May the Fourth (Amendment) Be With You – Part 2: The IRS Power To Execute Search Warrants and Subpoenas and Why You Need a Lawyer
In part one we discussed the IRS power to issue a summons in the pursuit of its mission. A summons empowers the IRS to access the records it needs to facilitate its investigation and collection of delinquent income taxes. However, if the taxpayer becomes the subject of a criminal investigation, the IRS can swear out […]
“May the Fourth Be With You” – Part 1: The IRS Power of Summons
This is part one of a two-part discussion of the powers of the IRS to conduct searches and seizures in its never-ending quest to shore up our government’s hemorrhaging coffers. The Fourth Amendment — alive and well today Anyone who believes that our Constitution with its Bill of Rights is just an outdated remnant of […]
The End of Swiss Banking Secrecy?
“There is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about.”[1] Oscar Wilde’s insightful observation about humankind’s proclivity toward public recognition does have exceptions. For a variety of reasons, men and women throughout the world have often sought confidentiality in their financial affairs, chiefly through banking […]
Helter Shelter: Unveiling the Secret World of Tax Shelters and the Aggressive Tax Attorneys that Inhabit It
While the major news outlets were busy churning out story after story about the countdown to FATCA and the government’s aggressive pursuit of U.S. taxpayers with undisclosed offshore bank accounts last October, a criminal tax case with far-reaching consequences was brewing off in the distance. And that storm was largely ignored. In fact, almost eight months later it […]
FBAR and FATCA – Two Abbreviations That Can Wrap You Around the IRS Axle
FBAR and FATCA are two important abbreviations for those who have overseas financial interests. Failure to file the FBAR report, in view of the IRS’s continuing application of FATCA, can get you into what old military veterans used to call FUBAR. Let’s back up a bit and go over those abbreviations: FBAR is a Foreign […]
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly of Opting Out of the OVDI
Michael J. DeBlis examines the Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Initiative and provides an overview of the FBAR fundamentals.
Crimes Under the IRC – Part 2 of 2 parts: Crimes of Commission: Tax Perjury, Aiding Another and Hiding Assets
Knowingly filing a false tax return and aiding another to do so are violations of the IRC, Section 7206. Briefly summarized, those violations encompass: Tax perjury — knowingly signing a false tax return that is false Willfully aiding another person to commit tax fraud Hiding assets with the intent to evade or defeat the assessment […]
Crimes Under the IRC – Part 1 of 2 parts: Failure to File, Supply Information or Pay Tax
Underpinning the vast power of the IRS to collect our tax money is the Internal Revenue Code (26 U.S.C), hereafter referred to as the IRC. Subtitle F, Chapter 75, Subchapter A, of the IRC lists the crimes and punishments for anyone convicted of violating our tax law. The most common violations of the IRC are […]
Should I Stay or Should I Go? Answers to the Most Frequently Asked Questions Regarding OVDP
As a tax attorney specializing in OVDP, nary a day goes by that I don’t get a call from a person inquiring about the OVDP program. The questions asked are relatively the same. After a while, I began to make a list of the most frequently asked questions. Below are my answers to them: Why […]
The Rules Governing Taxation of Foreign Nationals
I. The Residence of Individuals Individual residents of the United States, regardless of nationality, must pay U.S. tax on their worldwide income. U.S. taxation of nonresident aliens, by contrast, is largely limited to income from sources in the United States. Therefore, residence is the first and most important touchstone of U.S. taxation for foreign nationals. […]