What’s In Your Wallet? Uncle Sam Wants To Know
Folks with Panamanian bank accounts may soon be getting some official-looking envelopes in the mail, as the Justice Department recently served John Doe subpoenas on FedEx, DHL, Western Union and a number of other shipping and wire transfer companies. These summonses require the targets to turn over any documents or material relating to their business […]
National Taxpayer Advocate Lambasts IRS’s OVDP Programs and FBAR Penalties
Here ye, here ye! National Taxpayer Advocate, Nina Olson recently gave her annual report to Congress. And she didn’t mince words. She lambasted the IRS for relentlessly asserting onerous offshore penalties including its disproportionate treatment of non-willful taxpayers caught in the labyrinth of foreign asset reporting. Ms. Olson’s report asks the IRS to change its […]
Making Sense of the Model 2 FATCA Agreement Between Switzerland and the United States and What’s on the Horizon
This article recently appeared in the November/December 2014 Edition of CCH’s Journal of Tax Practice & Procedure: Making Sense of the Model 2 FATCA Agreement Between Switzerland & the U.S.
How To Beat The Rap
Six years into the government’s latest crackdown on offshore tax evasion, federal prosecutors have yet to win a signature jury trial. Of the 38 persons indicted since 2008, 25 have yet to be tried, so the government has plenty of opportunities to bag the heretofore elusive white whale. Most of these 25 defendants are Swiss […]
Are the Psychological Benefits of U.S. Citizenship An Adequate Justification For the Worldwide Taxation of Nonresident U.S. Citizens?
I recently wrote a two-part series about the inadequate justification for the United States’ worldwide taxation of its nonresident citizens (Part I is available here; Part II is available here). Professor Michael S. Kirsch offers a different perspective in defense of this system. Instead of assessing the propriety of U.S. worldwide taxation on the basis […]
Don’t Mistake “GIIN” For Gin Or You May Suffer More Than Just a Hangover!
In a recent blog entitled, “FATCA GIIN January 2015 FFI Registration Analysis … by the numbers,” Professor William Byrnes provides a brilliant commentary on the IRS’s publication of its first FATCA GIIN list of the new year (published on New Years Day!). The FATCA GIIN list is a list of “approved FFIs (Foreign Financial Institutions)” that have registered […]
US Automatic Exchange of Bank Information to 86 Foreign Countries in 2015
In a recent blog entitled, “US Automatic Exchange of Bank Information to 86 Foreign Countries in 2015,” Professor William Byrnes lists the countries with which the U.S. has an automatic exchange relationship. There are a total of 86. The article can be found on Professor Byrnes’ International Financial Law Prof Blog.
Application of Foreign Earned Income Exclusion to Civilian Contractors Working In Combat Zones (Part II)
This is Part II of a two-part blog series. After establishing that they have a tax home in a foreign country, taxpayers must still establish that they satisfy the 330 day physical presence test or the bona fide residence test. See IRC section 911(d)(1). I. 330 Day Physical Presence Test The 330 day physical presence […]
Application of Foreign Earned Income Exclusion to Civilian Contractors Working In Combat Zones (Part I)
This blog addresses the foreign earned income exclusion rules as they apply to civilian contractors, and other civilian employees, who work in foreign country combat zones. By “civilian,” I am specifically referring to individuals who are not employees of the United States or any agency of the United States. I. IRC Section 911 Foreign Earned […]
What Should A Swiss Banker Charged With Offshore Tax Evasion Do In The Wake of Raoul Weil’s Astonishing Acquittal?
The acquittal of Raoul Weil, the only Swiss banker to have prevailed over the U.S. government in an offshore tax evasion case, has become a source of inspiration for dozens of others who find themselves in a similar situation – indicted and living in Switzerland. As a result, many have become emboldened to come out […]