICHIGAN –The IRS has expanded a program called Voluntary Worker Classification Settlement Program (VCSP) providing tax relief for payroll taxes for employers who choose to reclassify independent contractors as employees.

This program gives businesses, non-profits, and even governmental entities the opportunity to save up to 90% of the payroll tax owed. To take advantage of this program applicants must qualify and meet certain standards determined by the IRS.