Tuesday, November 29, 2016

Set up Your 2017 Calendar to Reflect New Filing Dates for 2016 US Tax Returns

On July 31, 2015, President Obama signed into law P.L. 114-41, the “Surface Transportation and Veterans Health Care Choice Improvement Act of 2015,” which includes a number of important tax provisions, including revised due dates for partnership, S corporations and C corporation returns and revised extended due dates for some returns.

Revised Due Dates for Partnership, S &C Corporation Returns 
Under the new law, there is a major restructuring of entity return due dates, effective generally for returns for tax years beginning after Dec. 31, 2015:
  • Partnerships and S corporations will have to file their returns by the March 15th following the end of the tax year. This results in the filing deadline for partnerships being accelerated by one month with the filing deadline for S corporations staying as March 15. 
    • By having most partnership returns due one month before individual returns are due, taxpayers and practitioners will generally not have to extend, or scurry around at the last minute to file, the returns of individuals who are partners in partnerships.
  • C corporations will have to file by April 15th after the end of the tax year resulting in the filing deadline for C corporations being deferred for one month.
These changes to the filing deadlines generally go into effect for 2016 returns. Under a special rule for C corporations with fiscal years ending on June 30, the change is deferred for ten years and it won't apply until tax years beginning after Dec. 31, 2025. 
 

Revised Extended Due Dates for Various Returns
Taxpayers who can't file a tax form on time, can request an extension to file the requisite form. Effective for tax returns for tax years beginning after Dec. 31, 2015, the new law directs the IRS to modify its regulations to provide for a longer extension to file a number of forms, including the following:

 
  • Form 1065 - U.S. Return of Partnership Income will have a maximum extension of 6 months. The extension will end on Sept. 15 for calendar year taxpayers.
  • Form 1041 -U.S. Income Tax Return for Estates and Trusts will have a maximum extension of 5 1/2 months. The extension will end on Sept. 30 for calendar year taxpayers.
  • The Form 5500 - Annual Return/Report of Employee Benefit Plan will have a maximum automatic extension of 3 1/2. The extension will end on Nov. 15 for calendar year filers.
FinCEN Report Due Date Revised
Taxpayers with a financial interest in or signature authority over certain foreign financial accounts must file FinCEN Form 114, Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR). Currently, this form must be filed by June 30 of the year immediately following the calendar year being reported, and no extensions are allowed.
Under the new law, for returns for tax years beginning after Dec. 31, 2015, the due date of FinCEN Report 114 will be Apr. 15, with a maximum extension of 6 months ending on Oct. 15. The IRS may also waive the penalty for failure to timely request an extension for filing the Report, for any taxpayer required to file FinCEN Form 114 for the first time.

Form 3520 And Form 3520-A Due Date Revised
Form 3520-A is now due on March 15th and will have a maximum extension of 6 months until September 15th.

The IRS or FinCEN need to provide clarification on the format or forms for such extensions, which may be similar to Form 4868, which is the form for requesting extensions on Individual tax returns currently. There may also be a requirement that these extensions be filed on the BSA Website as in the case of the FBAR forms.


 Have a Tax Problem? 
 
 
 
Contact the Tax Lawyers at
Marini & Associates, P.A.
 
for a FREE Tax Consultation
or Toll Free at 888-8TaxAid (888 882-9243).

 

Wednesday, November 23, 2016

Alert Your Clients to Possible Refund Delays in 2017

Tax professionals should alert their clients that a new law requires the IRS to hold refunds until mid-February 2017 for people claiming the Earned Income Tax Credit or the Additional Child Tax Credit.

In addition, new identity theft and refund fraud safeguards put in place by the IRS and the states may mean some tax returns and refunds face additional review.

 
 
 
 
 
Have a Tax Problem?
 
 
Contact the Tax Lawyers at
Marini & Associates, P.A.
 
 for a FREE Tax Consultation Contact US at 
or Toll Free at 888-8TaxAid (888 882-9243).
 
 


 

7th Circuit Court of Appeal Reduces Options For Appealing IRS Levies

According to Law360  -- Rejecting tax court precedent, the Seventh Circuit ruled Friday that delinquent taxpayers who weren't properly notified of Internal Revenue Service levies still have to pursue an administrative appeal before they can petition the tax court to invalidate the levy.

Acknowledging the difficulty it presents to taxpayers, the Seventh Circuit nevertheless found tax courts don’t have jurisdiction to rule on petitions to invalidate levies unless the taxpayer went to the IRS Office of Appeals first and received a notice of determination.

The case is Kerry Adolphson v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue, case number 15-2242 in the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals.

Have a Tax Problem?
 

Don't Hide The Your Head In The Sand
 
 
 
Contact the Tax Lawyers at
Marini & Associates, P.A.
 
 for a FREE Tax Consultation Contact US at 
or Toll Free at 888-8TaxAid (888 882-9243).
 
 


 

Tax Authorities to Have Access to Beneficial Ownership Information By 2018!

The EU Council recently agreed on a proposal granting access for tax authorities to information held by authorities responsible for the prevention of money laundering. The directive will require EU member states to enable access to information on the beneficial ownership of companies. The effective date will apply from January 1, 2018.
 
On November 8, 2016, the Council agreed on a proposal granting access for tax authorities to information held by authorities responsible for the prevention of money laundering. The directive will require member states to enable access to information on the beneficial ownership of companies. Its effective date is January 1, 2018.

The proposal is one of a number of measures set out by the Commission in July 2016, in the wake of the April 2016 Panama Papers revelations.

Challenges

The EU has made significant progress in recent years to enhance tax transparency and strengthen cooperation between the member states' tax authorities.

And recent amendments to anti-money-laundering legislation recognise the links between money laundering and tax evasion, as well as the challenges faced in prevention.

Media leaks such as the Panama Papers, revealing large-scale concealment of offshore funds, have highlighted areas where further measures still need to be taken. The transparency framework must be further reinforced at both EU and international levels.

Automatic exchange of information

In particular, tax authorities need greater access to information on the beneficial ownership of intermediary entities and other relevant customer due diligence information. The directive will enable them to access that information in monitoring the proper application of rules on the automatic exchange of tax information.

Where a financial account holder is an intermediary structure, financial institutions are required by directive 2014/107/EU to look through that entity and report its beneficial ownership. Applying that provision relies on information held by authorities responsible for the prevention of money laundering, pursuant to directive 2015/849/EU.

Access to that information will ensure that tax authorities are better equipped to fulfill their monitoring obligations. It will thus help prevent tax evasion and tax fraud.

Next steps

Agreement was reached at a meeting of the Economic and Financial Affairs Council, without discussion. The Council will adopt the directive once the European Parliament has given its opinion.

The directive requires unanimity within the Council, after consulting the Parliament. (Legal basis: articles 113 and 115 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.)
 
Giovanni Kessler, Director-General of the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) called for a standardized, interconnected, easy-to-use registry of national bank accounts which would be available to all EU enforcement agencies.

"Knowing Bank Accounts are Traceable would have a powerful Deterrent Effect on Individuals...

Traceability would also Increase Detection Rates of
Fraudulent Activities..." 

 
 
 
 
Are you a US Person with a
Not So Secret Foreign Bank Account?
 

Having FATCA & EU
Information Sharing Problems?
 
 
 
Contact the Tax Lawyers at
Marini & Associates, P.A.
 
for a FREE Tax Consultation at:
Toll Free at 888-8TaxAid (888 882-9243).

 

Tuesday, November 22, 2016

TE/GE Announces New IDR Management Process

The Tax Exempt and Government Entities Division of the Internal Revenue Service has issued new internal guidance for its agents on issuing information document requests (IDRs). The IRS issues IDRs to gather information during an examination. The new process will go into effect on April 1, 2017. Prior to its implementation, TE/GE will provide training to its agents on the new process.

Under the new process:

1.      Taxpayers will be involved in the IDR process.

2.       Examiners will discuss the issue being examined and the information needed with the taxpayer prior to issuing an IDR.

3.       Examiners will ensure that the IDR clearly states the issue and the relevant information they are requesting.

4.       If the taxpayer does not timely provide the information requested in the IDR by the agreed upon date, including extensions, the examiner will issue a delinquency notice.

5.       If the taxpayer fails to respond to the delinquency notice or provides an incomplete response, the examiner will issue a pre-summons notice to advise the taxpayer that the IRS will issue a summons unless the missing items are fully provided.

6.       A summons will be issued if the taxpayer fails to provide a complete response to the pre-summons letter by its response due date.

The new process requires the examiners’ managers to be actively involved early in the process and ensures that IRS Counsel is prepared to enforce IDRs through the issuance of a summons when necessary. Throughout this process, the IRS will respect taxpayer rights‎ and the changes will reflect the agency's commitment to the Taxpayer Bill of Rights.

The updated process will:

·         Provide for open and meaningful communication between the IRS and taxpayers.

·         Reduce taxpayer burden and provide consistent treatment of taxpayers.

·         Allow the IRS to secure more complete and timely responses to IDRs.

·         Provide consistent timelines for IRS agents to review IDR responses.

·         Promote timely issue resolution.
 
 Have a Tax Problem?
 

Don't Hide The Your Head In The Sand
 
 
 
Contact the Tax Lawyers at
Marini & Associates, P.A.
 
 for a FREE Tax Consultation Contact US at 
or Toll Free at 888-8TaxAid (888 882-9243).
 
 

Friday, November 18, 2016

New Fast Track Mediation - Collection Procedure 2016-57

Revenue Procedure 2016-57 replaces Fast Track Mediation (as outlined in Rev. Proc. 2003-41) with Fast Track Mediation—Collection. 

Fast Track Mediation—Collection provides taxpayers an opportunity to resolve certain offer-in-compromise and trust fund recovery penalty issues and cases worked by Collection on an expedited basis with an Office of Appeals mediator serving as a neutral party.   

Revenue Procedure 2016-57 will be in 2016-49, dated December 5, 2016

 Have a Tax Problem?
 

Don't Hide The Your Head In The Sand
 
 
 
Contact the Tax Lawyers at
Marini & Associates, P.A.
 
 for a FREE Tax Consultation Contact US at 
or Toll Free at 888-8TaxAid (888 882-9243).
 
 

Ex-Swiss Banker Stefan Buck To Go To Trial For Conspiracy To Evade Taxes

We posted on October 15, 2016 144 Offshore Banks & Now Financial Advisors Are Turning Over Your Names To The IRS - What Are Your Waiting For? where we discussed that the Government has add 47 more Banks and FINANCIAL ADVISORS to this list bringing the number to 144 Offshore Banks and Foreign Financial Advisors. Included in this list as #137 is Stefan Buck (effective 11/15/16).

The IRS keeps updating its list of foreign banks which are turning over the names of their US Account Holders, who are now subject to a 50% (rather than 27.5%) penalty in the IRS’s Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program (OVDP). This penalty is based on the highest account balance measured over up to eight years. 


In our April 18, 2013 post The Noose Tightens as Criminal Charges are brought against a Swiss Banker and a Swiss Attorney we discussed that Authorities charged a Swiss banker and a Swiss attorney with helping American clients hide millions of dollars in offshore accounts to evade paying taxes.

The case was the latest in a string of prosecutions from the Justice Department aimed at curtailing offshore tax evasion services sold by Swiss and Swiss-style banks.

Stefan Buck and Edgar Paltzer were each charged with one count of conspiracy, an indictment filed in Manhattan federal court showed. It did not name the defendants' employers.  Buck is the head of private banking and a member of the executive board at "Swiss Bank No. 1," while Paltzer is a partner at a "Swiss Law Firm" and was admitted to the New York bar in 1988, according to the indictment.

Zurich-based Bank Frey lists Stefan Buck as its head of private banking and a member of its  executive board on its website.
 

Now According to Law360 after three years as a fugitive, a former Swiss banker has pled not guilty in New York federal court to a criminal charge of helping U.S. taxpayers hide millions in undeclared income in offshore bank accounts, his attorney said Tuesday.

According to the Manhattan U.S. Attorney's office, which brought the charges, Buck's bank saw an increase of 300 percent in U.S. taxpayers as clients between the time of UBS's settlement and Wegelin's indictment in February 2012.

Around $938 million, or 44 percent, of the bank's $2.1 billion in managed assets as of September 2012 was held by U.S. taxpayers, prosecutors said.

Buck and Paltzer opened and managed undeclared accounts for U.S. clients who had been informed by other Swiss banks that they had to close their accounts there.

Both men reside in Switzerland, and neither has been arrested, prosecutors said.

The defendants each face fines and a maximum prison sentence of five years.

Stefan Buck, pled not guilty on November 9, 2016 to a single charge of conspiring with U.S. taxpayer-clients and others to hide millions of dollars from the Internal Revenue Service, court records indicated. Buck posted a $100,000 bond and was released on the condition that he not travel outside of the Southern and Eastern districts of New York and reside at his Manhattan residence, according to court records.

Buck’s attorney, Marc Agnifilo of Brafman & Associates PC, told Law360 on Tuesday that his client voluntarily flew from Zurich to New York to defend against the government's allegations that he conspired with U.S. taxpayers who committed tax fraud.

Paltzer, who has dual U.S. and Swiss citizenship, pled guilty in August 2013 as part of a plea deal with prosecutors in which he agreed to cooperate with the government’s case. He has yet to be sentenced, according to court records.

Bank Frey shuttered operations in late 2013 amid the fallout from the federal investigation, according to news reports.
 
The case is U.S.A. v Paltzer and Buck, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, No. 13-282.

Are you a US Person with a
Not So Secret Foreign Bank Account?




Having FATCA Problems?
 
 
 
Contact the Tax Lawyers at
Marini & Associates, P.A.
for a FREE Tax Consultation at:
Toll Free at 888-8TaxAid (888 882-9243).