SACRAMENTO, Calif. — This Easter, Americans will devour more 
than 1 billion Peeps — those radiant marshmallow chicks whose appearance
 on store shelves each year is as much a herald of spring as azaleas at <a href="https://apnews.com/hub/the-masters">the Masters</a>.

What
 makes the treats so vibrant is erythrosine, a chemical that shows up on
 ingredient labels as Red No. 3. It's one of several chemicals, along 
with titanium dioxide, used to color some of the most popular candy in 
the country — including Skittles and Hot Tamales.

Both chemicals have been linked to cancer. More than 30 years ago, U.S. regulators <a href="https://apnews.com/article/83322a29c173c2756755c0a2e9311064">banned Red No. 3 from makeup</a>. The U.S. still has not banned the chemical from food, to the dismay of some consumer safety groups.

Now,
 a state lawmaker wants to ban erythrosine and titanium dioxide in 
California, plus three other chemicals used in everyday favorites like 
tortillas and some store brand sodas.

The bill, scheduled for its 
first public hearing next week, has prompted headlines around the world 
declaring California wants to ban Skittles and other candy. 
Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel, a Democrat who authored the bill, said he 
wants to ban the chemicals, not the candy. He said plenty of alternative
 ingredients are available, noting the chemicals are already banned in 
Europe and that companies still find a way to sell candy there.

“They
 still produce Skittles in other parts of the world. What they do is 
they take out these toxic ingredients, and they replace them with 
something else,” Gabriel said. “What we really want is for these 
companies to make the same minor modifications to their recipes that 
they made in Europe and elsewhere.”

The National Confectioners 
Association, the trade group that represents candy companies, says it's 
not that easy. Tastes vary across cultures, it said, meaning just 
because a candy is accepted by Europeans doesn't mean it will be 
received well in the United States. Plus, changing ingredients would be a
 hardship for regional candy makers who don't sell their products 
overseas, according to the trade group.

“There's a lot more here 
at play than a simple soundbite solution,” said Christopher 
Gindlesperger, spokesperson for the association. “We need a 
comprehensive look at this to make sure there aren't unintended 
consequences for chocolate and candy companies.”

In addition to 
erythrosine and titanium dioxide, the bill would ban potassium bromate 
and propylparaben, two chemicals used in baked goods, and brominated 
vegetable oil, which is used in some store brand sodas.

The U.S. 
has allowed dyes like erythrosine in food since 1907. Decades later, 
researchers found rats exposed to lots of erythrosine over a long time 
developed thyroid cancer. In 1990, based in part off of that research, 
the U.S. Food and Drug Administration banned erythrosine from cosmetics.

Consumer
 safety groups have tried for years to get the agency to ban the 
chemical in food to no avail. Researchers have since linked the chemical
 to other health problems besides cancer, including hyperactivity and 
other neurobiological behaviors in some children, according to a 2021 
report from the California Environmental Protection Agency's Office of 
Environmental Health Hazard Assessment.

The International 
Association of Color Manufacturers argued in a 2021 statement that 
California study was “based on insufficient scientific evidence.”

Titanium
 dioxide is a white powder that, because it scatters light, can make 
colors appear brighter. It's been used for 100 years in products like 
paints, paper, rubber, toothpaste, soap and food coloring. The 
International Agency for Research on Cancer has listed titanium dioxide 
as a possible carcinogen in humans. The Titanium Dioxide Manufacturers 
Association maintains there is no evidence of it causing cancer in 
humans.

The candy industry insists the chemicals California is 
considering banning “have been thoroughly reviewed by the federal and 
state systems and many international scientific bodies and continue to 
be deemed safe,” according to a letter signed by various industry trade 
groups.

“These scientifically based regulatory processes should be
 allowed to continue without second guessing their outcomes,” the letter
 stated.

Scott Faber, senior vice president for governmental 
affairs for the nonprofit Environmental Working Group, said the only 
reason the chemical is still deemed safe by federal regulators is 
because of a loophole that has been exploited by chemical companies. He 
says regulators have not reviewed their prior decisions in light of new 
science.

“The confectioners and the food industry know the review 
process at the FDA is broken. They have been hiding behind it for 
decades. We shouldn't let them hide behind it anymore," Faber said. “If 
FDA won’t fix this review system and keep us safe from dangerous 
chemicals in our food, it’s up to states like California to keep us 
safe.”

Just Born Inc., the Pennsylvania-based company that makes 
Peeps, said in a statement the company complies with FDA regulations and
 gets their “ingredients and packaging exclusively from reputable 
suppliers who adhere to high quality and safety standards.”

The 
company noted its development team is looking for other options, 
“including colors derived form natural sources that can deliver the same
 visual impact and stability as their certified counterparts.”

Associated PressSACRAMENTO, Calif. — This Easter, Americans will devour more 
than 1 billion Peeps — those radiant marshmallow chicks whose appearance
 on store shelves each year is as much a herald of spring as azaleas at <a href="https://apnews.com/hub/the-masters">the Masters</a>.What
 makes the treats so vibrant is erythrosine, a chemical that shows up on
 ingredient labels as Red No. 3. It's one of several chemicals, along 
with titanium dioxide, used to color some of the most popular candy in 
the country — including Skittles and Hot Tamales.Both chemicals have been linked to cancer. More than 30 years ago, U.S. regulators <a href="https://apnews.com/article/83322a29c173c2756755c0a2e9311064">banned Red No. 3 from makeup</a>. The U.S. still has not banned the chemical from food, to the dismay of some consumer safety groups.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/4/1680886645163.jpg" alt="Image courtesy of Pixabay" />
 <figcaption>Image courtesy of Pixabay</figcaption>
 </figure>Now,
 a state lawmaker wants to ban erythrosine and titanium dioxide in 
California, plus three other chemicals used in everyday favorites like 
tortillas and some store brand sodas.The bill, scheduled for its 
first public hearing next week, has prompted headlines around the world 
declaring California wants to ban Skittles and other candy. 
Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel, a Democrat who authored the bill, said he 
wants to ban the chemicals, not the candy. He said plenty of alternative
 ingredients are available, noting the chemicals are already banned in 
Europe and that companies still find a way to sell candy there.“They
 still produce Skittles in other parts of the world. What they do is 
they take out these toxic ingredients, and they replace them with 
something else,” Gabriel said. “What we really want is for these 
companies to make the same minor modifications to their recipes that 
they made in Europe and elsewhere.”The National Confectioners 
Association, the trade group that represents candy companies, says it's 
not that easy. Tastes vary across cultures, it said, meaning just 
because a candy is accepted by Europeans doesn't mean it will be 
received well in the United States. Plus, changing ingredients would be a
 hardship for regional candy makers who don't sell their products 
overseas, according to the trade group.“There's a lot more here 
at play than a simple soundbite solution,” said Christopher 
Gindlesperger, spokesperson for the association. “We need a 
comprehensive look at this to make sure there aren't unintended 
consequences for chocolate and candy companies.”In addition to 
erythrosine and titanium dioxide, the bill would ban potassium bromate 
and propylparaben, two chemicals used in baked goods, and brominated 
vegetable oil, which is used in some store brand sodas.The U.S. 
has allowed dyes like erythrosine in food since 1907. Decades later, 
researchers found rats exposed to lots of erythrosine over a long time 
developed thyroid cancer. In 1990, based in part off of that research, 
the U.S. Food and Drug Administration banned erythrosine from cosmetics.Consumer
 safety groups have tried for years to get the agency to ban the 
chemical in food to no avail. Researchers have since linked the chemical
 to other health problems besides cancer, including hyperactivity and 
other neurobiological behaviors in some children, according to a 2021 
report from the California Environmental Protection Agency's Office of 
Environmental Health Hazard Assessment.The International 
Association of Color Manufacturers argued in a 2021 statement that 
California study was “based on insufficient scientific evidence.”Titanium
 dioxide is a white powder that, because it scatters light, can make 
colors appear brighter. It's been used for 100 years in products like 
paints, paper, rubber, toothpaste, soap and food coloring. The 
International Agency for Research on Cancer has listed titanium dioxide 
as a possible carcinogen in humans. The Titanium Dioxide Manufacturers 
Association maintains there is no evidence of it causing cancer in 
humans.The candy industry insists the chemicals California is 
considering banning “have been thoroughly reviewed by the federal and 
state systems and many international scientific bodies and continue to 
be deemed safe,” according to a letter signed by various industry trade 
groups.“These scientifically based regulatory processes should be
 allowed to continue without second guessing their outcomes,” the letter
 stated.Scott Faber, senior vice president for governmental 
affairs for the nonprofit Environmental Working Group, said the only 
reason the chemical is still deemed safe by federal regulators is 
because of a loophole that has been exploited by chemical companies. He 
says regulators have not reviewed their prior decisions in light of new 
science.“The confectioners and the food industry know the review 
process at the FDA is broken. They have been hiding behind it for 
decades. We shouldn't let them hide behind it anymore," Faber said. “If 
FDA won’t fix this review system and keep us safe from dangerous 
chemicals in our food, it’s up to states like California to keep us 
safe.”Just Born Inc., the Pennsylvania-based company that makes 
Peeps, said in a statement the company complies with FDA regulations and
 gets their “ingredients and packaging exclusively from reputable 
suppliers who adhere to high quality and safety standards.”The 
company noted its development team is looking for other options, 
“including colors derived form natural sources that can deliver the same
 visual impact and stability as their certified counterparts.”

California lawmaker wants Peeps to change its ingredients

LINCOLN —&nbsp;On Wednesday,&nbsp;Gov. Jim Pillen accepted the immediate resignation of Department of Economic Development Director Tony Goins. Gov. Pillen thanks Director Goins for his honorable service to our country as a United States Marine and wishes him and his family the best.

The governor’s office will have further communication concerning future leadership for the Department of Economic Development in due course.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/8/1660765112114.png" alt="Tony Goins, former director of the Nebraska Department of Economic Development.(Paul Hammel/Nebraska Examiner)" />
 <figcaption>Tony Goins, former director of the Nebraska Department of Economic Development.(Paul Hammel/Nebraska Examiner)</figcaption>
 </figure>Office of the GovernorLINCOLN —&nbsp;On Wednesday,&nbsp;Gov. Jim Pillen accepted the immediate resignation of Department of Economic Development Director Tony Goins. Gov. Pillen thanks Director Goins for his honorable service to our country as a United States Marine and wishes him and his family the best.The governor’s office will have further communication concerning future leadership for the Department of Economic Development in due course.

Nebraska's top economic development official resigns

Sale Bill 2023 Spring

WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service wrapped up the annual <a href="https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/dirty-dozen">Dirty Dozen</a>
 list of tax scams for 2023 with a reminder for taxpayers, businesses 
and tax professionals to watch out for these schemes throughout the 
year, not just during tax season.

Many of these schemes peak during filing season as people prepare 
their tax returns. In reality, these scams can occur throughout the year
 as fraudsters look for ways to steal money, personal information, data 
and more.

To help people watch out for these scams, the IRS and the Security 
Summit partners are providing an overview recapping this year's Dirty 
Dozen scams.

"Scammers are coming up with new ways all the time to try to steal 
information from taxpayers," said IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel. "People
 should be wary and avoid sharing sensitive personal data over the 
phone, email or social media to avoid getting caught up in these scams. 
And people should always remember to be wary if a tax deal sounds too 
good to be true."

Working together as the Security Summit, the IRS, state tax agencies 
and the nation's tax industry, including tax professionals, have taken 
numerous steps since 2015 to warn people about common scams and schemes 
during tax season and beyond that can increase the risk of identity 
theft. The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/security-summit">Security Summit</a>&nbsp;initiative is committed to protecting taxpayers, businesses and the tax system from scammers and identity thieves.

Some items on this year's list were new and some made a return visit.
 While the list is not a legal document or a formal listing of agency 
enforcement priorities, it is intended to alert taxpayers and the tax 
professional community about various scams and schemes.

Taxpayers should be aware of aggressive pitches from scammers who promote large refunds related to the <a href="https://www.irs.gov/coronavirus/employee-retention-credit">Employee Retention Credit (ERC)</a>.
 The warning follows blatant attempts by promoters to con ineligible 
people to claim the credit. The IRS highlighted these schemes from 
promoters who have been blasting ads on radio and the internet touting 
refunds involving Employee Retention Credits. These promotions can be 
based on inaccurate information related to eligibility for and 
computation of the credit. Additionally, some of these advertisements 
exist solely to collect the taxpayer's personally identifiable 
information in exchange for false promises. The scammers then use the 
information to conduct identity theft.

Taxpayers and tax professionals should be alert to fake 
communications from those posing as legitimate organizations in the tax 
and financial community, including the IRS and the states. These 
messages arrive in the form of an unsolicited text (smishing) or email 
(phishing) to lure unsuspecting victims to provide valuable personal and
 financial information that can lead to identity theft. The IRS 
initiates most contacts through regular mail and will never initiate 
contact with taxpayers by email, text or social media regarding a bill 
or tax refund.

Online account help from third-party scammers

Swindlers pose as a "helpful" third party and offer to help create a taxpayer's IRS&nbsp;<a href="https://www.irs.gov/payments/your-online-account">Online Account</a>&nbsp;at
 IRS.gov. In reality, no help is needed. The online account provides 
taxpayers with valuable tax information. But third parties making these 
offers will try to steal a taxpayer's personal information this way. 
Taxpayers can and should establish their own online account through 
IRS.gov.

The fuel tax credit is meant for off-highway business and farming use
 and, as such, is not available to most taxpayers. However, unscrupulous
 tax return preparers and promoters are enticing taxpayers to inflate 
their refunds by erroneously claiming the credit. The IRS has seen an 
increase in the promotion of filing certain refundable credits using&nbsp;<a href="https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-4136">Form 4136, Credit for Federal Tax Paid on Fuels</a>.

Bogus charities are a perennial problem that gets bigger whenever a 
crisis or natural disaster strikes. Scammers set up these fake 
organizations to take advantage of the public's generosity. They seek 
money and personal information, which can be used to further exploit 
victims through identity theft.

Taxpayers who give money or goods to a charity might be able to claim
 a deduction on their federal tax return if they itemize deductions, but
 charitable donations only count if they go to a qualified tax-exempt 
organization recognized by the IRS.

Most tax preparers provide outstanding and professional service. 
However, people should be careful of shady tax professionals and watch 
for common warning signs, including charging a fee based on the size of 
the refund. A major red flag or bad sign is when the tax preparer is 
unwilling to sign the dotted line. Avoid these "ghost" preparers, who 
will prepare a tax return but refuse to sign or include their IRS 
Preparer Tax Identification Number (PTIN) as required by law. Taxpayers 
should never sign a blank or incomplete return.

Social media: Fraudulent form filing and bad advice

Social media can circulate inaccurate or misleading tax information, 
and the IRS has recently seen several examples. These can involve common
 tax documents like Form W-2 or more obscure ones like Form 8944. While 
Form 8944 is real, it is intended for a very limited, specialized group.
 Both schemes encourage people to submit false, inaccurate information 
in hopes of getting a refund. Taxpayers should always remember that if 
something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

Spearphishing and cybersecurity for tax professionals

Phishing is a term given to emails or text messages designed to get 
users to provide personal information. Spearphishing is a tailored 
phishing attempt to a specific organization or business.

The IRS is warning tax professionals about spearphishing because 
there is greater potential for harm if the tax preparer has a data 
breach. A successful spearphishing attack can ultimately steal client 
data and the tax preparer's identity, allowing the thief to file 
fraudulent returns.

Offers in Compromise are an important program to help people who 
can't pay to settle their federal tax debts. But "mills" can 
aggressively promote Offers in Compromise in misleading ways to people 
who clearly don't meet the qualifications, frequently costing taxpayers 
thousands of dollars. A taxpayer can check their eligibility for free 
using the IRS <a href="https://irs.treasury.gov/oic_pre_qualifier/">Offer in Compromise Pre-Qualifier tool</a>.

Where appropriate, the IRS will challenge the purported tax 
benefits from these types of transactions and impose penalties. The IRS 
Criminal Investigation Division is always on the lookout for promoters 
and participants of these types of schemes. Taxpayers should think twice
 before including questionable arrangements like this on their tax 
returns. After all, taxpayers are legally responsible for what's on 
their return, not a promoter making promises and charging high fees. 
Taxpayers can help stop these arrangements by relying on reputable tax 
professionals they know and trust.

As part of the Dirty Dozen awareness effort, the IRS encourages 
people to report individuals who promote improper and abusive tax 
schemes as well as tax return preparers who deliberately prepare 
improper returns.

To report an abusive tax scheme or a tax return preparer, people should mail or fax a completed&nbsp;<a href="https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f14242.pdf">Form 14242, Report Suspected Abusive Tax Promotions or Preparers</a>PDF&nbsp;and any supporting material to the IRS Lead Development Center in the Office of Promoter Investigations.

Internal Revenue Service Lead Development Center 
Stop MS5040 
24000 Avila Road 
Laguna Niguel, California 92677-3405 
Fax: 877-477-9135

Alternatively, taxpayers and tax practitioners may send the information to the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.irs.gov/compliance/whistleblower-office">IRS Whistleblower Office</a>&nbsp;for possible monetary reward. For more information, see&nbsp;<a href="https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/abusive-tax-schemes-and-abusive-tax-return-preparers-irs-lead-development-center">Abusive Tax Schemes and Abusive Tax Return Preparers</a>.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/9/1599869632873.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>IRSWASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service wrapped up the annual <a href="https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/dirty-dozen">Dirty Dozen</a>
 list of tax scams for 2023 with a reminder for taxpayers, businesses 
and tax professionals to watch out for these schemes throughout the 
year, not just during tax season.Many of these schemes peak during filing season as people prepare 
their tax returns. In reality, these scams can occur throughout the year
 as fraudsters look for ways to steal money, personal information, data 
and more.To help people watch out for these scams, the IRS and the Security 
Summit partners are providing an overview recapping this year's Dirty 
Dozen scams."Scammers are coming up with new ways all the time to try to steal 
information from taxpayers," said IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel. "People
 should be wary and avoid sharing sensitive personal data over the 
phone, email or social media to avoid getting caught up in these scams. 
And people should always remember to be wary if a tax deal sounds too 
good to be true."Working together as the Security Summit, the IRS, state tax agencies 
and the nation's tax industry, including tax professionals, have taken 
numerous steps since 2015 to warn people about common scams and schemes 
during tax season and beyond that can increase the risk of identity 
theft. The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/security-summit">Security Summit</a>&nbsp;initiative is committed to protecting taxpayers, businesses and the tax system from scammers and identity thieves.Some items on this year's list were new and some made a return visit.
 While the list is not a legal document or a formal listing of agency 
enforcement priorities, it is intended to alert taxpayers and the tax 
professional community about various scams and schemes.<h2>2023 Dirty Dozen summary:</h2><h2>Employee Retention Credit claims </h2>Taxpayers should be aware of aggressive pitches from scammers who promote large refunds related to the <a href="https://www.irs.gov/coronavirus/employee-retention-credit">Employee Retention Credit (ERC)</a>.
 The warning follows blatant attempts by promoters to con ineligible 
people to claim the credit. The IRS highlighted these schemes from 
promoters who have been blasting ads on radio and the internet touting 
refunds involving Employee Retention Credits. These promotions can be 
based on inaccurate information related to eligibility for and 
computation of the credit. Additionally, some of these advertisements 
exist solely to collect the taxpayer's personally identifiable 
information in exchange for false promises. The scammers then use the 
information to conduct identity theft.<h2>Phishing and smishing</h2>Taxpayers and tax professionals should be alert to fake 
communications from those posing as legitimate organizations in the tax 
and financial community, including the IRS and the states. These 
messages arrive in the form of an unsolicited text (smishing) or email 
(phishing) to lure unsuspecting victims to provide valuable personal and
 financial information that can lead to identity theft. The IRS 
initiates most contacts through regular mail and will never initiate 
contact with taxpayers by email, text or social media regarding a bill 
or tax refund.<h2>Online account help from third-party scammers</h2>Swindlers pose as a "helpful" third party and offer to help create a taxpayer's IRS&nbsp;<a href="https://www.irs.gov/payments/your-online-account">Online Account</a>&nbsp;at
 IRS.gov. In reality, no help is needed. The online account provides 
taxpayers with valuable tax information. But third parties making these 
offers will try to steal a taxpayer's personal information this way. 
Taxpayers can and should establish their own online account through 
IRS.gov.<h2>False Fuel Tax Credit claims</h2>The fuel tax credit is meant for off-highway business and farming use
 and, as such, is not available to most taxpayers. However, unscrupulous
 tax return preparers and promoters are enticing taxpayers to inflate 
their refunds by erroneously claiming the credit. The IRS has seen an 
increase in the promotion of filing certain refundable credits using&nbsp;<a href="https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-4136">Form 4136, Credit for Federal Tax Paid on Fuels</a>.<h2>Fake charities</h2>Bogus charities are a perennial problem that gets bigger whenever a 
crisis or natural disaster strikes. Scammers set up these fake 
organizations to take advantage of the public's generosity. They seek 
money and personal information, which can be used to further exploit 
victims through identity theft.Taxpayers who give money or goods to a charity might be able to claim
 a deduction on their federal tax return if they itemize deductions, but
 charitable donations only count if they go to a qualified tax-exempt 
organization recognized by the IRS.<h2>Unscrupulous tax return preparers</h2>Most tax preparers provide outstanding and professional service. 
However, people should be careful of shady tax professionals and watch 
for common warning signs, including charging a fee based on the size of 
the refund. A major red flag or bad sign is when the tax preparer is 
unwilling to sign the dotted line. Avoid these "ghost" preparers, who 
will prepare a tax return but refuse to sign or include their IRS 
Preparer Tax Identification Number (PTIN) as required by law. Taxpayers 
should never sign a blank or incomplete return.<h2>Social media: Fraudulent form filing and bad advice</h2>Social media can circulate inaccurate or misleading tax information, 
and the IRS has recently seen several examples. These can involve common
 tax documents like Form W-2 or more obscure ones like Form 8944. While 
Form 8944 is real, it is intended for a very limited, specialized group.
 Both schemes encourage people to submit false, inaccurate information 
in hopes of getting a refund. Taxpayers should always remember that if 
something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.<h2>Spearphishing and cybersecurity for tax professionals</h2>Phishing is a term given to emails or text messages designed to get 
users to provide personal information. Spearphishing is a tailored 
phishing attempt to a specific organization or business.The IRS is warning tax professionals about spearphishing because 
there is greater potential for harm if the tax preparer has a data 
breach. A successful spearphishing attack can ultimately steal client 
data and the tax preparer's identity, allowing the thief to file 
fraudulent returns.<h2>Offer in Compromise mills</h2>Offers in Compromise are an important program to help people who 
can't pay to settle their federal tax debts. But "mills" can 
aggressively promote Offers in Compromise in misleading ways to people 
who clearly don't meet the qualifications, frequently costing taxpayers 
thousands of dollars. A taxpayer can check their eligibility for free 
using the IRS <a href="https://irs.treasury.gov/oic_pre_qualifier/">Offer in Compromise Pre-Qualifier tool</a>.<h2>Schemes aimed at high-income filers </h2><ul>
 <li>Charitable Remainder Annuity Trust (CRAT): <a href="https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/charitable-remainder-trusts">Charitable Remainder Trusts</a>
 are irrevocable trusts that let individuals donate assets to charity 
and draw annual income for life or a specific period. Unfortunately, 
these trusts are sometimes misused by promoters, advisors and taxpayers 
to try to eliminate ordinary income and/or capital gain on the sale of 
the property.</li>
 </ul><ul>
 <li>Monetized Installment Sales: In these 
potentially abusive transactions, promoters find taxpayers seeking to 
defer the recognition of gain upon the sale of appreciated property. 
They facilitate a purported monetized installment sale for the taxpayer 
in exchange for a fee.</li>
 </ul><h2>Bogus tax avoidance strategies</h2><ul>
 <li>Micro-captive insurance arrangements: A 
micro-captive is&nbsp;an insurance company whose owners elect to be taxed on 
the captive's investment income only. Abusive micro-captives involve 
schemes that lack many of the attributes of legitimate insurance. These 
structures often include implausible risks, failure to match genuine 
business needs and, in many cases, unnecessary duplication of the 
taxpayer's commercial coverages.</li><li>Syndicated conservation easements: A conservation 
easement is a restriction on the use of real property. Generally, 
taxpayers may claim a charitable contribution deduction for the fair 
market value of a conservation easement transferred to a charity if the 
transfer meets the requirements of Internal Revenue Code 170. In abusive
 arrangements, which generate high fees for promoters, participants 
attempt to game the tax system with grossly inflated tax deductions.</li>
 </ul><h2>Schemes with international elements </h2><ul>
 <li>Offshore accounts and digital assets: The IRS 
continues to scrutinize attempts to hide assets in offshore accounts and
 accounts holding digital assets, such as cryptocurrency. The IRS 
continues to identify individuals who attempt to conceal income in 
offshore banks, brokerage accounts, digital asset accounts and nominee 
entities. Asset protection professionals and unscrupulous promoters 
continue to lure U.S. persons into placing their assets in offshore 
accounts and structures saying they are out of reach of the IRS. These 
assertions are not true. The IRS can identify and track anonymous 
transactions of foreign financial accounts as well as digital assets.</li>
 </ul><ul>
 <li>Maltese individual retirement arrangements misusing treaty:
 These arrangements involve U.S. citizens or residents who attempt to 
avoid U.S. tax by contributing to foreign individual retirement 
arrangements in Malta (or potentially other host countries). The 
participants in these transactions typically lack any local connection 
to the host country. By improperly asserting the foreign arrangement as a
 "pension fund" for U.S. tax treaty purposes, the U.S. taxpayer 
misconstrues the relevant treaty provisions and improperly claims an 
exemption from U.S. income tax on gains and earnings in and 
distributions from the foreign individual retirement arrangement.</li>
 </ul><ul>
 <li>Puerto Rican and foreign captive insurance:
 U.S. business owners of closely held entities participate in a 
purported insurance arrangement with a Puerto Rican or other foreign 
corporation in which the U.S. business owner has a financial interest. 
The U.S. business owner (or a related entity) claims a deduction for 
amounts paid as premiums for "insurance coverage" provided by a fronting
 carrier, which reinsures the "coverage" with the Puerto Rican or other 
foreign corporation. Despite being labeled as insurance, these 
arrangements lack many of the attributes of legitimate insurance.</li>
 </ul>Where appropriate, the IRS will challenge the purported tax 
benefits from these types of transactions and impose penalties. The IRS 
Criminal Investigation Division is always on the lookout for promoters 
and participants of these types of schemes. Taxpayers should think twice
 before including questionable arrangements like this on their tax 
returns. After all, taxpayers are legally responsible for what's on 
their return, not a promoter making promises and charging high fees. 
Taxpayers can help stop these arrangements by relying on reputable tax 
professionals they know and trust.<h2>Help stop fraud and scams</h2>As part of the Dirty Dozen awareness effort, the IRS encourages 
people to report individuals who promote improper and abusive tax 
schemes as well as tax return preparers who deliberately prepare 
improper returns.To report an abusive tax scheme or a tax return preparer, people should mail or fax a completed&nbsp;<a href="https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f14242.pdf">Form 14242, Report Suspected Abusive Tax Promotions or Preparers</a>PDF&nbsp;and any supporting material to the IRS Lead Development Center in the Office of Promoter Investigations.Mail:Internal Revenue Service Lead Development Center 
Stop MS5040 
24000 Avila Road 
Laguna Niguel, California 92677-3405 
Fax: 877-477-9135Alternatively, taxpayers and tax practitioners may send the information to the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.irs.gov/compliance/whistleblower-office">IRS Whistleblower Office</a>&nbsp;for possible monetary reward. For more information, see&nbsp;<a href="https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/abusive-tax-schemes-and-abusive-tax-return-preparers-irs-lead-development-center">Abusive Tax Schemes and Abusive Tax Return Preparers</a>.

IRS: Scams, schemes target taxpayers even after filing season

LOS
 ANGELES (AP) — Travis Kelce is living his best life: On the heels of 
winning the Super Bowl and hosting “Saturday Night Live,” the Kansas 
City Chiefs superstar tight end will cap his successful string with a 
music festival this month.

The two-time Super Bowl winner 
announced Tuesday that he’ll host his first-ever festival called “Kelce 
Jam” during NFL Draft weekend. The inaugural event will be held April 28
 at the Azura Amphitheater in Bonner Springs, Kansas — a metropolitan 
area of Kansas City.

The event will feature performances by Machine Gun Kelly, Rick Ross, DJ duo Loud Luxury and Kansas City rap legend Tech N9ne.

“With
 the draft coming to KC, I think it’s perfect timing for me to throw the
 biggest music festival that’s ever come here,” said Kelce, who believes
 the festival could lure around 15,000 attendees. “We’ll have some 
unreal stage productions, Kansas City’s best food, tons of attractions 
and football-related games. This will be a whole lot of fun.”

Kelce said he’s taking advantage of his surging popularity after the Chiefs beat the Philadelphia Eagles in <a href="https://apnews.com/article/super-bowl-2023-kansas-city-chiefs-philadelphia-eagles-43a1fb387f63438c1eea23b6a4244d95">Super Bowl 57</a>
 in February. Last month, he hosted “Saturday Night Live” and he 
co-hosts a flourishing podcast with his brother, Jason Kelce, who plays 
for the Eagles.

In this moment, Kelce is enjoying “every bit of it” and feels ecstatic about his upcoming music festival.

“Every
 door that’s been opened because of winning the Super Bowl, I’ve been 
running through them,” he said. “It’s not going to stop anytime soon – 
especially with Kelce Jam. I think this will be the nail-in-the-coffin 
for the 2022 season.”

Kelce said he wanted to bring some of his 
favorite artists including Machine Gun Kelly – who is an Ohio native 
like himself. He felt inspired to host his own music festival after he 
attended four-time Super Bowl champion <a href="https://apnews.com/hub/rob-gronkowski">Rob Gronkowski</a> ’s Gronk Beach during the NFL Draft in Las Vegas last year.

“I
 took note from what Gronk did last year,” he said. “I want to throw a 
big party knowing that the draft is coming to Kansas City. It’s a 
special event for the city to host. … I’m going to need Kansas City to 
come out and be electric with me.”

LOS
 ANGELES (AP) — Travis Kelce is living his best life: On the heels of 
winning the Super Bowl and hosting “Saturday Night Live,” the Kansas 
City Chiefs superstar tight end will cap his successful string with a 
music festival this month.The two-time Super Bowl winner 
announced Tuesday that he’ll host his first-ever festival called “Kelce 
Jam” during NFL Draft weekend. The inaugural event will be held April 28
 at the Azura Amphitheater in Bonner Springs, Kansas — a metropolitan 
area of Kansas City.The event will feature performances by Machine Gun Kelly, Rick Ross, DJ duo Loud Luxury and Kansas City rap legend Tech N9ne.“With
 the draft coming to KC, I think it’s perfect timing for me to throw the
 biggest music festival that’s ever come here,” said Kelce, who believes
 the festival could lure around 15,000 attendees. “We’ll have some 
unreal stage productions, Kansas City’s best food, tons of attractions 
and football-related games. This will be a whole lot of fun.”Kelce said he’s taking advantage of his surging popularity after the Chiefs beat the Philadelphia Eagles in <a href="https://apnews.com/article/super-bowl-2023-kansas-city-chiefs-philadelphia-eagles-43a1fb387f63438c1eea23b6a4244d95">Super Bowl 57</a>
 in February. Last month, he hosted “Saturday Night Live” and he 
co-hosts a flourishing podcast with his brother, Jason Kelce, who plays 
for the Eagles.In this moment, Kelce is enjoying “every bit of it” and feels ecstatic about his upcoming music festival.“Every
 door that’s been opened because of winning the Super Bowl, I’ve been 
running through them,” he said. “It’s not going to stop anytime soon – 
especially with Kelce Jam. I think this will be the nail-in-the-coffin 
for the 2022 season.”Kelce said he wanted to bring some of his 
favorite artists including Machine Gun Kelly – who is an Ohio native 
like himself. He felt inspired to host his own music festival after he 
attended four-time Super Bowl champion <a href="https://apnews.com/hub/rob-gronkowski">Rob Gronkowski</a> ’s Gronk Beach during the NFL Draft in Las Vegas last year.“I
 took note from what Gronk did last year,” he said. “I want to throw a 
big party knowing that the draft is coming to Kansas City. It’s a 
special event for the city to host. … I’m going to need Kansas City to 
come out and be electric with me.”

Chiefs' Travis Kelce to host music festival in Kansas City

DETROIT (AP) — About 5,000 white-collar workers at General Motors took the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/general-motors-salaried-worker-buyout-cost-cuts-e479be59daf1b000ff9fbe79ce9baf3d">company's buyout offers</a>, which the automaker says is enough to avoid layoffs at this time.

GM
 said Tuesday that the offers will save about $1 billion per year in 
costs, about half of the $2 billion it wants to cut annually by the end 
of 2024. The company now has about 58,000 salaried workers in the U.S.

The
 buyouts come at an uncertain time for the auto industry, which is in 
the midst of a transition from internal combustion to electric vehicles.
 GM has a goal of selling only electric passenger vehicles by 2035.

The
 Detroit automaker and its competitors are making huge capital outlays 
to develop and build new electric vehicles, all while continuing to make
 cars, trucks and SUVs with gasoline engines. They're also spending big 
to get scarce minerals and parts needed for EV batteries.

"The 
steps we are taking will allow us to maintain momentum, remain agile, 
and create a more competitive GM,” the company said in a prepared 
statement.

GM hopes to get the remaining $1 billion in savings by 
reducing vehicle complexity and expanding use of shared parts on 
internal combustion and electric vehicles. It also plans to cut spending
 across the company, including for travel and marketing, the statement 
said.

At a Bank of America conference Tuesday, GM Chief Financial 
Officer Paul Jacobson said the company will take a $1 billion 
first-quarter charge because of the buyouts, but said it will save $1 
billion per year as the workers leave later in in 2023. “You’ve got a 
pretty quick payback,” Jacobson said.

Last month GM offered 
buyouts to white-collar workers with at least five years of service, and
 global executives who have been with the company at least two years.

Jacobson
 said the number of workers taking the buyouts is about what GM 
expected. The company made the offers in an effort to reach cost goals 
without layoffs, he said.

“It’s important that we were willing to 
pay for the voluntary program to incent people to go who maybe were 
closer to retirement or had just decided they wanted a change in career 
or lifestyle, at the same time to do everything we can to try to avoid 
involuntaries or layoffs," he said. “And I think we’re in a position 
where we’re going to be able to do that.”

GM's statement didn't 
completely rule out layoffs in the future, though, saying that 
"involuntary separations are not a consideration at this point.”

Employees taking the buyouts had to sign up by March 24, and those who are approved for the packages have to leave by June 30.

U.S.
 salaried workers are being offered one month of pay for every year of 
service, up to 12 months. They’ll also get COBRA health care and part of
 the bonuses they would receive this year.

DETROIT (AP) — About 5,000 white-collar workers at General Motors took the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/general-motors-salaried-worker-buyout-cost-cuts-e479be59daf1b000ff9fbe79ce9baf3d">company's buyout offers</a>, which the automaker says is enough to avoid layoffs at this time.GM
 said Tuesday that the offers will save about $1 billion per year in 
costs, about half of the $2 billion it wants to cut annually by the end 
of 2024. The company now has about 58,000 salaried workers in the U.S.The
 buyouts come at an uncertain time for the auto industry, which is in 
the midst of a transition from internal combustion to electric vehicles.
 GM has a goal of selling only electric passenger vehicles by 2035.The
 Detroit automaker and its competitors are making huge capital outlays 
to develop and build new electric vehicles, all while continuing to make
 cars, trucks and SUVs with gasoline engines. They're also spending big 
to get scarce minerals and parts needed for EV batteries."The 
steps we are taking will allow us to maintain momentum, remain agile, 
and create a more competitive GM,” the company said in a prepared 
statement.GM hopes to get the remaining $1 billion in savings by 
reducing vehicle complexity and expanding use of shared parts on 
internal combustion and electric vehicles. It also plans to cut spending
 across the company, including for travel and marketing, the statement 
said.At a Bank of America conference Tuesday, GM Chief Financial 
Officer Paul Jacobson said the company will take a $1 billion 
first-quarter charge because of the buyouts, but said it will save $1 
billion per year as the workers leave later in in 2023. “You’ve got a 
pretty quick payback,” Jacobson said.Last month GM offered 
buyouts to white-collar workers with at least five years of service, and
 global executives who have been with the company at least two years.Jacobson
 said the number of workers taking the buyouts is about what GM 
expected. The company made the offers in an effort to reach cost goals 
without layoffs, he said.“It’s important that we were willing to 
pay for the voluntary program to incent people to go who maybe were 
closer to retirement or had just decided they wanted a change in career 
or lifestyle, at the same time to do everything we can to try to avoid 
involuntaries or layoffs," he said. “And I think we’re in a position 
where we’re going to be able to do that.”GM's statement didn't 
completely rule out layoffs in the future, though, saying that 
"involuntary separations are not a consideration at this point.”Employees taking the buyouts had to sign up by March 24, and those who are approved for the packages have to leave by June 30.U.S.
 salaried workers are being offered one month of pay for every year of 
service, up to 12 months. They’ll also get COBRA health care and part of
 the bonuses they would receive this year.

About 5K GM salaried workers take buyouts, avoiding layoffs

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Tuesday met with his council of advisers on science and technology about the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/artificial-intelligence-chatgpt-risks-petition-elon-musk-steve-wozniak-534f0298d6304687ed080a5119a69962">risks</a> and <a href="https://apnews.com/article/google-bard-ai-14ee02cb71b32f0e1fc87a4173c03796">opportunities</a> that rapid advancements in artificial intelligence development pose for individual users and national security.

Biden said that “tech companies have a responsibility to make sure their products are safe before making them public."

“AI
 can help deal with some very difficult challenges like disease and 
climate change, but it also has to address the potential risks to our 
society, to our economy, to our national security,” Biden told the 
group.

The White House said the Democratic president would use the
 AI meeting to “discuss the importance of protecting rights and safety 
to ensure responsible innovation and appropriate safeguards" and to 
reiterate his call for Congress to pass legislation to protect children 
and curtail data collection by technology companies.

Artificial 
intelligence burst to the forefront in the national and global 
conversation after the release of the popular ChatGPT AI chatbot, which 
helped spark <a href="https://apnews.com/article/technology-science-microsoft-corp-business-software-dd445694f34a6b7a0444db9988330229">a race</a>
 among tech giants to unveil similar tools, while raising ethical and 
societal concerns about new tools that can generate convincing prose or 
imagery that looks like it's the work of humans.

Italy last week 
temporarily blocked ChatGPT over data privacy concerns, and European 
Union lawmakers have been negotiating new regulators to limit high-risk 
AI products.

The U.S. so far has taken a different approach. The 
Biden administration last year unveiled a set of far-reaching goals 
aimed at averting harms caused by the rise of AI systems, including 
guidelines for how to protect people’s personal data and limit 
surveillance.

The Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights notably did 
not set out specific enforcement actions, but instead was intended as a 
White House call to action for the U.S. government to safeguard digital 
and civil rights in an AI-fueled world.

Biden's council, known as 
PCAST, is composed of science, engineering, technology and medical 
experts and is co-chaired by the Cabinet-ranked director of the White 
House Office of Science and Technology Policy, Arati Prabhakar.

Asked if AI is dangerous, Biden said Tuesday, “It remains to be seen. Could be.”

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Tuesday met with his council of advisers on science and technology about the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/artificial-intelligence-chatgpt-risks-petition-elon-musk-steve-wozniak-534f0298d6304687ed080a5119a69962">risks</a> and <a href="https://apnews.com/article/google-bard-ai-14ee02cb71b32f0e1fc87a4173c03796">opportunities</a> that rapid advancements in artificial intelligence development pose for individual users and national security.Biden said that “tech companies have a responsibility to make sure their products are safe before making them public."“AI
 can help deal with some very difficult challenges like disease and 
climate change, but it also has to address the potential risks to our 
society, to our economy, to our national security,” Biden told the 
group.The White House said the Democratic president would use the
 AI meeting to “discuss the importance of protecting rights and safety 
to ensure responsible innovation and appropriate safeguards" and to 
reiterate his call for Congress to pass legislation to protect children 
and curtail data collection by technology companies.Artificial 
intelligence burst to the forefront in the national and global 
conversation after the release of the popular ChatGPT AI chatbot, which 
helped spark <a href="https://apnews.com/article/technology-science-microsoft-corp-business-software-dd445694f34a6b7a0444db9988330229">a race</a>
 among tech giants to unveil similar tools, while raising ethical and 
societal concerns about new tools that can generate convincing prose or 
imagery that looks like it's the work of humans.Italy last week 
temporarily blocked ChatGPT over data privacy concerns, and European 
Union lawmakers have been negotiating new regulators to limit high-risk 
AI products.The U.S. so far has taken a different approach. The 
Biden administration last year unveiled a set of far-reaching goals 
aimed at averting harms caused by the rise of AI systems, including 
guidelines for how to protect people’s personal data and limit 
surveillance.The Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights notably did 
not set out specific enforcement actions, but instead was intended as a 
White House call to action for the U.S. government to safeguard digital 
and civil rights in an AI-fueled world.Biden's council, known as 
PCAST, is composed of science, engineering, technology and medical 
experts and is co-chaired by the Cabinet-ranked director of the White 
House Office of Science and Technology Policy, Arati Prabhakar.Asked if AI is dangerous, Biden said Tuesday, “It remains to be seen. Could be.”

Biden says tech companies must ensure AI products are safe

Popular food delivery website Door Dash seemingly was overwhelmed by a fast-food restaurant's hour-long offer and was unavailable as of early Friday evening.

Wendy's announced its "Biggie Power Hour" <a href="https://www.pennlive.com/food/2023/03/wendys-has-a-biggie-deal-with-doordash-to-get-up-to-30-off-your-order-this-week.html">earlier this week</a> — $30 off of an order than included a Biggie Bag — but only from 5 to 6 p.m. Central.

<a href="https://downdetector.com/status/doordash/">DownDetector</a>, which monitors the status of popular websites, showed a dramatic spike in reports from Door Dash users beginning just before 5 p.m. Central.&nbsp;

Via its Twitter account, Door Dash said it was working to resolve the issue and advised users to use the mobile app rather than the website.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/3/1680302036119.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>Popular food delivery website Door Dash seemingly was overwhelmed by a fast-food restaurant's hour-long offer and was unavailable as of early Friday evening.Wendy's announced its "Biggie Power Hour" <a href="https://www.pennlive.com/food/2023/03/wendys-has-a-biggie-deal-with-doordash-to-get-up-to-30-off-your-order-this-week.html">earlier this week</a> — $30 off of an order than included a Biggie Bag — but only from 5 to 6 p.m. Central.<a href="https://downdetector.com/status/doordash/">DownDetector</a>, which monitors the status of popular websites, showed a dramatic spike in reports from Door Dash users beginning just before 5 p.m. Central.&nbsp;Via its Twitter account, Door Dash said it was working to resolve the issue and advised users to use the mobile app rather than the website.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">We are currently experiencing issues with our consumer platform. We are working to resolve this as quickly as possible. Thank you for your patience.&mdash; DoorDash Help (@DoorDash_Help) <a href="https://twitter.com/DoorDash_Help/status/1641928254360801280?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 31, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> </div><figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/3/1680301883800.png" alt="Via DownDetector.com" />
 <figcaption>Via DownDetector.com</figcaption>
 </figure><figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/3/1680302243165.png" alt="Via DownDetector.com" />
 <figcaption>Via DownDetector.com</figcaption>
 </figure>— Post News Network

🍔 Big deal from Wendy's coincides with Door Dash issues Friday

WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service today cautioned taxpayers 
to resist questionable tax practitioners and independent promoters 
selling schemes aimed at wealthy taxpayers.

As part of the IRS annual <a href="https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/dirty-dozen">Dirty Dozen</a>,
 these potentially abusive arrangements involve things like Charitable 
Remainder Annuity Trusts and monetized installment sales. These tools 
can be misused by promoters, who can advertise these schemes to attract 
clients. The promoters misapply the rules and leave the filers 
vulnerable."

"The IRS remains concerned about abusive tax arrangements, and they 
remain a focal point for our enforcement efforts," said IRS Commissioner
 Danny Werfel. "Taxpayers should beware of potentially abusive 
arrangements and promoters pushing them. People should seek out trusted,
 reputable tax advice and not be fooled by aggressive advertising and 
sales pitches."

This highlights day ten in the IRS annual Dirty Dozen campaign – a 
list of 12 scams and schemes that put taxpayers and the tax professional
 community at risk of losing money, personal information, data and more.
 Some items on the list are new and some are making a return visit. 
While the list is not a legal document or a formal listing of agency 
enforcement priorities, it is intended to alert taxpayers and the tax 
professional community about various scams and schemes at large.

Charitable Remainder Annuity Trust (CRAT)

<a href="https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/charitable-remainder-trusts">Charitable Remainder Trusts</a>
 are irrevocable trusts that let individuals donate assets to charity 
and draw annual income for life or for a specific time period. The IRS 
examines charitable remainder trusts to ensure they correctly report 
trust income and distributions to beneficiaries, file required tax 
documents and follow applicable laws and rules. A charitable remainder 
annuity trust (CRAT) pays a specific dollar amount each year.

Unfortunately, these trusts are sometimes misused by promoters, 
advisors and taxpayers to try to eliminate ordinary income and/or 
capital gain on the sale of property. In abusive transactions of this 
type, property with a fair market value in excess of its basis is 
transferred to a CRAT. Taxpayers may wrongly claim the transfer of the 
property to the CRAT results in an increase in basis to fair market 
value as if the property had been sold to the trust. The CRAT then sells
 the property but does not recognize gain due to the claimed step-up in 
basis. Next, the CRAT purchases a single premium immediate annuity 
(SPIA) with the proceeds from the sale of the property.

By misapplying the rules under sections 72 and 664, the taxpayer, or 
beneficiary, treats the remaining payment as an excluded portion 
representing a return of investment for which no tax is due.

The IRS reminds taxpayers that they are legally responsible for what 
is on their tax return, not the practitioner or promoter who entices 
them to sign on to an abusive transaction.

In these potentially abusive transactions, promoters find taxpayers 
seeking to defer the recognition of gain upon the sale of appreciated 
property. They facilitate a purported monetized installment sale for the
 taxpayer in exchange for a fee. These installment sales occur when an 
intermediary purchases appreciated property from a seller in exchange 
for an installment note. The notes typically provide for payments of 
interest only, with principal being paid at the end of the term. In 
these arrangements, the seller gets the lion's share of the proceeds, 
but improperly delays the recognition of gain on the appreciated 
property until the final payment on the installment note, often years 
later.

These are examples of potentially abusive arrangements that taxpayers
 should avoid, many of which are now advertised online. The IRS 
recommends that taxpayers considering these types of arrangements 
carefully review the legal requirements underlying them and consult with
 competent, independent, qualified advisors before engaging or claiming 
any purported tax benefit.

Where appropriate, the IRS may assert accuracy-related penalties 
ranging from 20% to 40% of an underpayment of tax, or a civil fraud 
penalty of 75% of any underpayment of tax related to transactions like 
those listed here. However, this is not an exclusive list of 
transactions the IRS is scrutinizing, and taxpayers and practitioners 
should always be wary of participating in transactions that seem "too 
good to be true."

To report an abusive tax scheme or a tax return preparer, people should mail or fax a completed&nbsp;<a href="https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f14242.pdf">Form 14242, Report Suspected Abusive Tax Promotions or Preparers</a>PDF and any supporting materials to the IRS Lead Development Center in the Office of Promoter Investigations.

Alternatively, taxpayers and tax practitioners may send the information to the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.irs.gov/compliance/whistleblower-office">IRS Whistleblower Office</a>&nbsp;for possible monetary reward.

For more information, see&nbsp;<a href="https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/abusive-tax-schemes-and-abusive-tax-return-preparers-irs-lead-development-center">Abusive Tax Schemes and Abusive Tax Return Preparers</a>.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/9/1599869632873.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>IRSWASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service today cautioned taxpayers 
to resist questionable tax practitioners and independent promoters 
selling schemes aimed at wealthy taxpayers.As part of the IRS annual <a href="https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/dirty-dozen">Dirty Dozen</a>,
 these potentially abusive arrangements involve things like Charitable 
Remainder Annuity Trusts and monetized installment sales. These tools 
can be misused by promoters, who can advertise these schemes to attract 
clients. The promoters misapply the rules and leave the filers 
vulnerable.""The IRS remains concerned about abusive tax arrangements, and they 
remain a focal point for our enforcement efforts," said IRS Commissioner
 Danny Werfel. "Taxpayers should beware of potentially abusive 
arrangements and promoters pushing them. People should seek out trusted,
 reputable tax advice and not be fooled by aggressive advertising and 
sales pitches."This highlights day ten in the IRS annual Dirty Dozen campaign – a 
list of 12 scams and schemes that put taxpayers and the tax professional
 community at risk of losing money, personal information, data and more.
 Some items on the list are new and some are making a return visit. 
While the list is not a legal document or a formal listing of agency 
enforcement priorities, it is intended to alert taxpayers and the tax 
professional community about various scams and schemes at large.<h2>Schemes aimed at high-income filers</h2><h2>Charitable Remainder Annuity Trust (CRAT)</h2><a href="https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/charitable-remainder-trusts">Charitable Remainder Trusts</a>
 are irrevocable trusts that let individuals donate assets to charity 
and draw annual income for life or for a specific time period. The IRS 
examines charitable remainder trusts to ensure they correctly report 
trust income and distributions to beneficiaries, file required tax 
documents and follow applicable laws and rules. A charitable remainder 
annuity trust (CRAT) pays a specific dollar amount each year.Unfortunately, these trusts are sometimes misused by promoters, 
advisors and taxpayers to try to eliminate ordinary income and/or 
capital gain on the sale of property. In abusive transactions of this 
type, property with a fair market value in excess of its basis is 
transferred to a CRAT. Taxpayers may wrongly claim the transfer of the 
property to the CRAT results in an increase in basis to fair market 
value as if the property had been sold to the trust. The CRAT then sells
 the property but does not recognize gain due to the claimed step-up in 
basis. Next, the CRAT purchases a single premium immediate annuity 
(SPIA) with the proceeds from the sale of the property.By misapplying the rules under sections 72 and 664, the taxpayer, or 
beneficiary, treats the remaining payment as an excluded portion 
representing a return of investment for which no tax is due.The IRS reminds taxpayers that they are legally responsible for what 
is on their tax return, not the practitioner or promoter who entices 
them to sign on to an abusive transaction.<h2>Monetized Installment Sales</h2>In these potentially abusive transactions, promoters find taxpayers 
seeking to defer the recognition of gain upon the sale of appreciated 
property. They facilitate a purported monetized installment sale for the
 taxpayer in exchange for a fee. These installment sales occur when an 
intermediary purchases appreciated property from a seller in exchange 
for an installment note. The notes typically provide for payments of 
interest only, with principal being paid at the end of the term. In 
these arrangements, the seller gets the lion's share of the proceeds, 
but improperly delays the recognition of gain on the appreciated 
property until the final payment on the installment note, often years 
later.These are examples of potentially abusive arrangements that taxpayers
 should avoid, many of which are now advertised online. The IRS 
recommends that taxpayers considering these types of arrangements 
carefully review the legal requirements underlying them and consult with
 competent, independent, qualified advisors before engaging or claiming 
any purported tax benefit.Where appropriate, the IRS may assert accuracy-related penalties 
ranging from 20% to 40% of an underpayment of tax, or a civil fraud 
penalty of 75% of any underpayment of tax related to transactions like 
those listed here. However, this is not an exclusive list of 
transactions the IRS is scrutinizing, and taxpayers and practitioners 
should always be wary of participating in transactions that seem "too 
good to be true."<h2>Report tax fraud</h2>As part of the Dirty Dozen awareness effort, the IRS encourages 
people to report individuals who promote improper and abusive tax 
schemes as well as tax return preparers who deliberately prepare 
improper returns.To report an abusive tax scheme or a tax return preparer, people should mail or fax a completed&nbsp;<a href="https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f14242.pdf">Form 14242, Report Suspected Abusive Tax Promotions or Preparers</a>PDF and any supporting materials to the IRS Lead Development Center in the Office of Promoter Investigations.Mail:Internal Revenue Service Lead Development Center 
Stop MS5040 
24000 Avila Road 
Laguna Niguel, California 92677-3405 
Fax: 877-477-9135Alternatively, taxpayers and tax practitioners may send the information to the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.irs.gov/compliance/whistleblower-office">IRS Whistleblower Office</a>&nbsp;for possible monetary reward.For more information, see&nbsp;<a href="https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/abusive-tax-schemes-and-abusive-tax-return-preparers-irs-lead-development-center">Abusive Tax Schemes and Abusive Tax Return Preparers</a>.

IRS: New schemes targeting high-income tax filers

Russia's
 security service arrested an American reporter for The Wall Street 
Journal on espionage charges, the first time a U.S. correspondent has 
been detained on spying accusations since the Cold War. The newspaper 
denied the allegations and demanded his release.

Evan Gershkovich,
 31, was detained in Yekaterinburg, Russia's fourth-largest city, about 
1,670 kilometers (1,035 miles) east of Moscow. Russia's Federal Security
 Service accused him of trying to obtain classified information.

Known
 by the acronym FSB, the service is the top domestic security agency and
 main successor to the Soviet-era KGB. It alleged that Gershkovich “was 
acting on instructions from the American side to collect information 
about the activities of one of the enterprises of the Russian 
military-industrial complex that constitutes a state secret.”

The 
Journal "vehemently denies the allegations from the FSB and seeks the 
immediate release of our trusted and dedicated reporter, Evan 
Gershkovich,” the newspaper said. “We stand in solidarity with Evan and 
his family.”

The arrest comes at a moment of bitter tensions between the West and Moscow over <a href="https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine">its war in Ukraine</a> and as the Kremlin intensifies a crackdown on opposition activists, independent journalists and civil society groups.

The
 sweeping campaign of repression is unprecedented since the Soviet era. 
Activists say it often means the very profession of journalism is 
criminalized, along with the activities of ordinary Russians who oppose 
the war.

Earlier this week, a Russian court <a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-crackdown-opposition-father-drawing-7ef43a8fb8f0110638b96a677a222b2b">convicted a father</a>
 over social media posts critical of the war and sentenced him to two 
years in prison. His 13-year-old daughter was sent to an orphanage.

Gershkovich
 is the first American reporter to be arrested on espionage charges in 
Russia since September 1986, when Nicholas Daniloff, a Moscow 
correspondent for U.S. News and World Report, was arrested by the KGB. 
Daniloff was released without charge 20 days later in a swap for an 
employee of the Soviet Union's United Nations mission who was arrested 
by the FBI, also on spying charges.

At a hearing Thursday, a Moscow court quickly ruled that Gershkovich would be kept behind bars pending the investigation.

While
 previous American detainees have been freed in prisoner swaps, a top 
Russian official said it was too early to talk about any such deal.

In
 Washington, the Biden administration said it had spoken with the 
Journal and Gershkovich's family. White House press secretary Karine 
Jean-Pierre condemned the arrest "in the strongest terms" and urged 
Americans to heed government warnings not to travel to Russia.

The
 State Department was in direct touch with the Russian government and 
seeking access to Gershkovich, Jean-Pierre said. The administration has 
no “specific indication” that journalists in Russia are being targeted, 
she said.

Gershkovich, who covers Russia, Ukraine and other 
ex-Soviet nations as a correspondent in the Journal’s Moscow bureau, 
could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted of espionage. Prominent
 lawyers noted that past investigations into espionage cases took a year
 to 18 months, during which time he may have little contact with the 
outside world.

The FSB noted that Gershkovich had accreditation 
from the Russian Foreign Ministry to work as a journalist, but ministry 
spokeswoman Maria Zakharova alleged that Gershkovich was using his 
credentials as cover for "activities that have nothing to do with 
journalism.”

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters: “It 
is not about a suspicion, it is about the fact that he was caught 
red-handed.”

Gershkovich speaks fluent Russian and had previously 
worked for the French news agency Agence France-Presse and The New York 
Times. He was a 2014 graduate of Bowdoin College in Maine, where he was a
 philosophy major who cooperated with local papers and championed a free
 press, according to Clayton Rose, the college's president.

His 
last report from Moscow, published earlier this week, focused on the 
Russian economy’s slowdown amid Western sanctions imposed after Russian 
troops invaded Ukraine last year.

Ivan Pavlov, a prominent Russian
 defense attorney who has worked on many espionage and treason cases, 
said Gershkovich's case is the first criminal espionage charge against a
 foreign journalist in post-Soviet Russia.

“That unwritten rule 
not to touch accredited foreign journalists, has stopped working,” said 
Pavlov, a member of the First Department legal aid group.

Pavlov 
said the case against Gershkovich was built to give Russia “trump cards”
 for a future prisoner exchange and will likely be resolved “not by the 
means of the law, but by political, diplomatic means.”

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov ruled out any quick swap.

“I
 wouldn’t even consider this issue now because people who were 
previously swapped had already served their sentences,” Ryabkov said, 
according to Russian news agencies.

In December, WNBA star Brittney Griner <a href="https://apnews.com/54de0cc371615a7165053a76eff17380">was freed</a> after 10 months behind bars in exchange for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.

Another American, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-sports-paul-whelan-government-and-politics-537c7eb77baee6f0342dbde07c184763">Paul Whelan</a>,
 a Michigan corporate security executive, has been imprisoned in Russia 
since December 2018 on espionage charges that his family and the U.S. 
government have said are baseless.

“Our family is sorry to hear 
that another American family will have to experience the same trauma 
that we have had to endure for the past 1,553 days,” Whelan's brother 
David said in an emailed statement. “It sounds as though the frame-up of
 Mr. Gershkovich was the same as it was in Paul’s case.”

Jeanne 
Cavelier, of the press freedom group Reporters Without Borders, said 
Gershkovich's arrest “looks like a retaliation measure of Russia against
 the United States.”

"We are very alarmed because it is probably a
 way to intimidate all Western journalists that are trying to 
investigate aspects of the war on the ground in Russia,” said Cavelier, 
head of Eastern Europe and Central Asia desk at the Paris-based group.

Another
 prominent lawyer with the First Department group, Yevgeny Smirnov, said
 that those arrested on espionage and treason charges are usually held 
at the FSB's Lefortovo prison, where they are usually placed in total 
isolation, without phone calls, visitors or even access to newspapers. 
At most, they can receive letters, often delayed by weeks. Smirnov 
called these conditions “tools of suppression.”

Smirnov and Pavlov
 both said that any trial would be held behind closed doors. According 
to Pavlov, there have been no acquittals in treason and espionage cases 
in Russia since 1999.

Associated PressRussia's
 security service arrested an American reporter for The Wall Street 
Journal on espionage charges, the first time a U.S. correspondent has 
been detained on spying accusations since the Cold War. The newspaper 
denied the allegations and demanded his release.Evan Gershkovich,
 31, was detained in Yekaterinburg, Russia's fourth-largest city, about 
1,670 kilometers (1,035 miles) east of Moscow. Russia's Federal Security
 Service accused him of trying to obtain classified information.Known
 by the acronym FSB, the service is the top domestic security agency and
 main successor to the Soviet-era KGB. It alleged that Gershkovich “was 
acting on instructions from the American side to collect information 
about the activities of one of the enterprises of the Russian 
military-industrial complex that constitutes a state secret.”The 
Journal "vehemently denies the allegations from the FSB and seeks the 
immediate release of our trusted and dedicated reporter, Evan 
Gershkovich,” the newspaper said. “We stand in solidarity with Evan and 
his family.”The arrest comes at a moment of bitter tensions between the West and Moscow over <a href="https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine">its war in Ukraine</a> and as the Kremlin intensifies a crackdown on opposition activists, independent journalists and civil society groups.The
 sweeping campaign of repression is unprecedented since the Soviet era. 
Activists say it often means the very profession of journalism is 
criminalized, along with the activities of ordinary Russians who oppose 
the war.Earlier this week, a Russian court <a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-crackdown-opposition-father-drawing-7ef43a8fb8f0110638b96a677a222b2b">convicted a father</a>
 over social media posts critical of the war and sentenced him to two 
years in prison. His 13-year-old daughter was sent to an orphanage.Gershkovich
 is the first American reporter to be arrested on espionage charges in 
Russia since September 1986, when Nicholas Daniloff, a Moscow 
correspondent for U.S. News and World Report, was arrested by the KGB. 
Daniloff was released without charge 20 days later in a swap for an 
employee of the Soviet Union's United Nations mission who was arrested 
by the FBI, also on spying charges.At a hearing Thursday, a Moscow court quickly ruled that Gershkovich would be kept behind bars pending the investigation.While
 previous American detainees have been freed in prisoner swaps, a top 
Russian official said it was too early to talk about any such deal.In
 Washington, the Biden administration said it had spoken with the 
Journal and Gershkovich's family. White House press secretary Karine 
Jean-Pierre condemned the arrest "in the strongest terms" and urged 
Americans to heed government warnings not to travel to Russia.The
 State Department was in direct touch with the Russian government and 
seeking access to Gershkovich, Jean-Pierre said. The administration has 
no “specific indication” that journalists in Russia are being targeted, 
she said.Gershkovich, who covers Russia, Ukraine and other 
ex-Soviet nations as a correspondent in the Journal’s Moscow bureau, 
could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted of espionage. Prominent
 lawyers noted that past investigations into espionage cases took a year
 to 18 months, during which time he may have little contact with the 
outside world.The FSB noted that Gershkovich had accreditation 
from the Russian Foreign Ministry to work as a journalist, but ministry 
spokeswoman Maria Zakharova alleged that Gershkovich was using his 
credentials as cover for "activities that have nothing to do with 
journalism.”Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters: “It 
is not about a suspicion, it is about the fact that he was caught 
red-handed.”Gershkovich speaks fluent Russian and had previously 
worked for the French news agency Agence France-Presse and The New York 
Times. He was a 2014 graduate of Bowdoin College in Maine, where he was a
 philosophy major who cooperated with local papers and championed a free
 press, according to Clayton Rose, the college's president.His 
last report from Moscow, published earlier this week, focused on the 
Russian economy’s slowdown amid Western sanctions imposed after Russian 
troops invaded Ukraine last year.Ivan Pavlov, a prominent Russian
 defense attorney who has worked on many espionage and treason cases, 
said Gershkovich's case is the first criminal espionage charge against a
 foreign journalist in post-Soviet Russia.“That unwritten rule 
not to touch accredited foreign journalists, has stopped working,” said 
Pavlov, a member of the First Department legal aid group.Pavlov 
said the case against Gershkovich was built to give Russia “trump cards”
 for a future prisoner exchange and will likely be resolved “not by the 
means of the law, but by political, diplomatic means.”Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov ruled out any quick swap.“I
 wouldn’t even consider this issue now because people who were 
previously swapped had already served their sentences,” Ryabkov said, 
according to Russian news agencies.In December, WNBA star Brittney Griner <a href="https://apnews.com/54de0cc371615a7165053a76eff17380">was freed</a> after 10 months behind bars in exchange for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.Another American, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-sports-paul-whelan-government-and-politics-537c7eb77baee6f0342dbde07c184763">Paul Whelan</a>,
 a Michigan corporate security executive, has been imprisoned in Russia 
since December 2018 on espionage charges that his family and the U.S. 
government have said are baseless.“Our family is sorry to hear 
that another American family will have to experience the same trauma 
that we have had to endure for the past 1,553 days,” Whelan's brother 
David said in an emailed statement. “It sounds as though the frame-up of
 Mr. Gershkovich was the same as it was in Paul’s case.”Jeanne 
Cavelier, of the press freedom group Reporters Without Borders, said 
Gershkovich's arrest “looks like a retaliation measure of Russia against
 the United States.”"We are very alarmed because it is probably a
 way to intimidate all Western journalists that are trying to 
investigate aspects of the war on the ground in Russia,” said Cavelier, 
head of Eastern Europe and Central Asia desk at the Paris-based group.Another
 prominent lawyer with the First Department group, Yevgeny Smirnov, said
 that those arrested on espionage and treason charges are usually held 
at the FSB's Lefortovo prison, where they are usually placed in total 
isolation, without phone calls, visitors or even access to newspapers. 
At most, they can receive letters, often delayed by weeks. Smirnov 
called these conditions “tools of suppression.”Smirnov and Pavlov
 both said that any trial would be held behind closed doors. According 
to Pavlov, there have been no acquittals in treason and espionage cases 
in Russia since 1999.Cover image courtesy Pixabay

Russia arrests Wall Street Journal reporter on spying charge

WASHINGTON —The Internal Revenue Service today warned tax 
professionals and businesses that they remain a top target for identity 
thieves and face threats from common scams on this year's&nbsp;<a href="https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/dirty-dozen">Dirty Dozen</a> list.

As part of the annual Dirty Dozen tax scams effort, the IRS and the 
Security Summit partners urged tax professionals and businesses to be on
 the lookout for a variety of suspicious email requests. Through these 
spearphishing emails, scammers try to steal client data, tax software 
preparation credentials and tax preparer identities with the goal of 
getting fraudulent tax refunds. These requests can range from an email 
that looks like it's from a potential new client to a request targeting 
payroll and human resource departments asking for sensitive Form W-2 
information.

"It's vitally important for tax professionals and businesses to 
maintain a strong defense against cyberattacks like spearphishing," said
 IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel. "The information these businesses have 
on their systems is extremely valuable to an identity thief looking to 
steal identities and file fraudulent tax returns. There are simple steps
 that tax pros and businesses can take to avoid being fooled by these 
common schemes, including extra caution when opening emails, clicking on
 links or sharing sensitive client data. Extra care can go a long way to
 protect tax professionals and businesses as well as their clients."

Working together as the Security Summit, the IRS, state tax agencies 
and the nation's tax industry have taken numerous steps since 2015 to 
strengthen internal systems and controls to protects against tax-related
 identity theft. As part of this effort, the IRS and Summit partners 
continue to warn people about common scams and schemes during tax season
 and beyond that can threaten a taxpayer's personal and financial 
information. The <a href="https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/security-summit">Security Summit initiative</a>
 is committed to protecting taxpayers, businesses and the tax system 
from scammers and identity thieves, and the Dirty Dozen is part of the 
larger effort.

The IRS' annual Dirty Dozen campaign is a list of 12 scams and 
schemes that put taxpayers and the tax professional community at risk of
 losing money, personal information, data and more. Some items on the 
Dirty Dozen are new and some make a return visit. While the Dirty Dozen 
is not a legal document or a formal listing of agency enforcement 
priorities, it is intended to alert taxpayers and the tax professional 
community about various scams and schemes.

Side-step spearphishing: Cyber security tips for tax pros and businesses

Phishing is a term given to emails or text messages designed to get 
users to provide personal information, either directly or by clicking on
 a link or attachment. Spearphishing is a tailored phishing attempt to a
 specific organization or business.

A taxpayer becoming a victim of tax-related identity theft is 
certainly an issue with spearphishing, but criminals seeking tax 
preparer credentials or access to their client's tax-related information
 increases the potential number of victims.

Spearphishing begins with a suspicious email – one that may appear as
 a tax preparation application or another e-service or platform. Some 
scammers will even use the IRS logo and claim something like "Action 
Required: Your account has now been put on hold." Often these emails 
stress urgency and will ask tax pros or businesses to click on links to 
input or verify information.

Client impersonation: Spearphishing aimed at tax pros

The IRS and its Security Summit partners continue to see 
spearphishing attempts that impersonate a new potential client, known as
 the <a href="https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/security-summit-alert-new-two-stage-email-scheme-targets-tax-professionals">"New Client" scam</a>.
 If the tax preparer responds, the scammer sends a malicious attachment 
or URL that ultimately enables them to gain access to sensitive client 
information on the tax preparer's computer systems.

Bogus requests for W-2s: Spearphishing aimed at businesses

The IRS wants to warn businesses about another specific spearphishing
 scam that targets employees in payroll or accounting departments. These
 employees might get an email that looks like it comes from an official 
source requesting W-2s for all employees. The payroll department might 
accidentally reply with these important documents, which would provide 
scammers with W-2 data on employees that can be used to commit fraud.

The IRS recommends using a two-person review process when receiving 
these types of requests for W-2s. The IRS also recommends any requests 
for payroll be submitted through an official process, like the 
employer's Human Resources portal.

Make a difference: Report fraud, scams and schemes

Individuals should never respond to tax-related phishing or 
spearfishing or click on the URL link. Instead, the scams should be 
reported by sending the email or a copy of the text/SMS as an attachment
 to&nbsp;<a href="mailto:phishing@irs.gov">phishing@irs.gov</a>.
 The report should include the caller ID (email or phone number), date, 
time and time zone, and the number that received the message.

Taxpayers can also report scams to the <a href="https://www.tigta.gov/irs-scam-resources">Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration</a> or the <a href="https://www.ic3.gov/">Internet Crime Complaint Center</a>. The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.irs.gov/privacy-disclosure/report-phishing">Report Phishing and Online Scams </a>page&nbsp;at IRS.gov provides complete details. The Federal Communications Commission's <a href="https://www.fcc.gov/smartphone-security">Smartphone Security Checker</a> is a useful tool against mobile security threats.

To report an abusive tax scheme or a tax return preparer, people should mail or fax a completed <a href="https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f14242.pdf">Form 14242, Report Suspected Abusive Tax Promotions or Preparers</a>PDF and any supporting materials to the IRS Lead Development Center in the Office of Promoter Investigations.

Internal Revenue Service Lead Development Center 
Stop MS5040 
24000 Avila Road 
Laguna Niguel, CA 92677-3405 
Fax: 877-477-9135

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/9/1599869632873.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>IRSWASHINGTON —The Internal Revenue Service today warned tax 
professionals and businesses that they remain a top target for identity 
thieves and face threats from common scams on this year's&nbsp;<a href="https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/dirty-dozen">Dirty Dozen</a> list.As part of the annual Dirty Dozen tax scams effort, the IRS and the 
Security Summit partners urged tax professionals and businesses to be on
 the lookout for a variety of suspicious email requests. Through these 
spearphishing emails, scammers try to steal client data, tax software 
preparation credentials and tax preparer identities with the goal of 
getting fraudulent tax refunds. These requests can range from an email 
that looks like it's from a potential new client to a request targeting 
payroll and human resource departments asking for sensitive Form W-2 
information."It's vitally important for tax professionals and businesses to 
maintain a strong defense against cyberattacks like spearphishing," said
 IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel. "The information these businesses have 
on their systems is extremely valuable to an identity thief looking to 
steal identities and file fraudulent tax returns. There are simple steps
 that tax pros and businesses can take to avoid being fooled by these 
common schemes, including extra caution when opening emails, clicking on
 links or sharing sensitive client data. Extra care can go a long way to
 protect tax professionals and businesses as well as their clients."Working together as the Security Summit, the IRS, state tax agencies 
and the nation's tax industry have taken numerous steps since 2015 to 
strengthen internal systems and controls to protects against tax-related
 identity theft. As part of this effort, the IRS and Summit partners 
continue to warn people about common scams and schemes during tax season
 and beyond that can threaten a taxpayer's personal and financial 
information. The <a href="https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/security-summit">Security Summit initiative</a>
 is committed to protecting taxpayers, businesses and the tax system 
from scammers and identity thieves, and the Dirty Dozen is part of the 
larger effort.The IRS' annual Dirty Dozen campaign is a list of 12 scams and 
schemes that put taxpayers and the tax professional community at risk of
 losing money, personal information, data and more. Some items on the 
Dirty Dozen are new and some make a return visit. While the Dirty Dozen 
is not a legal document or a formal listing of agency enforcement 
priorities, it is intended to alert taxpayers and the tax professional 
community about various scams and schemes.<h2>Side-step spearphishing: Cyber security tips for tax pros and businesses</h2>Phishing is a term given to emails or text messages designed to get 
users to provide personal information, either directly or by clicking on
 a link or attachment. Spearphishing is a tailored phishing attempt to a
 specific organization or business.The IRS is warning tax professionals about spearphishing because 
there is greater potential for harm if the tax preparer has a data 
breach. A successful spearphishing attack can ultimately steal client 
data and the tax preparer's identity, allowing the thief to file 
fraudulent returns.A taxpayer becoming a victim of tax-related identity theft is 
certainly an issue with spearphishing, but criminals seeking tax 
preparer credentials or access to their client's tax-related information
 increases the potential number of victims.Spearphishing begins with a suspicious email – one that may appear as
 a tax preparation application or another e-service or platform. Some 
scammers will even use the IRS logo and claim something like "Action 
Required: Your account has now been put on hold." Often these emails 
stress urgency and will ask tax pros or businesses to click on links to 
input or verify information.How to side-step spearphishing:<ul>
 <li>Never click suspicious links.</li><li>Double check the requests with the original sender.</li><li>Be vigilant year-round, not just during filing season.</li>
 </ul><h2>Client impersonation: Spearphishing aimed at tax pros</h2>The IRS and its Security Summit partners continue to see 
spearphishing attempts that impersonate a new potential client, known as
 the <a href="https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/security-summit-alert-new-two-stage-email-scheme-targets-tax-professionals">"New Client" scam</a>.
 If the tax preparer responds, the scammer sends a malicious attachment 
or URL that ultimately enables them to gain access to sensitive client 
information on the tax preparer's computer systems.<h2>Bogus requests for W-2s: Spearphishing aimed at businesses</h2>The IRS wants to warn businesses about another specific spearphishing
 scam that targets employees in payroll or accounting departments. These
 employees might get an email that looks like it comes from an official 
source requesting W-2s for all employees. The payroll department might 
accidentally reply with these important documents, which would provide 
scammers with W-2 data on employees that can be used to commit fraud.The IRS recommends using a two-person review process when receiving 
these types of requests for W-2s. The IRS also recommends any requests 
for payroll be submitted through an official process, like the 
employer's Human Resources portal.<h2>Make a difference: Report fraud, scams and schemes</h2>Individuals should never respond to tax-related phishing or 
spearfishing or click on the URL link. Instead, the scams should be 
reported by sending the email or a copy of the text/SMS as an attachment
 to&nbsp;<a href="mailto:phishing@irs.gov">phishing@irs.gov</a>.
 The report should include the caller ID (email or phone number), date, 
time and time zone, and the number that received the message.Taxpayers can also report scams to the <a href="https://www.tigta.gov/irs-scam-resources">Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration</a> or the <a href="https://www.ic3.gov/">Internet Crime Complaint Center</a>. The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.irs.gov/privacy-disclosure/report-phishing">Report Phishing and Online Scams </a>page&nbsp;at IRS.gov provides complete details. The Federal Communications Commission's <a href="https://www.fcc.gov/smartphone-security">Smartphone Security Checker</a> is a useful tool against mobile security threats.As part of the Dirty Dozen awareness effort, the IRS encourages 
people to report individuals who promote improper and abusive tax 
schemes as well as tax return preparers who deliberately prepare 
improper returns.To report an abusive tax scheme or a tax return preparer, people should mail or fax a completed <a href="https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f14242.pdf">Form 14242, Report Suspected Abusive Tax Promotions or Preparers</a>PDF and any supporting materials to the IRS Lead Development Center in the Office of Promoter Investigations.Mail:Internal Revenue Service Lead Development Center 
Stop MS5040 
24000 Avila Road 
Laguna Niguel, CA 92677-3405 
Fax: 877-477-9135Alternatively, taxpayers and tax practitioners may send the information to the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.irs.gov/compliance/whistleblower-office">IRS Whistleblower Office</a>&nbsp;for possible monetary reward.For more information, see&nbsp;<a href="https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/abusive-tax-schemes-and-abusive-tax-return-preparers-irs-lead-development-center">Abusive Tax Schemes and Abusive Tax Return Preparers</a>.

IRS warns of spearfishing scams as tax season winds down

STAMFORD,
 Conn. (AP) — More relatives of people shot to death at a Colorado 
supermarket in 2021 are suing gun-maker Sturm, Ruger &amp; Co. over how 
it marketed the firearm used in the massacre, adding to litigation first
 filed earlier this month against the company.

The lawsuit by 
relatives of five of the 10 people killed in Boulder was served on the 
company Thursday and is expected to be filed this week in Superior Court
 in Stamford, Connecticut, according to Andrew Garza, a lawyer for the 
plaintiffs. The son of a sixth victim <a href="https://apnews.com/article/colorado-supermarket-shooting-lawsuit-gun-maker-ruger-b78a272993615b32dc233a445c2dbbca">sued the company</a> on March 14.

Both
 lawsuits accuse Sturm, Ruger &amp; Co. of marketing its AR-556 pistol, 
which resembles a rifle, in a “reckless” and “immoral” way that promoted
 its killing capability and glorified lone gunmen. The lawsuits, which 
seek undisclosed damages, are expected to be consolidated into one case,
 Garza said.

“We're interested in pursuing justice for all the families and holding Ruger accountable,” Garza said Monday.

Representatives
 of Sturm, Ruger &amp; Co., based in Fairfield, Connecticut, did not 
immediately respond to email and phone messages Monday.

The 
wrongful death lawsuits are similar to one filed against gun-maker 
Remington by relatives of victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary 
School shooting that killed 20 children and six educators. That lawsuit 
led to a <a href="https://apnews.com/article/sandy-hook-school-shooting-remington-settlement-e53b95d398ee9b838afc06275a4df403">$73 million settlement</a> with Remington last year.

Gun
 makers are generally shielded from liability under a 2005 federal law, 
but an exception allows lawsuits over firearms marketing.

The gunman in the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/shootings-colorado-74ad3bbbe6dea7e9122b946e22b1cef3">March 22, 2021, shooting</a> at the King Soopers store in Boulder legally bought the Ruger AR-556, investigators said.

The
 six victims whose relatives are suing Sturm, Ruger &amp; Co. were 
Suzanne Fountain, Neven Stanisic, Denny Stong, Lynn Murray, Jody Waters 
and Kevin Mahoney.

STAMFORD,
 Conn. (AP) — More relatives of people shot to death at a Colorado 
supermarket in 2021 are suing gun-maker Sturm, Ruger &amp; Co. over how 
it marketed the firearm used in the massacre, adding to litigation first
 filed earlier this month against the company.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/3/1679938930877.jpeg" alt="Pictures of the 10 victims of a mass shooting in a King Soopers grocery store are posted on a cement barrier outside the supermarket in Boulder, Colo., on April 23, 2021. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)" />
 <figcaption>Pictures of the 10 victims of a mass shooting in a King Soopers grocery store are posted on a cement barrier outside the supermarket in Boulder, Colo., on April 23, 2021. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)</figcaption>
 </figure>The lawsuit by 
relatives of five of the 10 people killed in Boulder was served on the 
company Thursday and is expected to be filed this week in Superior Court
 in Stamford, Connecticut, according to Andrew Garza, a lawyer for the 
plaintiffs. The son of a sixth victim <a href="https://apnews.com/article/colorado-supermarket-shooting-lawsuit-gun-maker-ruger-b78a272993615b32dc233a445c2dbbca">sued the company</a> on March 14.Both
 lawsuits accuse Sturm, Ruger &amp; Co. of marketing its AR-556 pistol, 
which resembles a rifle, in a “reckless” and “immoral” way that promoted
 its killing capability and glorified lone gunmen. The lawsuits, which 
seek undisclosed damages, are expected to be consolidated into one case,
 Garza said.“We're interested in pursuing justice for all the families and holding Ruger accountable,” Garza said Monday.Representatives
 of Sturm, Ruger &amp; Co., based in Fairfield, Connecticut, did not 
immediately respond to email and phone messages Monday.The 
wrongful death lawsuits are similar to one filed against gun-maker 
Remington by relatives of victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary 
School shooting that killed 20 children and six educators. That lawsuit 
led to a <a href="https://apnews.com/article/sandy-hook-school-shooting-remington-settlement-e53b95d398ee9b838afc06275a4df403">$73 million settlement</a> with Remington last year.Gun
 makers are generally shielded from liability under a 2005 federal law, 
but an exception allows lawsuits over firearms marketing.The gunman in the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/shootings-colorado-74ad3bbbe6dea7e9122b946e22b1cef3">March 22, 2021, shooting</a> at the King Soopers store in Boulder legally bought the Ruger AR-556, investigators said.The
 six victims whose relatives are suing Sturm, Ruger &amp; Co. were 
Suzanne Fountain, Neven Stanisic, Denny Stong, Lynn Murray, Jody Waters 
and Kevin Mahoney.

More relatives of Colorado shooting victims sue Sturm Ruger

VATICAN
 CITY — Pope Francis on Saturday updated a 2019 church law aimed at
 holding senior churchmen accountable for covering up sexual abuse 
cases, expanding it to cover lay Catholic leaders and reaffirming that 
vulnerable adults and not just children can be victims of abuse when 
they are unable to freely consent.

With the update, Francis made 
permanent temporary provisions that were passed in 2019 in a moment of 
crisis for the Vatican and Catholic hierarchy. The law was praised at 
the time for laying out precise mechanisms to investigate complicit 
bishops and religious superiors, even though it amounted to bishops 
policing fellow bishops without any requirement that civil law 
enforcement be informed.

But implementation has been uneven, and 
abuse survivors have criticized the Vatican for a continued lack of 
transparency about the cases. Their advocates said a wholesale overhaul 
was necessary, not just Saturday's minor modifications.

“The 
Catholic people were promised that (the law) would be ‘revolutionary,’ a
 watershed event for holding bishops accountable. But in four years, 
we’ve seen no significant housecleaning, no dramatic change,” said Anne 
Barrett Doyle, co-director of BishopAccountability.org, an online 
resource that has identified 40 bishops investigated globally under the 
new protocols.

The new rules conform to other changes in the 
Catholic Church’s handling of abuse that were issued in the last four 
years. Most significantly, they are extended to cover leaders of 
Vatican-approved associations headed by laymen and women, not just 
clerics.

The expansion is a response to the many cases that have 
come to light in recent years of lay leaders abusing their authority to 
sexually exploit people under their spiritual care or authority, most 
recently the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/ap-top-news-international-news-france-sexual-abuse-by-clergy-europe-b18b85d541a5b57080ed41e4bdc8da53">L'Arche federation of Jean Vanier.</a>

The
 update also reaffirms that adults such as nuns or seminarians who are 
dependent on their bishops or superiors can be victims of abuse. Church 
law had long held that only adults who “habitually” lack the use of 
reason could be considered victims in the same sense as minors.

The
 2019 law expanded that definition and it is retained in the update, 
making clear that adults can be rendered vulnerable to abuse as 
situations present themselves. The inclusion is significant given 
resistance in the Vatican to the #MeToo pressure to recognize rank and 
file parishioners who are <a href="https://apnews.com/article/pope-francis-east-timor-vatican-city-religion-728a5af6ec4d36e54794a761fddd3fc4">abused during spiritual direction</a> by a priest as possible victims.

The
 definition reads that a victim can be “any person in a state of 
infirmity, physical or mental deficiency, or deprivation of personal 
liberty which, in fact, even occasionally, limits their ability to 
understand or to want or otherwise resist the offense.”

“This can 
be read as further manifestation of how the church cares for the 
frailest and weakest,” said Archbishop Filippo Iannone, prefect of the 
Vatican's legal office. “Anyone can be a victim, so there has to be 
justice. And if the victims are like these (vulnerable adults), then you
 must intervene to defend their dignity and liberty."

Francis 
originally set out the norms as a response to the decades of cover-up 
exposed by the 2018 Pennsylvania grand jury report and the scandal over 
then-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, who was eventually <a href="https://apnews.com/article/sexual-abuse-by-clergy-pope-francis-crime-32367529462a512ea8db6467f620468c">defrocked for abusing adults</a>
 as well as minors. Francis himself was implicated in that wave of the 
scandal, after he dismissed claims by victims of a notorious predator in
 Chile.

After realizing he had erred, Francis ordered up a <a href="https://apnews.com/article/2018-the-year-in-review-pope-francis-ap-top-news-chile-international-news-1d175bccdb364e5387956fc0e0672bf2">full review of the Chilean abuse dossier</a>,
 summoned the presidents of bishops' conferences to Rome for a four-day 
summit on safeguarding and set in motion plans for a new law to hold 
senior churchmen to account for abuse and cover-ups.

The 2019 law 
and its update Saturday contain explicit standards for investigating 
bishops and superiors, but entrusts other bishops to do the work. It 
also mandates all church personnel to report allegations of clergy abuse
 in-house, though it doesn't mandate reporting of abuse by lay leaders 
and refrains from requiring any reporting to police. The new law expands
 whistleblower protections and reaffirms the presumption of innocence of
 the accused.

The update makes clear each diocese must have an 
office to receive complaints, a more specific requirement than the 
original call for a mere “system,” such as an email address. The change 
derived from Francis' realization that many dioceses, particularly in 
poorer parts of the world, dragged their feet.

The pope recently warned there was a “clear and present danger” of abuse in areas with fewer financial resources.

“Maybe
 upwards of two-thirds of the bishops' conferences around the world 
haven’t really had the type of capacity-building and resources to 
implement process this in any meaningful way," said the Rev. Andrew 
Small, secretary of the pope's child protection advisory board.

Survivors
 have long complained that the Vatican spent decades turning a blind eye
 to bishops and religious superiors who moved predator priests around 
from parish to parish rather than report them to police.

The 2019 
law attempted to respond to those complaints, but victims' advocates 
have faulted the Holy See for continued secrecy about the investigations
 and outcomes. The most egregious recent case concerned the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/africa-religion-united-nations-sexual-abuse-by-clergy-a17ac2c60174564feda9d1a7dd7ae609">secret sanctions imposed in 2021</a> on East Timor Bishop Carlos Ximenes Belo, a Nobel Peace Prize winner.

Small agreed that abuse survivors, as well as the broader Catholic flock, must at the very least be informed of case outcomes.

“Part
 of the process of justice, let alone healing, is the awareness that 
people were held accountable for their actions,” he said. "And we’re not
 anywhere near where we should be on that.”

Associated PressVATICAN
 CITY — Pope Francis on Saturday updated a 2019 church law aimed at
 holding senior churchmen accountable for covering up sexual abuse 
cases, expanding it to cover lay Catholic leaders and reaffirming that 
vulnerable adults and not just children can be victims of abuse when 
they are unable to freely consent.With the update, Francis made 
permanent temporary provisions that were passed in 2019 in a moment of 
crisis for the Vatican and Catholic hierarchy. The law was praised at 
the time for laying out precise mechanisms to investigate complicit 
bishops and religious superiors, even though it amounted to bishops 
policing fellow bishops without any requirement that civil law 
enforcement be informed.But implementation has been uneven, and 
abuse survivors have criticized the Vatican for a continued lack of 
transparency about the cases. Their advocates said a wholesale overhaul 
was necessary, not just Saturday's minor modifications.“The 
Catholic people were promised that (the law) would be ‘revolutionary,’ a
 watershed event for holding bishops accountable. But in four years, 
we’ve seen no significant housecleaning, no dramatic change,” said Anne 
Barrett Doyle, co-director of BishopAccountability.org, an online 
resource that has identified 40 bishops investigated globally under the 
new protocols.The new rules conform to other changes in the 
Catholic Church’s handling of abuse that were issued in the last four 
years. Most significantly, they are extended to cover leaders of 
Vatican-approved associations headed by laymen and women, not just 
clerics.The expansion is a response to the many cases that have 
come to light in recent years of lay leaders abusing their authority to 
sexually exploit people under their spiritual care or authority, most 
recently the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/ap-top-news-international-news-france-sexual-abuse-by-clergy-europe-b18b85d541a5b57080ed41e4bdc8da53">L'Arche federation of Jean Vanier.</a>The
 update also reaffirms that adults such as nuns or seminarians who are 
dependent on their bishops or superiors can be victims of abuse. Church 
law had long held that only adults who “habitually” lack the use of 
reason could be considered victims in the same sense as minors.The
 2019 law expanded that definition and it is retained in the update, 
making clear that adults can be rendered vulnerable to abuse as 
situations present themselves. The inclusion is significant given 
resistance in the Vatican to the #MeToo pressure to recognize rank and 
file parishioners who are <a href="https://apnews.com/article/pope-francis-east-timor-vatican-city-religion-728a5af6ec4d36e54794a761fddd3fc4">abused during spiritual direction</a> by a priest as possible victims.The
 definition reads that a victim can be “any person in a state of 
infirmity, physical or mental deficiency, or deprivation of personal 
liberty which, in fact, even occasionally, limits their ability to 
understand or to want or otherwise resist the offense.”“This can 
be read as further manifestation of how the church cares for the 
frailest and weakest,” said Archbishop Filippo Iannone, prefect of the 
Vatican's legal office. “Anyone can be a victim, so there has to be 
justice. And if the victims are like these (vulnerable adults), then you
 must intervene to defend their dignity and liberty."Francis 
originally set out the norms as a response to the decades of cover-up 
exposed by the 2018 Pennsylvania grand jury report and the scandal over 
then-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, who was eventually <a href="https://apnews.com/article/sexual-abuse-by-clergy-pope-francis-crime-32367529462a512ea8db6467f620468c">defrocked for abusing adults</a>
 as well as minors. Francis himself was implicated in that wave of the 
scandal, after he dismissed claims by victims of a notorious predator in
 Chile.After realizing he had erred, Francis ordered up a <a href="https://apnews.com/article/2018-the-year-in-review-pope-francis-ap-top-news-chile-international-news-1d175bccdb364e5387956fc0e0672bf2">full review of the Chilean abuse dossier</a>,
 summoned the presidents of bishops' conferences to Rome for a four-day 
summit on safeguarding and set in motion plans for a new law to hold 
senior churchmen to account for abuse and cover-ups.The 2019 law 
and its update Saturday contain explicit standards for investigating 
bishops and superiors, but entrusts other bishops to do the work. It 
also mandates all church personnel to report allegations of clergy abuse
 in-house, though it doesn't mandate reporting of abuse by lay leaders 
and refrains from requiring any reporting to police. The new law expands
 whistleblower protections and reaffirms the presumption of innocence of
 the accused.The update makes clear each diocese must have an 
office to receive complaints, a more specific requirement than the 
original call for a mere “system,” such as an email address. The change 
derived from Francis' realization that many dioceses, particularly in 
poorer parts of the world, dragged their feet.The pope recently warned there was a “clear and present danger” of abuse in areas with fewer financial resources.“Maybe
 upwards of two-thirds of the bishops' conferences around the world 
haven’t really had the type of capacity-building and resources to 
implement process this in any meaningful way," said the Rev. Andrew 
Small, secretary of the pope's child protection advisory board.Survivors
 have long complained that the Vatican spent decades turning a blind eye
 to bishops and religious superiors who moved predator priests around 
from parish to parish rather than report them to police.The 2019 
law attempted to respond to those complaints, but victims' advocates 
have faulted the Holy See for continued secrecy about the investigations
 and outcomes. The most egregious recent case concerned the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/africa-religion-united-nations-sexual-abuse-by-clergy-a17ac2c60174564feda9d1a7dd7ae609">secret sanctions imposed in 2021</a> on East Timor Bishop Carlos Ximenes Belo, a Nobel Peace Prize winner.Small agreed that abuse survivors, as well as the broader Catholic flock, must at the very least be informed of case outcomes.“Part
 of the process of justice, let alone healing, is the awareness that 
people were held accountable for their actions,” he said. "And we’re not
 anywhere near where we should be on that.”

Pope expands sex abuse law, reaffirms adults can be victims

By DOUG JACOBSON <a href="https://theconversation.com/should-the-us-ban-tiktok-can-it-a-cybersecurity-expert-explains-the-risks-the-app-poses-and-the-challenges-to-blocking-it-202300">The Conversation</a>

By DOUG JACOBSON <a href="https://theconversation.com/should-the-us-ban-tiktok-can-it-a-cybersecurity-expert-explains-the-risks-the-app-poses-and-the-challenges-to-blocking-it-202300">The Conversation</a>TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew <a href="https://energycommerce.house.gov/posts/energy-and-commerce-brings-tik-tok-ceo-before-committee-to-testify">testified before the House Energy and Commerce Committee</a> on March 23, 2023, amid a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/18/opinion/tiktok-ban-china-spying.html">chorus of calls from members of Congress</a> for the federal government to ban the Chinese-owned video social media app and reports that the Biden administration is <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/15/technology/tiktok-biden-pushes-sale.html">pushing for the company’s sale</a>.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/3/1679581245218.png" alt="Shou Zi Chew&nbsp;" />
 <figcaption>Shou Zi Chew&nbsp;</figcaption>
 </figure>The federal government, along with many state and foreign governments and some companies, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2020/08/03/its-not-just-united-states-these-governments-see-tiktok-growing-problem/">has banned TikTok on work-provided phones</a>. This type of ban can be effective for protecting data related to government work. But a full ban of the app is another matter, which raises a number of
 questions: What data privacy risk does TikTok pose? What could the 
Chinese government do with data collected by the app? Is its content 
recommendation algorithm dangerous? And is it even possible to ban an 
app?<figure>
 <iframe width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KzHLIqZyFr8"></iframe>
 <figcaption>Governments around the world have been banning TikTok on government-issued phones.</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>Vacuuming up data</h2>As a <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=KkGR-BwAAAAJ&amp;hl=en">cybersecurity researcher</a>, I’ve noted that every few years a new mobile app that becomes popular raises issues of security, privacy and data access.Apps collect data for several reasons. Sometimes the data is used to 
improve the app for users. However, most apps collect data that the 
companies use in part to fund their operations. This revenue typically 
comes from targeting users with ads based on the data they collect. The 
questions this use of data raises are: Does the app need all this data? 
What does it do with the data? And how does it protect the data from 
others? So what makes TikTok different from the likes of <a href="https://pokemongolive.com/">Pokemon-GO</a>, Facebook or even your phone itself? TikTok’s <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/legal/page/us/privacy-policy/en">privacy policy</a>, which <a href="https://theconversation.com/nobody-reads-privacy-policies-heres-how-to-fix-that-81932">few people read</a>, is a good place to start. Overall, the company is <a href="https://brandonsilverman.substack.com/p/how-transparent-is-tiktok">not particularly transparent</a> about its practices. The document is too long to list here all the data it collects, which should be a warning.There are a few items of interest in TikTok’s privacy policy besides 
the information you give them when you create an account – name, age, 
username, password, language, email, phone number, social media account 
information and profile image – that are concerning. This information 
includes location data, data from your clipboard, contact information, 
website tracking, plus all data you post and messages you send through 
the app. The company claims that current versions of the app <a href="https://docs.house.gov/meetings/IF/IF00/20230323/115519/HHRG-118-IF00-Wstate-ChewS-20230323.pdf">do not collect GPS information</a> from U.S. users. There has been speculation that TikTok is collecting other information, but that is hard to prove.If <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/14/technology/personal-data-apple-google-facebook.html">most apps collect data</a>, why is the U.S. government worried about TikTok? First, they worry about the <a href="https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/emilybakerwhite/tiktok-tapes-us-user-data-china-bytedance-access">Chinese government accessing data</a> from its <a href="https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/other/tiktok-says-it-has-150-million-us-users-amid-renewed-calls-for-a-ban/ar-AA18UfZv">150 million users in the U.S.</a> There is also a concern about the algorithms used by TikTok to show content. <h2>Data in the Chinese government’s hands</h2>If the data does end up in the hands of the Chinese government, the 
question is how could it use the data to its benefit. The government 
could share it with other companies in China to help them profit, which 
is no different than U.S. companies sharing marketing data. The Chinese 
government is known for <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/essay/the-long-game-chinas-grand-strategy-to-displace-american-order/">playing the long game</a>, and data is power, so if it is collecting data, it could take years to learn how it benefits China. One potential threat is the Chinese government using the data to spy 
on people, particularly people who have access to valuable information. 
The Justice Department is investigating TikTok’s parent company, 
ByteDance, for <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/a617dfba-4946-4977-a1f8-dcfb8997ef51">using the app to monitor U.S. journalists</a>. The Chinese government has an extensive history of <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/02/politics/china-hackers-espionage-defense-contractors/index.html">hacking U.S. government agencies and corporations</a>, and much of that hacking has been facilitated by <a href="https://www.csoonline.com/article/3648654/social-engineering-definition-examples-and-techniques.html">social engineering</a> – the practice of using data about people to trick them into revealing more information.The second issue that the U.S. government has raised is algorithm 
bias or algorithm manipulation. TikTok and most social media apps have 
algorithms designed to learn a user’s interests and then try to adjust 
the content so the user will continue to use the app. TikTok has not 
shared its algorithm, so it’s not clear how the app chooses a user’s 
content. The algorithm could be biased in a way that influences a population 
to believe certain things. There are numerous allegations that TiKTok’s 
algorithm is biased and can <a href="https://counterhate.com/research/deadly-by-design/">reinforce negative thoughts among younger users</a>, and be used to <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/07/22/tiktok-privacy-foreign-software-policy/">affect public opinion</a>.
 It could be that the algorithm’s manipulative behavior is 
unintentional, but there is concern that the Chinese government has been
 using or could use the algorithm to influence people.<figure>
 <iframe width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/nfczi2cI6Cs"></iframe>
 <figcaption>TikTok’s algorithm for serving you videos has also become a source of concern.</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>Can the government ban an app?</h2>If the federal government comes to the conclusion that TikTok should 
be banned, is it even possible to ban it for all of its 150 million 
existing users? Any such ban would likely start with blocking the 
distribution of the app through Apple’s and Google’s app stores. This 
might keep many users off the platform, but there are other ways to 
download and install apps for people who are determined to use them. A more drastic method would be to force Apple and Google to change 
their phones to prevent TikTok from running. While I’m not a lawyer, I 
think this effort would fail due to legal challenges, which <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/tiktok-ban-whats-next-company-purchase/">include First Amendment concerns</a>. The bottom line is that an absolute ban will be tough to enforce.There are also questions about how effective a ban would be even if 
it were possible. By some estimates, the Chinese government has already 
collected personal information on <a href="https://www.npr.org/2021/08/26/1013501080/chinas-microsoft-hack-may-have-had-a-bigger-purpose-than-just-spying">at least 80% of the U.S. population</a>
 via various means. So a ban might limit the damage going forward to 
some degree, but the Chinese government has already collected a 
significant amount of data. The Chinese government also has access – 
along with anyone else with money – to the <a href="https://theconversation.com/darknet-markets-generate-millions-in-revenue-selling-stolen-personal-data-supply-chain-study-finds-193506">large market for personal data</a>, which fuels <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/20/opinion/tiktok-ban-big-tech-china.html">calls for stronger data privacy rules</a>.<h2>Are you at risk?</h2>So as an average user, should you worry? Again, it is unclear what 
data ByteDance is collecting and if it can harm an individual. I believe
 the most significant risks are to people in power, whether it is 
political power or within a company. Their data and information could be
 used to gain access to other data or potentially compromise the 
organizations they are associated with.The aspect of TikTok I find most concerning is the algorithm that 
decides what videos users see and how it can affect vulnerable groups, <a href="https://theconversation.com/facebooks-own-internal-documents-offer-a-blueprint-for-making-social-media-safer-for-teens-169080">particularly young people</a>. Independent of a ban, families should have conversions about TikTok and other social media platforms and how they can be <a href="https://theconversation.com/6-ways-to-protect-your-mental-health-from-social-medias-dangers-117651">detrimental to mental health</a>. These conversations should focus on how to determine if the app is leading you down an unhealthy path.

Misc