The FATCA agreement between the United States and Canada, and other sovereign nations and their institutions means direct reporting of your accounts and assets to the IRS. Some banks are sending W-9’s or other forms locking in citizenship and taxpayer information. Other institutions are sending letters to the account holders seeking information about citizenship and verification of physical address and taxpayer identification. Some have gone so far as to suggest immediate application to the IRS OVDP or Streamline programs. You should not take legal advice from a foreign bank who has participated in hiding funds from the US government. You should take these signals seriously, as the IRS is closing in.
If you have fully disclosed all of your accounts, revenues and associated income through FBAR and US tax forms you can rest comfortably. If you are concerned that you might have missed a detail or two, or thought the IRS wouldn’t be able to track funds directly to you, or used either green card status or questions of citizenship to forestall your identification the time to act is now. Almost every financial institution worldwide is immediately documenting account holders, and providing this information to the IRS. It is in your best interest to come into compliance with US tax laws and the IRS before they come knocking at your door. If you are receiving forms or notices from a foreign bank it’s time to call Allen Barron for a free consultation at 866-631-3470. We can protect you with attorney-client privilege and help you to come into compliance and avoid exposure to draconian penalties and interest and criminal prosecution.
