Making Sense of the Model 2 FATCA Agreement Between Switzerland and the United States and What’s on the Horizon
This article recently appeared in the November/December 2014 Edition of CCH’s Journal of Tax Practice & Procedure: Making Sense of the Model 2 FATCA Agreement Between Switzerland & the U.S.
How To Beat The Rap
Six years into the government’s latest crackdown on offshore tax evasion, federal prosecutors have yet to win a signature jury trial. Of the 38 persons indicted since 2008, 25 have yet to be tried, so the government has plenty of opportunities to bag the heretofore elusive white whale. Most of these 25 defendants are Swiss […]
Walking On Eggshells, Episode II: Attack Of The Fraud Examiners
When we last left our anthropomorphic friends, Rigby was in a serious coma due to an allergic reaction from the eggs in the Eggscelent omelet, and doctors were not optimistic about his chances. Meanwhile, Mordecai discovered a long-lost journal from a former park employee that may hold the key to winning the challenge and the […]
What Do Juries Crave?
Juries wants to do the right thing. They need someone to follow. Who will they follow? According to Gerry Spence, “juries will follow the one they can trust.” As Gerry so eloquently states in his national bestseller, “How to Argue and Win Every Time”: “My experience confirms that everyday people employing their natural credibility detectors can […]
Are the Psychological Benefits of U.S. Citizenship An Adequate Justification For the Worldwide Taxation of Nonresident U.S. Citizens?
I recently wrote a two-part series about the inadequate justification for the United States’ worldwide taxation of its nonresident citizens (Part I is available here; Part II is available here). Professor Michael S. Kirsch offers a different perspective in defense of this system. Instead of assessing the propriety of U.S. worldwide taxation on the basis […]
Don’t Mistake “GIIN” For Gin Or You May Suffer More Than Just a Hangover!
In a recent blog entitled, “FATCA GIIN January 2015 FFI Registration Analysis … by the numbers,” Professor William Byrnes provides a brilliant commentary on the IRS’s publication of its first FATCA GIIN list of the new year (published on New Years Day!). The FATCA GIIN list is a list of “approved FFIs (Foreign Financial Institutions)” that have registered […]
US Automatic Exchange of Bank Information to 86 Foreign Countries in 2015
In a recent blog entitled, “US Automatic Exchange of Bank Information to 86 Foreign Countries in 2015,” Professor William Byrnes lists the countries with which the U.S. has an automatic exchange relationship. There are a total of 86. The article can be found on Professor Byrnes’ International Financial Law Prof Blog.
Application of Foreign Earned Income Exclusion to Civilian Contractors Working In Combat Zones (Part II)
This is Part II of a two-part blog series. After establishing that they have a tax home in a foreign country, taxpayers must still establish that they satisfy the 330 day physical presence test or the bona fide residence test. See IRC section 911(d)(1). I. 330 Day Physical Presence Test The 330 day physical presence […]
Application of Foreign Earned Income Exclusion to Civilian Contractors Working In Combat Zones (Part I)
This blog addresses the foreign earned income exclusion rules as they apply to civilian contractors, and other civilian employees, who work in foreign country combat zones. By “civilian,” I am specifically referring to individuals who are not employees of the United States or any agency of the United States. I. IRC Section 911 Foreign Earned […]
What Should A Swiss Banker Charged With Offshore Tax Evasion Do In The Wake of Raoul Weil’s Astonishing Acquittal?
The acquittal of Raoul Weil, the only Swiss banker to have prevailed over the U.S. government in an offshore tax evasion case, has become a source of inspiration for dozens of others who find themselves in a similar situation – indicted and living in Switzerland. As a result, many have become emboldened to come out […]