Argentinas offshore amnesty program nets $5.2 Billion in taxes after Argentinians disclosed over $90 Billion in previously hidden assets. Under the law Argentines could disclose offshore cash and assets to the government and pay a 10% tax. Argentine tax payers have an extension to disclose further offshore cash until the...
Make a Full, Transparent Voluntary FBAR Disclosure to the IRS or Face the Consequences
The recent case this month in the US District Court sends a clear message to US taxpayers: Make a full, transparent voluntary FBAR disclosure to the IRS or face the consequences. The case has shed some light into a backlog of lawsuits against the IRS regarding FBAR reporting requirements and the...
Federal Court Finds Willful Failure to File FBAR is a Lesser Standard of Proof for the IRS
The US 9th District Court here in California has found that willful failure to file FBAR is a lesser standard of proof for the IRS to bear. The Court rejected the claims of the defendant in the case that the IRS is held to a higher standard of proof -...
Year End Tax Planning – Why Turbo Tax is No Solution for FBAR
Why are there so many people who have used Turbo Tax and other home tax software solutions (including the free IRS version) who are now facing tens of thousands of dollars in FBAR penalties, fines and IRS audits? Because Turbo Tax is no solution for FBAR or any other remotely...
Banks Warning Customers of New International Tax Compliance Procedures
The Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development or OECD is comprised of 35 member nations including the United States, almost all of Europe, Canada and Mexico, Australia, Turkey, Korea and Japan have ordered banks to implement new procedures. Letters are going out around the world from global banks warning customers...
University Professor Pays a $100 Million FBAR Penalty to the IRS
The University of Rochester has gained unexpected notoriety recently as one of it's professors faces sentencing in a criminal tax evasion scheme. The University professor pays a $100 Million FBAR penalty to the IRS for failure to disclose Swiss accounts while awaiting his sentence in February that may contain additional...
Argentina’s Aggressive Offshore Tax Strategy Results in Threat to Account Holders of Major US Bank
The implementation of global forms of the US FATCA tax initiative, often referred to as GATCA (Global FATCA) continue to gain steam in Central and South America. This week a major US bank threatened to close the accounts of Argentinians with "undeclared funds." JP Morgan announced this week that "all funds...
World Leaders Developing New Standards to Identify and Exchange Beneficial Ownership Information
The goal of financial transparency worldwide is gaining momentum. The US FATCA initiative has spawned like legislation around the globe. The benefit of taxation derived from the discovery of offshore taxpayer financial accounts and interests has world leaders developing new standards to identify and exchange beneficial ownership information for bank...
Mexico and South America to Implement Their Own FATCA Regulations
Just when many thought the wave of IRS focus on offshore accounts and investments had passed the next wave has reached our shores. The recent decisions by Mexico and South America to implement their own FATCA regulations means a continued tightening of inter-agency communication and international monetary tracking. The success...