If your hiring your income taxes done professionally, you might not want to hire TaxMasters.... they probably won't be around much longer.......
TaxMasters Hit With $195M Judgement
Written By Dunstan Prial
Published April 04, 2012
FOXBusiness
TaxMasters Inc., a Texas-based tax advisory firm perhaps best known for its ubiquitous advertisements on cable television, has been ordered to pay more than $195 million in penalties for defrauding its clients.
Patrick Cox, the firms heavyset, bearded founder and chief executive officer, has to pay $46 million of the judgment handed down last week by a Texas jury. Cox appeared in many of TaxMasters commercials.
TaxMasters was found to have committed more than 110,000 violations of Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, according to a statement released by Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott. ......
...... Among other illegal acts, TaxMasters was accused of lying to customers by telling them a TaxMaster representative would start work on their case immediately. Instead, TaxMasters employees only started work when a client had paid in-full. That often meant clients missed important deadlines set by the IRS.
In addition, TaxMasters often failed to contact the IRS on behalf of its clients and failed to show up for IRS hearings, according to prosecutors.
Read more: http://www.foxbusiness.com/industries/2012/04/04/taxmasters-hit-with-15m-judgement/#ixzz1r95XjThx
TaxMasters Hit With $195M Judgement
Written By Dunstan Prial
Published April 04, 2012
FOXBusiness
TaxMasters Inc., a Texas-based tax advisory firm perhaps best known for its ubiquitous advertisements on cable television, has been ordered to pay more than $195 million in penalties for defrauding its clients.
Patrick Cox, the firms heavyset, bearded founder and chief executive officer, has to pay $46 million of the judgment handed down last week by a Texas jury. Cox appeared in many of TaxMasters commercials.
TaxMasters was found to have committed more than 110,000 violations of Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, according to a statement released by Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott. ......
...... Among other illegal acts, TaxMasters was accused of lying to customers by telling them a TaxMaster representative would start work on their case immediately. Instead, TaxMasters employees only started work when a client had paid in-full. That often meant clients missed important deadlines set by the IRS.
In addition, TaxMasters often failed to contact the IRS on behalf of its clients and failed to show up for IRS hearings, according to prosecutors.
Read more: http://www.foxbusiness.com/industries/2012/04/04/taxmasters-hit-with-15m-judgement/#ixzz1r95XjThx