Fraud Technical Advisors: An End-Run Around Tweel?
United States v. Tweel is the most famous example of a motion to suppress in a tax case. In Tweel, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals held that it constitutes trickery, fraud, and deceit for the IRS to conduct a criminal investigation under the guise of a civil examination. Because of how fact-sensitive the holding […]
Lowering the Bar for Willfulness for FBAR Penalties
The IRS has authority to assert FBAR civil penalties. Before delving into the FBAR abyss, this is a good time to debunk some FBAR myths. First, there is no such thing as an FBAR penalty within the Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program (OVDP). The FBAR penalty exists only outside of the OVDP framework. However, there is […]
“FATCA” Law Is Striking Fear Into Foreign Banks
Law That May Reduce Tax Evasion Goes Into Effect On July 1 The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) became law in the United States in 2010, but the clock is still ticking on its implementation. The clock will stop ticking on July 1, 2014. The U.S. Congress and the Obama Administration pressed for FATCA […]
What Can A Tax Attorney Do For Me?
Of the professionals that you can turn to for help with IRS problems, tax attorneys can most effectively help you sort through legal issues. Hiring such an expert is the most efficient way of getting on the right track. Here are seven reasons that make them valuable and indispensable: Reason # 1: Client-attorney Confidentiality All […]
Understanding the PFIC Rules Without Suffering a Migraine
I would not be honest if I didn’t admit that this was a topic that I have procrastinated writing about for the longest time and have avoided like the Bubonic plague. It is such a tortured area of foreign asset reporting that many tax practitioners refer to it as, “a riddle wrapped in a mystery […]
Lifting the Veil on the Civil FBAR Penalty
It should come as no surprise that the IRS has authority to assess FBAR civil penalties. However, what might come as a surprise is that an FBAR violation doesn’t automatically mean that a penalty will be asserted. Why not? Examiners are expected to exercise discretion, taking into account the facts and circumstances of each case, […]
No Laughing Matter: The Criminal Consequences of Failing to Report Foreign Bank Accounts
United States citizens, residents and other persons must annually report their direct or indirect financial interest in, or signature authority over, a financial account that is maintained with a financial institution located in a foreign country if, for any calendar year, the aggregate value of all foreign accounts exceeded $ 10,000 at any time during […]
Don’t Get Snared in Any of the Three Stages of Money-Laundering
“Money laundering generally refers to financial transactions in which criminals, including terrorist organizations, attempt to disguise the proceeds, sources or nature of their illicit activities.”…U.S. Department of Treasury Website Law enforcement and financial regulators everywhere are on the lookout for money laundering. Big corporations and financial institutions hire compliance experts, and those experts cooperate fully […]
Liens and Levies Make the IRS a Collection Agency on Steroids
Sometimes the problem with “food for thought” is that it can almost choke you with its stark simplicity. Take our tax system, for example. The federal government prints our money, regulates the places where we keep it and has vast powers to take it away from us if we don’t give them their cut. The […]
White Collar Crime: Entrapment and Ignorance of the Law Can Snare the Unwary
The most common white-collar offenses run the gamut of nonviolent crimes from antitrust violations to money laundering. The FBI estimates that white-collar crime costs the United States more than $300 billion annually. These estimates do not take into account cases where aggressive and ambitious prosecutors snare an unwary person, who eventually pleads guilty in the […]