2020 Virtual Small Business Forum:A discussion about how COVID-19 is affecting you and your business, loans and tax relief and protecting yourself from scams

Presented by IRS Stakeholder Liaison

• May 13, 2020

• Communications & Liaison

Welcome/Announcements: Anna Falkenstein, Senior Stakeholder Liaison

• IRS 2020 Virtual SBF

• Welcome & Announcements

COVID Tax Relief

Creation of Tax Relief Webpage

Daily outreach as specific guidance arose

Frequently Asked Questions

Content in Spanish as well

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www.IRS.gov/Coronavirus

Corona Virus Webpage

RS 2020 Virtual PLM4 Date

Constantly updating….

Employee Retention Credit

Operations suspended due to Covid-19

Refundable credit capped at $5,000 per employee

Applies against certain employment taxes on wages

paid to all employees

Allows employers to decrease FTDs in anticipation of the

credit

Allows employers to request advance of the employer retention credit for any amounts not covered by the reduction in deposits..•**Advance payments will be issued by paper check to employers**

Employer Tax Credits

Sick and Family Leave-

• Employees with the Covid-19 virus

• Employee caring for someone with the Covid-19 virus

• Care of children while daycare/schools are closed.

• Up to 10 weeks of qualified leave can be counted towards family leave credit.

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COVID-19 Taxpayer ReliefPeople First Initiative

No face to face contact

No final notices issued

No new lien filings; lien determinations

extended

No levies via automated levy

programs

Levy releases are discretionary but

hardship criteria will be considered

Pending sales of seized property

should be elevated to management

No summonses No suits No issuing Lt 1153/Form 2751

COVID-19 Taxpayer Relief - Exceptions

COLLECTION ACTIONS TO CONTINUEPhone contactsAssigning InventoryHigh Income Non-Filer (HINF)Case Actions

Exam Actions

Case closing procedures have started to resume

Following cases are resuming to normal case closing flow

Survey Agreed Abatement Preparer penalty

No guidance exist at this time for

unagreed closures-RAs must request access to office.

Any Questions???

Anna FalkensteinSenior Stakeholder Liaison703-581-8688 cell804-916-03848 officeAnna.L.Falkenstein@irs.gov

Presentation Title | Office/BOD11 Date

Rosario Méndez, Attorney, Division of Consumer and Business EducationFederal Trade Commission (FTC)

Scammers follow the headlines

As headlines change, so will the scams

Scammers target small businesses, too

Help the FTC and law enforcement partners know what you’re seeing

Report scams to ftc.gov/complaint

Here’s what to know

The government will not ask you to pay up front to get any money

The government won’t call you out of the blue to ask for your financial or personal information

Be wary of anyone who tells you they can get your money faster

Email/text scams & malicious websites

Phishing emails & texts

• Get your money

• Get your information

• Links to malware sites

Malicious websites

• Lots of domains including “Coronavirus”

• Stick with known, trusted sites

Government help for business

Source for accurate information• sba.gov/coronavirus

SBALoan.com

Calls out of the blue claiming to be affiliated with the SBA

Sends emails that look like they’re affiliated with a government program

Pictures and programs names that sound real

Business email scams

A scammer sets up an email that looks like it’s from your company.

• Warn your employees

• Make sure everyone knows who to call to confirm a suspicious directive received by email

• Keep the network security up to date and remind employees working remotely to do the same

I.T. scams

Your employee gets a message from someone claiming to be from your IT department.

The fraudster may know a lot about the business.

Train your employees and remind them often to:

• Never give out passwords. Stop and verify.

• Don’t be quick to click on links. Stop and verify.

Supply scams & fake invoices

Avoid fake websites

Type in URLs you know to be genuine

Check out suppliers with trusted industry colleagues

Don’t pay fake invoices

Ask employees to follow procedures and verify

Illegal robocalls

Don’t press any numbers

Hang up

Block the number

Report to ftc.gov/complaint

“Your business may be affected by the Coronavirus . . . .”

Data scams

Keep security software up to date

Secure your home network

Keep an eye on your laptop

Securely store sensate files

Shred sensitive documents

Find more at www.csrc.nist.gov and

ftc.gov/cybersecurity

Stay informed

Get the FTC’s Business Alerts: ftc.gov/subscribe

Report scams or questionable claims: ftc.gov/complaint

http://www.ftc.gov/subscribehttp://www.ftc.gov/complaint

Economic Development Specialist, SBA

Nirav (Nick) Rajpara

Coping with COVID-19

Financial Tools & Resources to HelpSmall Business

202-205-8800

www.sba.gov/dc

@SBA_DCMetro

U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA)Washington Metropolitan Area District Office (WMADO)

• SBA-funded Resource Partners offer you FREE one-on-one business counseling sessions via phone and video

• Business coaches can help you strategize business solutions

• Specialists are standing by to help you anticipate materials required for your business loan application

SCORE202-619-1000 (DC/MD/NoVA)https://washingtondc.score.org/

Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs)202-889-5090 (DC); 301-403-8300 (MD); 703-277-7703 (NoVA)https://www.dcsbdc.orghttps://www.marylandsbdc.org/locations/corridor-regionhttps://www.virginiasbdc.org/

Women’s Business Centers (WBCs)202-393-8307 (DC); 301-315-8091 (MD); 703-768-1440 (NoVA)http://www.dcwbc.orghttp://www.marylandwbc.orghttps://cbponline.org/who-serve/women/

Veterans Business Outreach Center (VBOC)703-768-1440 (DC/MD/NoVA)https://cbponline.org/who-serve/veterans/

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Entrepreneurial Mentoring & Coaching Support

Washington Metropolitan Area District Office

https://washingtondc.score.org/https://www.dcsbdc.org/https://www.marylandsbdc.org/locations/corridor-regionhttps://www.virginiasbdc.org/http://www.dcwbc.org/http://www.marylandwbc.org/https://cbponline.org/who-serve/women/https://cbponline.org/who-serve/veterans/

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Follow the SBA-Washington Metropolitan Area District Office on Twitter @SBA_DCMetro for real-time updates and program notices

Sign up to receive email announcements at https://www.sba.gov/updates; be sure to include your preferred email address and local zip code

For detailed information on all SBA relief programs related to COVID-19, visit• https://www.sba.gov/funding-programs/loans/coronavirus-relief-optionsor• https://www.sba.gov/page/coronavirus-covid-19-orientacion-y-recursos-de-

prestamos-para-pequenas-empresas (en español)

For information on all COVID-19 federal programs, visit• https://www.usa.gov/coronavirusor • https://www.usa.gov/espanol/coronavirus (en español)

9WW_Public_05/08/20_12:30pm Washington Metropolitan Area District Office

Stay Informed

https://www.sba.gov/updateshttps://www.sba.gov/funding-programs/loans/coronavirus-relief-optionshttps://www.sba.gov/page/coronavirus-covid-19-orientacion-y-recursos-de-prestamos-para-pequenas-empresashttps://www.usa.gov/coronavirushttps://www.usa.gov/espanol/coronavirus

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Thank YouSBA-Washington Metropolitan Area District Office

www.sba.gov/dc

For Economic Injury Disaster Loan assistance, please contact SBA Disaster Customer Service (8AM – 8PM ET Mon-Sun) at 800-659-2955 or email disastercustomerservice@sba.gov. Individuals who are deaf or

hard of hearing may call 800-877-8339 (TTY)

For questions about Paycheck Protection Program loan applications, please contact your lender directly

9WW_Public_05/08/20_12:30pm Washington Metropolitan Area District Office

http://www.sba.gov/dcmailto:disastercustomerservice@sba.gov

IRS Criminal InvestigationRick Myrland, Supervisory Special Agent

IRS-CI Overview

o Charged with Investigating Title 26, 18 and 31o T26: Federal (IRS) tax frauds

o Income and employment tax, interfering with tax administration

o T18: Money Laundering, False Claims, other Federal Fraudso MSBs, False refunds, wire and bankruptcy fraud

o T31: Banks Secrecy Acto Structuring, Bulk Cash Smuggling

o Collaborate and coordinate with our Civil colleagueso Exchange fraud referrals among the divisionso Reliance on RA/ROs to support CI tax investigations

o Exploit full range of enforcement techniqueso Admin and Grand Jury, search and arrest warrants, undercover and

tech agents, computer and cyber specialists, polygraph and forensic lab examiners

Recent WDCFO Cases

o Businessman Gregory Ziglar o Tax fraud and Money Laundering

o W2V Investigationo International Money Laundering

o Former Baltimore Mayoro Tax evasion, wire fraud, defrauding the United States

o Kennedy Industrial Electronicso Payroll tax and defrauding the United States

o RAJen Business Tax Serviceo Preparing false tax returns

Contact Information

SSA Richard Myrland, IRS-CI7980 Quantum Drive, Ste. 2266Vienna, VA 22182-4015

703-336-4016Richard.Myrland@ci.irs.gov

WashingtonDCFieldOffice@ci.irs.gov

mailto:WashingtonDCFieldOffice@ci.irs.gov

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Thank you for attending todays Small Business Forum!

2020 Virtual Small Business Forum:�A discussion about how COVID-19 is affecting you and your business, loans and tax relief and protecting yourself from scamsWelcome/Announcements: Anna Falkenstein, Senior Stakeholder LiaisonCOVID Tax Relief Corona Virus Webpage Employee Retention CreditEmployer Tax CreditsSlide Number 7 COVID-19 Taxpayer Relief� People First Initiative COVID-19 Taxpayer Relief - ExceptionsExam ActionsSlide Number 11Slide Number 12Scammers follow the headlinesHere’s what to knowEmail/text scams & malicious websitesGovernment help for businessSBALoan.comBusiness email scamsI.T. scamsSupply scams & fake invoicesIllegal robocallsData scamsStay informedSlide Number 24Coping with COVID-19��Financial Tools & Resources to Help�Small Business��Slide Number 26Stay InformedSlide Number 28�IRS Criminal InvestigationIRS-CI OverviewRecent WDCFO CasesContact InformationSlide Number 33