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

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 […]

Former Mizrahi-Banker Charged With Offshore Tax Evasion Acquitted at Trial

Who says that every banker who is charged with aiding and abetting U.S. customers to hide their money offshore is guilty of tax evasion? This is the story of one defendant who forced the government to prove its case and came out victorious. Shokrollah Baravarian, an eighty-two year old retired senior vice president at Mizrahi […]

Etre résident fiscal aux USA : les avantages & inconvénients

Pour ceux qui ne le sauraient pas, je parle français. Français était mon premier cycle majeur au collège et une langue que je suis passionné. A ce jour, je continue à pratiquer mon français en suivant des cours à l’Alliance Française de New York. Au cours des dernières semaines, je l’ai reçu plusieurs demandes de […]