The tax bureau cancels the innocent spouse's liability for tax arrears

The tax bureau cancels the innocent spouse's liability for tax arrears (Alberta Times) The Internal Revenue Service announced on the 25th that it will cancel the innocent spouse's liability for tax arrears...

The Internal Revenue Service cancels the tax liability of innocent spouses (Alberta Times) The Internal Revenue Service announced on the 25th that it has canceled the deadline for innocent spouses to apply for exemption from tax liability, so that some innocent spouses are no longer responsible for the taxes owed by their husbands or wives. Under tax law, people who file joint federal income tax returns are responsible for their spouse's back taxes, but people who are unaware that their spouse underpaid or under-filed are eligible to apply to the IRS for a release from liability. The Internal Revenue Service originally required innocent spouses to apply for relief from liability within two years after the agency began collecting back taxes. However, the agency eliminated this two-year deadline on the 25th because members of Congress and advocates complained that many abused or divorced spouses may not be aware that the IRS's debt collection actions began years ago. IRS Commissioner Shuman said: "This is a major step to improve the Bureau's procedures to be more fair to an important group of taxpayers. We know that people are facing difficult situations, and today's changes will help innocent spouses who have been harmed in the past, present and future." Nina Olsen, head of the IRS's National Taxpayer Advocacy Office, which has pushed for this change for many years, said that this deadline has caused great harm to those who have been misled or intimidated by their spouses. "In fact, many people who are qualified to obtain liability exemptions do not know that the IRS has already begun to recover back taxes because their spouses conceal information, so it is impossible to apply within the two-year deadline." The federal government will review the health insurance premium rates in ten states. Since the state governments do not strictly manage the health insurance premiums provided to individuals or small and medium-sized enterprises, the federal government will take over the review of the health insurance premium rates in ten states across the country in the near future. The federal government said seven states, including Alabama, Arizona, Idaho, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana and Wyoming, do not strictly manage health insurance rates for individuals or small and medium-sized businesses, and the federal government will conduct inspections this year. In three states, Iowa, Pennsylvania and Virginia, the federal government will review proposals to increase premiums for small and medium-sized businesses and allow the three states to review individual premiums. Beginning on September 1 this year, federal and state officials will begin auditing health insurance premiums that have increased by more than 10% to determine whether they are fair. The White House said that making high and unreasonable premium increases public would be the most powerful protection for consumers. Premiums for many individuals and employees of small and medium-sized businesses increased by more than 20% last year. At least the state of Iowa has protested, asking the federal government to reconsider their censorship decision. Some other states say they do not have the authority under state law to review health care rates. Despite their efforts, insurance directors in many states have not received authorization from state legislators to review health care premiums this year. The federal government has not said why it believes health care rates in ten states are lax.