Comptroller Franchot Halts Returns from Baltimore Businesses
amid Pattern of Questionable Filings
-Effective Immediately Pending Investigation of Several
Liberty Tax Franchises-
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (January 27, 2016) – Comptroller Peter
Franchot today announced that his office would suspend processing electronic
tax returns from several Liberty Tax Service franchise locations in the
Baltimore metropolitan area due to a high volume of questionable returns
received.
The businesses, which have been sent written notice of the
action, are located at: 2400 E Monument St., Baltimore; 7730 Wise Ave.,
Dundalk; 1742 W North Ave., Baltimore; 2401 Liberty Heights Ave., Baltimore;
1808 Pennsylvania Ave., Baltimore; 3308 Greenmount Ave., Baltimore; and 503 W
Lexington St., Baltimore.
Comptroller Franchot, pursuant to the recently signed IRS
Security Memorandum of Understanding ("MOU"), has shared this
information with other tax agencies. The Comptroller’s Office also has advised
the Office of the Attorney General and the Department of Labor, Licensing and
Regulation of the decision, so that they can take any additional appropriate
actions.
The suspicious characteristics detected on the tax returns
prompting the determination included:
*Business income reported when taxpayers did not own a
business.
*Refund amounts requested much higher than previous year tax
returns.
*Inflated and/or undocumented business expenses.
*Dependents claimed when taxpayer did not provide required
50 percent support or care.
*Inflated wages and withholding information.
Taxpayers should carefully review their returns for these
issues and should be suspicious if a preparer: deducts fees from the taxpayer’s
refund to be deposited into the tax preparer’s account; does not sign the tax
return; or fails to include the Preparer Taxpayer Identification number
"P-TIN" on the return. If taxpayers suspect fraud, they are asked to
immediately report the issue to the Comptroller's Office by calling 1-800-MD-TAXES
(1-800-638-2937) or 410-260-7980 in Central Maryland or by emailing
TAXHELP@comp.state.md.us.
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