Want to Expatriate? How About Panama?

Increasing numbers of internationally mobile entrepreneurs and knowledge workers are relocating to Panama, drawn by its political stability, high growth economy, and strategic location with excellent connectivity to Central, South and North American markets.

When you add its “all-time-summer” climate and high quality of life you can see why it’s also a preferred destination for retirees, with Panama recently named the number one place to retire in International Living Magazine’s 2022 Annual Global Retirement Index.

Panama operates a number of easily understandable and efficiently operated temporary and permanent residency schemes, all of which offer the right to live and study in Panama. Panama operates a territorial tax regime, meaning that income sourced outside of Panama is not taxed in Panama.

The Digital Nomad Visa
Introduced in response to changes in working patterns triggered by the global pandemic, Panama’s digital nomad visa allows remote workers from abroad to reside in Panama for an initial nine months, with the option to extend this for another nine. Panama’s position as an international logistics centre means that it has excellent internet connectivity, with one of the highest average download speeds in Latin America.

Applicants for the digital nomad visa need to:

1.  Have valid health insurance for the duration of their stay in Panama.

2.  Show proof of existence of the foreign company they work for, in the place where it is registered.

3.  Provide a letter issued by the legal representative of the company detailing the applicant’s position and functions, monthly income and remote work modality, with a commitment to assume the expenses of return or repatriation if this becomes necessary. Self-employed applicants must provide a sworn declaration instead of the letter, with additional supporting documentation.

Permanent Residency
Panama offers several options to obtain permanent residency, with the possibility of subsequently becoming a Panamanian citizen. The two easiest ways to obtain permanent residency are to apply through the ‘Friendly Nations’ scheme or as a Qualified Investor.

·     The ‘Friendly Nations’ scheme offers residency to citizens of qualifying nations, of which there are currently 50, if they make a real estate investment of USD200,000.

·     A Qualified Investor can obtain residency through one of three investment routes:

1.  A real estate investment of USD300,000 (until 15 October 2022, after which the amount will increase to USD500,000); or

2.  A stock exchange investment of USD500,000; or

3.  A fixed-term banking deposit of USD750,000.

Qualified Investor applications are processed within 30 days, with it taking between four and six months under the Friendly Nations scheme.

Should I Stay or Should I Go?

Need Advise on Expatriation?

 

Contact the Tax Lawyers at 

Marini & Associates, P.A.   

for a FREE Tax Consultation contact us at:

www.TaxAid.com or www.OVDPLaw.com 
or Toll Free at 888-8TaxAid (888) 882-9243

 

 

 

 

 

Tech Advice 2022-006 Clarifies Collection Efforts on Non-US Asset

The IRS Chief Counsel's Office has issued Program Manager Technical Advice 2022-006, that answers employee questions about collecting on a delinquent taxpayer's assets that are outside the U.S.

The Advice addresses, in a question-and-answer format, when it's appropriate for the IRS to simultaneously pursue certain collection actions against a taxpayer that has been issued a tax bill, but has refused or neglected to pay it, and the IRS has exhausted domestic assets to levy. 

According to the Advice, the IRS generally isn't prohibited from pursuing multiple collection actions simultaneously. However, two specific collection actions that shouldn't be taken simultaneously: 1) issuing the taxpayer a notice of intent to request passport revocation (Letter 6152), and 2) actually referring the taxpayer to the State Department for revocation. The letter must be issued first and the time for responding to the letter must expire before the State Department referral.

Also, once a taxpayer's debt has been referred for litigation, no collection actions should be taken without approval from the Chief Counsel's Office and/or the Justice Department, the Advice noted.

In addition, the Advice explained the appropriate use of databases set up under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) when trying to identify offshore assets that can be used for collection. Generally, FATCA databases may be used to identify assets for collection, the Advice noted. 

However, the authorized uses of some FATCA data sets may vary depending on whether the data was received under an international tax information sharing agreement. A few international agreements restrict the use of tax information for tax periods that predate the effective date of the agreement or require the IRS to obtain authorization before publicly disclosing shared information in a collection proceeding.

Have an IRS Tax Problem?

Concerned That the IRS Levy Your Foreign Assets?

     Contact the Tax Lawyers at

Marini & Associates, P.A. 

for a FREE Tax HELP Contact us at:
www.TaxAid.com or www.OVDPLaw.com
or Toll Free at 888 8TAXAID (888-882-9243)

 

Join us for "Pre-Immigration Estate and Gift Tax Planning: Foreign Assets, Reporting Requirements, Strategies for Estate Planners"

Strafford Webinars

I am pleased to announce that I will be speaking in an upcoming Strafford live video webinar, "Pre-Immigration Estate and Gift Tax Planning: Foreign Assets, Reporting Requirements, Strategies for Estate Planners" scheduled for Tuesday, September 27, 1:00pm-2:30pm EDT. Because of your affiliation with my firm, you are eligible to attend this program at half off. As long as you use the links in this email, the offer will be reflected automatically in your cart.

Our panel will provide trusts and estates attorneys with a practical guide to pre-immigration estate planning tools and techniques. The panel will go beyond the basics to detail intricate strategies for minimizing income tax, including basis strategies for non-U.S. situs assets, structuring "drop-off" trusts, and planning for the possibility of the nonresident alien's return to the country of origin.

After our presentations, we will engage in a live question and answer session with participants so we can answer your questions about these important issues directly.

I hope you'll join us.

For more information or to register >

Or call 1-800-926-7926
Ask for Pre-Immigration Estate and Gift Tax Planning on 9/27/2022
Mention code: ZDFCA

Sincerely,

Ronald A. Marini, Esq. &
Anita W. Friedlander, Esq.
Marini & Associates PA
Miami
888 8TAXAID
888 882-9243
www.TaxAid.com

No Equivalent Hearing When Taxpayer Timely Requests A Collection Due Process Hearing

The Tax Court in Ruhaak, (11/16/2021) 157 TC No. 9 has found that a taxpayer that timely requested a collection due process hearing could not also request an equivalent hearing.

The IRS sent taxpayer a Notice of Intent to Levy and Notice of Your Right to a Hearing (levy notice). The taxpayer requested a hearing regarding the proposed levy by submitting to the IRS Office of Appeals (Appeals) a Form 12153, Request for a Collection Due Process or Equivalent Hearing. The taxpayer mailed and Appeals received the Form 12153 before the expiration of the 30-day period following the mailing date of the levy notice, during which the taxpayer had a statutory right to request a collection due process (CDP) hearing. (Code Sec. 6330(a)(2) and Code Sec. 6330(a)(3).

The taxpayer had checked a box on the Form 12153 to request an equivalent hearing in the event that his request for a CDP hearing was untimely. Under the applicable regs, a taxpayer who fails to make a timely request for a CDP hearing may request an equivalent hearing instead, provided that the request for an equivalent hearing is made in writing within the one-year period commencing on the day after the date of the levy notice. (Reg §301.6330-1(i)(1) and Reg §301.6330-1(i)(2), Q&A I7)

Appeals Determined That The Taxpayer Timely
Requested A CDP Hearing And, Thus,
Was Not Entitled To An Equivalent Hearing.

Following the CDP hearing, Appeals issued to the taxpayer a notice of determination that sustained the proposed levy.

The taxpayer argued, however, that Appeals should have granted him an equivalent hearing because his Form 12153 constituted a written request for an equivalent hearing made within the one-year period provided for requesting an equivalent hearing.

The Tax Court Held That The Taxpayer's Request For A
Hearing Made Before The Expiration Of The 30-Day Period Following The Mailing Date Of The Levy Notice Necessarily Triggered A CDP Hearing And Not An Equivalent Hearing.

The Court looked to Reg §301.6330-1(i)(1), which provides in relevant part: "A taxpayer who fails to make a timely request for a CDP hearing is not entitled to a CDP hearing. Such a taxpayer may nevertheless request an administrative hearing with Appeals, which is referred to * * * as an 'equivalent hearing.'"

The phrase "[s]uch a taxpayer," the Court found, limits the class of taxpayers who may request an equivalent hearing to those described in the immediately preceding sentence, that is, those who "fail[] to make a timely request for a CDP hearing". In other words, the Court concluded, only those taxpayers who fail to timely request a CDP hearing are eligible to request an equivalent hearing.

Have an IRS Tax Problem?

     Contact the Tax Lawyers at

Marini & Associates, P.A. 

for a FREE Tax HELP Contact us at:
www.TaxAid.com or www.OVDPLaw.com
or Toll Free at 888 8TAXAID (888-882-9243)

 

US Expatriations More Than Doubled In 2nd Quarter Of 2022

On  April 26, 2022, we posted Should I Stay or Should I Go? - Expatriations Are Up In 1st Quarter of 2022, where we discussed that the number of people who expatriated from the U.S. rose during the first quarter of 2022 compared with the previous quarter, the Internal Revenue Service said in a notice released on July 25, 2022.

Now the number of people expatriated from the U.S. more than doubled during the second quarter of 2022 compared to the previous quarter, the Internal Revenue Service said in a notice released Wednesday.

The Number Of People Losing Or Renouncing Their U.S. Citizenship Rose To 1,473 In April Through June

From 571 In The First Quarter Of 2022, The IRS
Said In A List Of Those Choosing To Expatriate.

The list includes those losing U.S. citizenship under Internal Revenue Code Section 877(a)  and Section 877A , the notice said.

It also includes long-term residents who are treated as losing citizenship under IRC Section 877(e)(2), the agency said.

According to CNBC the top reason why Americans abroad want to dump their U.S. citizenship include:

• Nearly 1 in 4 American expatriates say they are “seriously considering” or “planning” to ditch their U.S. citizenship, a survey from Greenback Expat Tax Services finds.  
• About 9 million U.S. citizens are living abroad, the U.S. Department of State estimates.
• More than 4 in 10 who would renounce citizenship say it’s due to the burden of filing U.S. taxes, the Greenback poll shows.

Should I Stay or Should I Go?

Need Advise on Expatriation?

 

Contact the Tax Lawyers at 

Marini & Associates, P.A.   

for a FREE Tax Consultation contact us at:

www.TaxAid.com or www.OVDPLaw.com 
or Toll Free at 888-8TaxAid (888) 882-9243

Manchin & Schumer Agree on Build Back "SOMEWHAT" Better Deal With 15% Corp. Minimum Tax & Increased Tax Enforcement

According to Law360, Sen. Joe Manchin said on Wednesday, July 27, 2002, that he had reached an agreement with Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on legislation that would impose a 15% corporate minimum tax as part of a larger package to address tax, energy and health care costs.

Manchin, a Democrat from West Virginia, and Schumer, a Democrat from New York, announced the agreement to add the package, known as the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, to the fiscal year 2022 budget reconciliation bill, which could be passed with a simple majority. The package includes key parts of President Joe Biden's stalled domestic agenda such as investing in renewable energy and lowering the cost of health insurance and prescription drugs.

The measure would bring in roughly $739 billion in new revenues, including: 

• $313 billion from establishing a corporate minimum tax, 
• $124 billion from increased tax enforcement efforts by the Internal Revenue Service, 
• $14 billion from changing the tax treatment of carried interest and 
• $288 billion from reducing the cost the federal government pays for prescription drugs, according to a summary provided by Schumer's office.

The 15% Corporate Alternative Minimum Tax Proposal
Would Apply To Adjusted Financial Statement Income For Corporations With Profits In Excess Of $1 Billion,
Effective After December 2022.

Corporations would generally be eligible to claim net operating losses and tax credits against the AMT, and would be eligible to claim a tax credit against the regular corporate tax for AMT paid in prior years, to the extent the regular tax liability in any year exceeds 15% of the corporation's adjusted financial statement income.

Democrats Would Spend That Revenue To Cut The Federal Budget Deficit By About $300 Billion And Invest $369 Billion In Energy Security And Climate Change Programs Over The Next 10 Years, The Summary Said.

The funding also would lower health care premiums by $64 billion and provide the IRS with an additional $80 billion to pay for the enforcement efforts. Approximately $15 million of the IRS funding would be used to study the creation of a free electronic filing program for low- and moderate-income taxpayers.     

Manchin and Schumer said the text of the legislation would be submitted for Senate parliamentarian review Wednesday and that the Senate would consider it next week. Manchin's support is vital since Democrats will need all 50 of their members in the Senate to pass the bill if no Republicans support it.

Manchin Highlighted The Corporate Minimum Tax In A Statement On The Agreement And Called It Wrong That Some Of The Country's Largest Companies Escape Federal Taxes.

"It is common sense that a domestic corporate minimum tax of 15% be applied only to billion-dollar companies or larger, ensuring that America's largest businesses are no longer able to operate for free in our economy," he said.

Roy Blunt, R-Mo., chair of the Senate Republican Policy Committee, said he probably wouldn't support the Manchin-Schumer legislation, which he hadn't seen yet.

"I don't think raising taxes is the right thing to do right now or putting more money into the economy," Blunt told Law360.

The agreement with Schumer follows comments Manchin made during a West Virginia radio interview July 15 that he wouldn't support the tax proposals in Biden's economic plan and that a significant increase in inflation led to his decision. Manchin said his support for a slimmed-down version of the Build Back Better Act, the budget reconciliation bill the House passed in November, had depended on a consumer price index report that showed a 9.1% increase in June over the prior year.

Manchin has featured prominently in the debate on the Build Back Better Act. In December, he opposed the measure. Manchin said he was concerned about its effect on inflation and the national debt, said he couldn't support the proposal, and pointed to other concerns like the pandemic as issues Congress should focus on.

Have a Criminal Tax Problem?

Value Your Freedom?

Contact the Tax Lawyers at

Marini & Associates, P.A. 

 

 for a FREE Tax Consultation Contact us at

www.TaxAid.com or www.OVDPLaw.com

or Toll Free at 888-8TaxAid (888 882-9243). 

Proof That Quiet Disclosures Do Not Work!

Case in point is U.S. v. George Gaynor Jr., case number 2:21-cv-00382, in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, where Lavern Gaynor, whose grandfather was a founder of Texaco Inc., now a subsidiary of Chevron Corp., filed amended tax returns and foreign bank account forms in 2012 and 2013 to disclose her overseas assets, she did so in a so-called quiet disclosure, according to the government's complaint. 

She Submitted These Forms Without Telling The IRS That She Violated Her Tax Reporting Obligations In Order To Avoid The Agency's Attention, According To The Complaint.

Lavern Gaynor died April 12, 2021, according to the complaint and the FBAR penalties were initially assessed for 2009, 2010 and 2011 by the IRS in May 2019. 

The Amount At Issue As Of The Beginning Of June
Had Increased To $20.9 Million As Result Of
Accrued Interest, According To The Current Filing.

The government sued the estate in May 2021, contending that Gaynor moved her assets from one Swiss bank to another in order to avoid her tax reporting obligations. She also didn't tell her accountant about the bank accounts and attempted to quietly disclose the accounts later without alerting the IRS to her noncompliance, the government said.

The estate filed a counterclaim in July 2021, arguing that the FBAR penalties assessed against Gaynor for 2009, 2010 and 2011 should have been abated upon her death in April 2021 under federal common law. Furthermore, the initial $18.4 million penalty and interest constitutes an excessive fine under the Eighth Amendment, according to the estate's filing.

Moreover, the estate is entitled to a $3,000 refund for amounts it paid against the FBAR liabilities because Gaynor never owed the penalties, the estate argued.

Now U.S. government counsel got the green light from a Florida federal court Monday to negotiate and recommend a settlement in a case seeking more than $20.9 million in foreign bank account penalties and interest from a Texaco heiress' estate.

Bottom line is fix your pre-undeclared foreign income matters while you're still alive, so your heirs won't be stuck with this problem!

The IRS provides many alternative avenues to address your previously undisclosed foreign income. Don't wait until it's too late!

Have an FBAR Penalty Problem?  

 

 

 Contact the Tax Lawyers at 

Marini& Associates, P.A. 

 

 

for a FREE Tax Consultation at: 

www.TaxAid.com or www.OVDPLaw.com 
or Toll Free at 888-8TaxAid (888) 882-9243