eBook | Foreign Asset Reporting: Navigating the Choppy Financial Seas.

THE NEW AMERICAN EXPAT: MORE COLLATERAL FATCA DAMAGE

As I reported in a previous article, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the IRS instantly began to drool in anticipation when The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act was passed in March of 2010.  This gives them enforcement tools to make foreign countries and banking institutions play by our rules whether they like it or […]

Government Expands Forfeiture Program

In 1984, George Orwell’s novel about a dystopian near-future society, Oceania was constantly at war with one of its geopolitical rivals. The grandfatherly yet sinister O’Brien later admitted that victory over Eurasia or Eastasia was not the war’s objective – the ongoing conflict was simply an excuse for the totalitarian government to intervene in peoples’ […]

Hong Kong and the United States Sign FATCA Agreement

On November 13, 2014, Hong Kong and the United States signed an inter-governmental agreement (IGA), which will require financial institutions in Hong Kong to comply with the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). FATCA provides the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) with the tools it needs (not a scalpel but a chainsaw) to obtain information on financial […]

Form 8938 and Offshore Real Estate Holdings

Owning a portfolio of offshore assets can be a headache thanks to the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). FATCA requires both U.S. citizens and foreigners living in the U.S. to make extensive disclosures about overseas holdings on their tax returns or face stiff penalties. Foreign financial institutions also must report more detailed information on […]

The Spread of FATCA Envy Into The Northern And Western Hemispheres

South American countries have many reasons to be jealous of the United States. Most days, we have stable federal government.  Our standard of living is mind-blowing for many people in impoverished countries.  They view us as the land of opportunity.  We argue about our health care system, but almost everyone gets the care they need.  […]

What Does The Raoul Weil Case Mean To You?

Iconic mobster Al Capone died in prison after he was convicted of tax evasion. More recently, after the notorious Lufthansa robbery that was immortalized in 1990’s Goodfellas, Jimmy the Gent went to prison not for his alleged role in the robbery but for a point-shaving scandal involving the Boston College basketball team. It could be […]