IRS Collected $5.5 Billion From OVDI, But According to GAO, May Be Missing Billions More?

The Internal Revenue Service may be missing potential tax dodgers who report their foreign accounts but who avoid paying penalties by not reporting previous years' returns. The Government Accountability Office released Offshore Tax Evasion: IRS Has Collected Billions of Dollars, but May be Missing Continued Evasion (GAO-13-318): 

Tax evasion by individuals with unreported offshore financial accounts was estimated by one IRS commissioner to be several tens of billions of dollars, but no precise figure exists. IRS has operated four offshore programs since 2003 that offered incentives for taxpayers to disclose their offshore accounts and pay delinquent taxes, interest, and penalties. GAO was asked to review IRS’s second offshore program, the 2009 OVDP. This report (1) describes the nature of the noncompliance of 2009 OVDP participants, (2) determines the extent IRS used the 2009 OVDP to prevent noncompliance, and (3) assesses IRS’s efforts to detect taxpayers trying to circumvent taxes, interests, and penalties that would otherwise be owed. 

IRS has detected some taxpayers with previously undisclosed offshore accounts attempting to circumvent paying the taxes, interest, and penalties that would otherwise be owed, but based on  GAO reviews of IRS data, IRS may be missing attempts by other taxpayers attempting to do so. GAO analyzed amended returns filed for tax year 2003 through tax year 2008, matched them to other information available to IRS about taxpayers' possible offshore activities, and found many more potential quiet disclosures than IRS detected.  

Moreover, IRS has not researched whether sharp increases in taxpayers reporting offshore accounts for the first time is due to efforts to circumvent monies owed, thereby missing opportunities to help ensure compliance. From tax year 2007 through tax year 2010, IRS estimates that the number of taxpayers reporting foreign accounts nearly doubled to 516,000. Taxpayer attempts to circumvent taxes, interest, and penalties by not participating in an offshore program, but instead simply amending past returns or reporting on current returns previously unreported offshore accounts, result in lost revenues and undermine the programs' effectiveness.

 

 Have Unreported Foreign Bank Accounts?

 

Contact the Tax Lawyers at 

Marini & Associates, P.A.  

for a FREE Tax Consultation

at: www.TaxAid.us or www.TaxLaw.ms or

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

 

 

 

Going to a tax planning seminar in Panama?

Anthony Parent posts - Why you really really might not want ever speak, or even be in the same room as San Diego Tax Attorney Christopher Rusch!

In yesterday’s post about Chris Rusch, a self-claimed tax attorney mastermind who will be meeting potential tax clients in Panama shortly, I wrote:

So in case you missed it: On October 14, 2013, Kathleen Peddicord of liveandinvestoverseas.com sent out emails claiming that the #1 tax attorney [Chirs Rusch] for offshore tax issues is:

• someone who just lost his license to practice law,
• someone who has been convicted of conspiracy to defraud the United States government, and failing to file an FBAR
• someone who has turned evidence against his own clients.

Are you going to a tax planning seminar in Panama soon? Be sure someone named Chris Rusch will NOT be in attendance.

But there is more to the story.

The Tax Lawyers  

of Marini & Associates, P.A.

 for a FREE Tax Consultation

at www.TaxAid.us or www.TaxLaw.ms

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

 

2014 Tax Season to Start Later Following Government Shutdown

The Internal Revenue Service today announced a delay of approximately
one to two weeks to the start of the 2014 filing season to allow adequate time to program and test tax processing systems following the 16-day federal government closure. 

The IRS is exploring options to shorten the expected delay and will announce a final decision on the start of the 2014 filing season in December, Acting IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel said. The original start date of the 2014 filing season was Jan. 21, and with a one- to two-week delay, the IRS would start accepting and processing 2013 individual tax returns no earlier than Jan. 28 and no later than Feb. 4. 

The government closure came during the peak period for preparing IRS systems for the 2014 filing season. Programming, testing and deployment of more than 50 IRS systems is needed to handle processing of nearly 150 million tax returns. Updating these core systems is a complex, year-round process with the majority of the work beginning in the fall of each year.

The IRS will not process paper tax returns before the start date, which will be announced in December. There is no advantage to filing on paper before the opening date, and taxpayers will receive their tax refunds much faster by using e-file with direct deposit. The April 15 tax deadline is set by statute and will remain in place. However, the IRS reminds taxpayers that anyone can request an automatic six-month extension to file their tax return. The request is easily done with Form 4868, which can be filed electronically or on paper.

During the closure, the IRS received 400,000 pieces of correspondence, on top of the 1 million items already being processed before the shutdown.

Having Trouble Contacting the IRS?

Contact the Tax Lawyers at

Marini & Associates, P.A.

for a FREE Tax Consultation Contact US at

www.TaxAid.us or www.TaxLaw.ms
or Toll Free at 888-8TaxAidhighlighting (888 882-9243).

Source:

IR-2013-82

Was Raoul Weil the Ex-UBS Banker Your Banker?...You May Want to Contact M&A Immediately!

An Italian judge ruled on Tuesday, October 22, 2013, that Raoul Weil, the ex-UBS banker wanted in the United States over allegations of helping Americans dodge taxes, must remain in custody while awaiting possible extradition to the US.

The decision was handed down by a judge of the Court of Appeal in Bologna, where Weil, a Swiss citizen and former head of UBS's global wealth management business, was arrested by Italian police on Saturday. The 53 year-old banker was escorted in handcuffs into the court building by police officers to attend a closed-door hearing.

Weil was charged in the United States in November 2008 for conspiring to help 17,000 Americans hide assets worth $20 billion in Swiss bank accounts and declared a fugitive a few months later after failing to surrender to authorities.

As we discussed in our post Bradley Birkenfeld awarded $104 million (13% ) as UBS tax case whistleblower, another Ex-UBS Banker, Bradley Birkenfeld later became a whistleblower for the IRS.  He said he learned in 2005 that the UBS’s advice to clients was illegal, and after reporting it to the UBS compliance office to no avail, he decided to become a US government informant.

In February 2009, as a result of the information he gave U.S. authorities, the DOJ announced it had reached a deferred prosecution agreement with UBS that resulted in a $780 million fine and the release of previously privileged information on American tax evaders.  

To settle the SEC’s complaint that it violated the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, UBS agreed to disgorge $200 million in profits and promised to end its cross-border business in the U.S. in accordance with the DPA. 

On 11 September 2012, the IRS Whistleblower Office paid Birkenfeld a $104 million award for acting as a corporate whistleblower. 

Weil, who is the subject of an international arrest warrant, checked in with his wife at the 'I Portici' hotel in central Bologna on Friday. The hotel, as is customary in Italy, passed on Weil's identity details to the local police, triggering an alert and prompting the police to arrest him early on Saturday.
 

The United States now has 40 days to send the Italian judiciary a formal request for Weil's extradition. If the United States makes the request Italian judges at the Court of Appeal will assess whether Weil must be sent to the United States to face trial.

Italy has cooperated with the United States in the past except over crimes that carry the death penalty, which is banned in Italy. Under U.S. law a conviction for tax evasion may result in fines and imprisonment.

A UBS spokesman said on Monday Weil, who became the head of its global wealth management business in 2007 and sat on the bank's board, was discharged from his duties when he was indicted. He joined Reuss Private Group in 2010 as a consultant and became chief executive at the beginning of this year. 
 

You can be certain, that once Raoul Weil is extradited to the United States, that as part of a plea deal, he will turn over:

• all of the names 
• all of the associated details
• of Every US Taxpayer

who he helped avoid pay US Taxes; while he was at UBS or at Reuss Private Group!

Was Raoul Weil Your Banker?
 

 

...You May Want to Contact M&A Immediately!

Contact the Tax Lawyers

of Marini & Associates, P.A.

 for a FREE Tax Consultation

at www.TaxAid.us or www.TaxLaw.ms

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

 

Source:

Reuters

 

 

 

The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) Its Impact on Corporate Agents and Trustee Services

The US has in recent years stepped up its initiatives to counter tax evasion and as part of this effort has introduced the FATCA statute. Although the primary purpose of FATCA is prevention and detection of tax evasion by US persons, it will have a significant impact across financial markets and affect non-US companies and individuals. 

In particular, FATCA will require that financial institutions, investment funds and global providers of corporate and trustee services continuously screen their client databases for US beneficial ownership as well as to classify and document clients’ entities as to their FATCA status.

FATCA establishes various procedures for validation of beneficial ownership which should be complied with by participants in the global financial markets. In many cases, these procedures have been further developed by inter-governmental agreements (“IGAs”) that the USA has entered into with foreign countries.

As a practical matter, FATCA will require Corporate Trustees, in addition to their robust client acceptance processes, to introduce specific new compliance procedures dedicated to identifying US persons within its client base, to classify client entities as to their FATCA status and to annually report findings of US persons.

This will have a significant impact on all international clients even if they are not US persons or not investing in the US. Whether you are an individual, shareholder/director of a corporation, beneficiary of a trust, a US or non-US person, a fund, a wealth manager, a bank, an insurance company etc., FATCA requires substantial information and documentation to be gathered as part of its registration, identification and reporting processes. 

FATCA will require that Corporate Trustees to identify and document all US beneficial owners of accounts as well as recipients of US source payments.

If the Corporate Agent provides only registered office services to client companies, the Corporate Agent will not be contacting the client in relation to FATCA. However, those clients will have their own responsibility to be FATCA compliant.  

Failure to perform the proper checks and submit the necessary documentation that FATCA requires will result in a 30% withholding tax being imposed on US source income.

The implementation and expansion of FATCA means that Corporate Agents will require new documentation from their clientele worldwide. This new information will allow them to properly assist with the registration and reporting of each applicable structure/situation.  

In the upcoming months, Corporate Agents/ Trustees will reach out to clients to highlight the specific information that is required for FATCA.

Need FATCA Help?

Contact the Tax Lawyers

of Marini & Associates, P.A.

 

for a FREE Tax Consultation

at www.TaxAid.us or www.TaxLaw.ms

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

Source:

 Citco

IRS Re-Opens After the 16 Day Shut Down!

The IRS started reopening operations on Oct. 17. Employees are
reporting back to work, and the IRS IS assessing the impact of the 16-day shutdown on their national operations.

At this point, the IRS has received a large amount of correspondence during the closure. They know there will be a substantial increase in demand for their IRS phone services and many other operations.

On Oct. 17, the IRS started reopening their phone lines and there Taxpayer Assistance Centers, both of which will take time to ramp up to normal operating status.

In addition, other business operations have started resuming, including the processing of billions of dollars of refunds for individuals and businesses and honoring transcript and authorization requests from third parties.

Given the high demand for services, the IRS encourages taxpayers to wait to call or visit if their issue is not urgent, and to continue to use automated applications on the IRS website, www.IRS.gov, whenever possible.

Taxpayers who need immediate assistance are encouraged to visit Taxpayer Assistance Centers in their area or try call centers but should be aware there will be delays.

In the days ahead, the IRS will continue assessing the effect of this unprecedented situation on its operations, and they will do everything they can to resume their normal operations as quickly as possible so that we can best serve the needs of the American taxpayer.

Have IRS PROBLEMS?
Contact the Tax Lawyers at 

Marini & Associates, P.A.  

for a FREE Tax Consultation

at: www.TaxAid.us or www.TaxLaw.ms or

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

Source:

 IRS

Ireland to Close Highly Criticized Loophole, but Create an Even Bigger One.

Ireland said on Tuesday it planned to shut down a much-criticized tax arrangement used by Apple Inc to shelter over $40 billion from taxation - but will leave open an even bigger loophole that means the computer giant is unlikely to pay any more tax.

Parliamentary hearings were held to review Ireland's tax rules amid concerns that damage to its reputation could jeopardize the foreign investment on which its economy relies heavily.
Irish Finance Minister Michael Noonan said on Tuesday that he planned to make it illegal for a company registered in Ireland to have no tax domicile anywhere.

A spokesman for the Department of Finance declined to explain the change but denied it was due to U.S. pressure.

He added that companies could still nominate any country they liked as their tax residence, including zero tax jurisdictions such as Bermuda - a provision that tax advisers said was unusual internationally.  This means this change was unlikely to result in higher tax bills for companies that use Irish subsidiaries to minimize taxes.

The highly criticized arrangement has become known in the tax avoidance industry as the "double Irish". this arrangement has been used by Google, Microsoft & Apple, just to name a few.

Need Tax Efficient Tax Planning?

 

Contact the Tax Lawyers at 

Marini & Associates, P.A.  

for a FREE Tax Consultation

at: www.TaxAid.us or www.TaxLaw.ms or

Toll Free at 888-8TaxAid ( 888 882-9243 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 888 882-9243 FREE  end_of_the_skype_highlighting). 

Source:

Reuters