Source: http://thetaxtimes.blogspot.com/2012/09/
Timestamp: 2018-06-19 12:46:12
Document Index: 87054372

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 1182', '§7701', '§301', '§172', 'in fine', 'in fine']

The Tax Times: September 2012
Posted by TAXAID COM at 6:58 AM No comments:
We have learned about 2-3 Expatriates who were recently denied entry into the US by Homeland Security at the Airport and put on the next plane out of town. These events happened at at different Metropolitan Airports in different US cities. We have also heard that some U.S. consular officers may have unofficially applied the Reed Amendment to refuse issuance of a visa to former U.S. citizens.
This new official/unofficial enforcement of the Reed Amendment may be a reaction to the news about Facebook’s co-founder Eduardo Saverin having renounced his U.S. citizenship, which we discussed in our May14, 2012 post "Facebook's Co-Founder Just Defriended America." At the time there was speculation regarding whether The Reed Amendment would be applied to him thereby preventing him reentry into the U.S. and Reed himself sent a letter to Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano urging her to bar Saverin from re-entry.
The Reed Amendment was an amendment to the United States' Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 regarding the admission of former U.S. citizens. It added the following text to the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965's list of "Classes of aliens ineligible for visas or admissions" (8 USC § 1182 - Inadmissible aliens)
The U.S. government has never issued regulations to implement the Reed Amendment. One issue with the enforcement of the law was that the Attorney General was never authorized to obtain the required information from the Internal Revenue Service in order to be able to make the determination whether a former American's loss of citizenship was motivated by tax reasons. In 2004, Congress threw out the relevance of tax avoidance motives altogether and imposed an exit tax.
However, Senator Charles Schumer stated that the Reed Amendment "was written in a manner that inhibits its enforcement", and so he and Bob Casey introduced new legislation, the Ex-Patriot Act, which would make former U.S. citizens inadmissible to the United States and charge them 30% capital gains tax on their U.S. investmentson for people such as Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin, unless they show they didn’t renounce their U.S. citizenship to avoid taxes.
Under the bill, if you renounce with a $2 million net worth or an average income-tax liability of $148,000, tax avoidance is presumed. Previously when presumed tax avoidance was in the law (it was changed in 2004), expats usually showed family, political, geographic or other reasons to leave.
Other highly controversial proposals would revoke or deny passports to those owing the IRS $50,000 or more; see our post Tax Delinquents May Have Passports Canceled & Be Questioned at Air & Sea Ports.
Other related news conserning tax related actions being taken by Homeland Security was discussed in our post Dead Beat Taxpayers Residing residing outside U.S. ques Toned at U.S. border regarding back taxes. This post discussed theat Taxpayers traveling to the United States with unpaid U.S. tax assessments can be detained at the border, questioned, and flagged for follow-up enforcement. If a taxpayer has an unpaid tax liability and is subject to a resulting Notice of Federal Tax Lien, the IRS may submit identifying taxpayer information to the Treasury Enforcement Communications System (TECS), a database maintained by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
If you have Tax Problems and are Considering Traveling, 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).
Posted by TAXAID COM at 8:29 AM No comments:
According to Global Finance Magazine’s ranking of the world’s safest banks, the top 9 banks in the magazine’s World’s 50 Safest Banks list are all state-backed institutions. All indications from this report is that for banking safely, global citizens had better go to the local government and avoid the U.S.
The 2012 list is comprised of the following Banks based upon credit ratings and assets:
If you have question concerning Offshore 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 (888 882-9243).
US Taxpayers Living in Canada - This is Your Last Chance To Report your Offshore Account!
So if you are US taxpayer, living in Canada, who had an account with one of theses Swiss Banks and you have not made a voluntary disclosure, YOU ARE ABOUT TO BE DISCOVERED!
If you are a US Person Living in Canada and have Unreported Income From Swiss Banks, 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).
Posted by TAXAID COM at 2:32 PM No comments:
The U.S. Treasury has indicated that the lack of a double tax treaty or tax information exchange agreement will not prevent a jurisdiction from entering into a FATCA Intergovernmental Agreement with the U.S. as the U.S. would be willing to sign an IGA and a TIEA at the same time.
The U.S. exchange of information network is shown on the table Below. This information is provided by the OECD and jurisdictions may have signed further agreements that are not reflected.
FSI Tax Post
Posted by TAXAID COM at 8:03 AM No comments:
Yesterday we posted More Swiss Bank Files Being Transferred to the IRS! - where we discussed that Credit Suisse AG has handed over more internal documents to U.S. authorities.
So if you are US taxpayer who had an account with one of theses Swiss Banks and you have not made a voluntary disclosure, YOU ARE ABOUT TO BE DISCOVERED!
If you have Unreported Income From Swiss Banks or are a Swiss Bank Employee named in these documents, 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).
Posted by TAXAID COM at 10:34 AM 1 comment:
UBS has confirmed that the Swiss banking industry is expecting large cash outflows due to the recently agreed bilateral withholding tax treaties with Germany, Austria and the UK. Switzerland's second largest bank Credit Suisse made similar remarks last week.
If you have Unreported Income From Swiss Banks, 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).
Posted by TAXAID COM at 10:28 AM No comments:
More Swiss Bank Files Being Transferred to the IRS!
Credit Suisse AG is handing over more internal documents to U.S. authorities in response to Washington's crackdown on tax evasion, according to one of its internal memos.
All client-specific data have been removed from the business records that will be transferred, as they were from the first batch of records. The employees whose names are in the data aren't suspected of having helped Americans avoid taxes.
A spokesman for Credit Suisse confirmed their interal memo invites staff members who aren't sure whether their names will be included in the coming transfer to contact a help desk for more information.
Employees will now be informed in advance when information containing their names is transferred to U.S. authorities. The changes were outlined in a recent internal memo to employees and were agreed to in cooperation with the Swiss Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner.
"The documents concerned comprise e-mail correspondence, including attachments, with clients domiciled in the U.S., as well as internal e-mail correspondence, including attachments, about clients domiciled in the U.S. and the U.S. cross-border business in general during the period from June 2001 to March 2011," Hans-Ulrich Meister, who heads Credit Suisse's private-banking unit, told staff in the memo.
The latest records scheduled for transfer to the U.S. include names of employees of Credit Suisse's private-banking division who served clients in relation to business with the U.S.
Employees whose names were included in a first batch of data sent to the U.S. said they felt betrayed and some said they were worried that they risk being arrested or questioned if they travel to the U.S.
Other banks that confirmed that they sent documents, including employee names, to the U.S. are the private-banking unit of HSBC Holdings, Julius Baer Group AG, Zuercher Kantonalbankand Basler Kantonalbank.
Posted by TAXAID COM at 8:02 AM No comments:
The Justice Department's tax division announced Sept. 18 a new directive (No. 144) aimed at streamlining the prosecution of stolen identity refund fraud (SIRF) cases.
If you have a Tax Problem, 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).
Posted by TAXAID COM at 1:52 PM No comments:
Former Jenkens & Gilchrist Attorney Pleads Guilty in Tax Shelter Scheme
Donna Guerin, 52, a former partner at the now defunct Jenkens & Gilchrist law firm, entered the plea in U.S. District Court to conspiracy to defraud the United States and tax evasion.
During the guilty plea proceeding Guerin acknowledged that she knew that the tax shelter transactions would be allowed by the IRS only if there was a reasonable possibility of a profit and if the clients were entering into the tax shelter transactions for genuine, non-tax business reasons.
Guerin, said she helped draft opinion letters to make it seem like wealthy clients were investing in legitimate business ventures when they were not.
The judge asked her if she knew that what she was doing was wrong and illegal. "I came to that understanding over time," she answered.
The charges of conspiracy to defraud the United States and tax evasion carry a 5- 10 year in prison term. Sentencing for the Elmhurst, Ill., resident was set for Jan. 11. She also agreed to forfeit $1.6 million.If you want Solid Defendable Tax Advice, 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).
Posted by TAXAID COM at 9:24 AM No comments:
Posted by TAXAID COM at 6:27 AM No comments:
Use of NOL's After Changing Status From Resident Alien to Nonresident Alien
In PLR 201228013, the IRS considered whether an individual who incurred net operating losses (NOLs) while a resident alien could use the NOLs after he became a nonresident alien. The IRS ruled that he could to the extent the NOLs were allocable and/or apportionable to gross income effectively connected with a U.S. trade or business (gross ECI).
Taxpayer, a citizen of Country A, was a resident of the United States solely by reason of §7701(b)(3) “substantial presence test". LLC, a limited liability company formed under the law of a state of the United States, was wholly owned by Taxpayer and was a“disregarded entity” (within the meaning of Regs. §301.7701-3(a)). LLC was engaged in Business X within and without the United States. Taxpayer had NOLs as a result of the activities of LLC.
Taxpayer planned to relocate to Country A and remain there for a number of years, after which he would return to live in the United States.
For U.S. income tax purposes, he would be a nonresident alien while living in Country A and, after returning to the United States, would again become a resident alien under the substantial presence test.
Taxpayer would continue to carry on Business X (LLC) while living in Country A, and during that time Business X would continue to have a fixed place of business in the United States. The taxable income of Business X attributable to that fixed place of business would be taxable as business profits attributable to a permanent establishment under Article 7 of the U.S.-Country A Income Tax Treaty.
Taxpayer represented that a portion of the NOLs generated while he was a resident would have been allocated and/or apportioned to gross ECI had he been taxed as a nonresident alien during that time.
Taxpayer requested a ruling that, during the period he is taxed as a nonresident alien, properly apportioned NOLs may be offset against his gross ECI.
Similarly, Taxpayer requested a ruling that he may carry over properly apportioned NOLs generated while a nonresident alien to taxable years during which he is a resident again. In addition, Taxpayer requested a ruling that NOLs generated when he was first a resident may be carried over to taxable years during which he is a resident again.
1. Properly apportioned NOLs generated while Taxpayer was a resident may be offset against gross ECI realized while Taxpayer is a nonresident alien.
2. Properly apportioned NOLs generated while Taxpayer is a nonresident alien may be offset against gross income from Business X realized by Taxpayer after he reacquires resident status.
3. NOLs generated while Taxpayer was first a resident may be offset against gross income from Business X realized by Taxpayer after he reacquires resident status. The years in which Taxpayer is a nonresident alien will be taken into account in determining whether any such NOLs are still available under §172(b)(1).
If you Are Leaving the US, 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).
Posted by TAXAID COM at 12:41 PM 1 comment:
Switzerland Will Allow Grouped Client Disclosure Requests begining in January 2013
The Swiss parliament has agreed that foreign tax authorities will be able to make grouped requests for administrative assistance, specifying suspected tax avoiders by behaviour patterns rather than by name. Unless challenged by foreign clients, the law will come into effect in January 2013.
Parliament has approved grouped requests for administrative assistance on tax matters in line with international standards - further weakening Switzerland’s banking secrecy law.
The move follows pressure to crack down on tax evasion. See
Troubled times for Swiss Bankers & End of Banking Secrecy for Switzerland?
Posted by TAXAID COM at 11:40 AM 1 comment:
Posted by TAXAID COM at 2:57 PM 1 comment:
FORMER US AIRWAYS PILOT SENTENCED IN NORTH CAROLINA TO 10 YEARS IN PRISON FOR TAX FRAUD
WASHINGTON – Charles A. Davis, 63, formerly of Mooresville, N.C. was sentenced today in U.S. District Court to 120 Months in Prison for committing tax fraud, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced. U.S. Judge Richard L. Voorhees in the Western District of North Carolina also ordered Davis to serve 12 Months of Supervised Release after his prison term and Pay $538,569 as restitution to the IRS.
If you have Tax 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).
Posted by TAXAID COM at 11:11 AM No comments:
Tax Court Holds That No Abuse Discretion By IRS Appeals Officer in Denying Offer
The Internal Revenue Service's rejection of a taxpayer's offer in compromise of $28,000 for a tax liability of more than $150,000 was not an abuse of discretion, because the taxpayer failed to prove any special circumstances warranting
During the CDP hearing the settlement officer advised petitioner that the OIC would not be accepted because petitioner’s Form 1120 submitted with the OIC showed loans to shareholders of $443,887 as of October 1, 2007, and $468,888 as of September 30, 2008.
Both settlement officers encountered multiple pieces of evidence in the administrative record which stated that outstanding loans to shareholders payable to petitioner existed, including the first Form 1120.
Additional information relevant to the shareholder loan issue was then requested, and both OICs were rejected when petitioner failed to provide satisfactory evidence that no loans to shareholders existed. The information requested of petitioner was not available to the settlement officers internally (indeed, many of the internally available records stated that loans to shareholders existed), and no blanket request from petitioner was made.
Therefore the Tax Court found that the IRS's determinations were not arbitrary, capricious, or
without sound basis in fact or law.
If you need an Offer in Compromize, 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).
A-VALEY v. COMM, UNITED STATES TAX COURT, T.C. Memo. 2012-199
Docket No. 17863-09L. Filed July 17, 2012.
Posted by TAXAID COM at 10:22 AM 1 comment:
Swiss - US Tax Deal Terms Not Likely to Ease if Romney wins
A Romney White House would make the same demands as the current
administration has before agreeing to wipe the slate clean for 11 Swiss banks suspected of helping wealthy Americans evade taxes, Switzerland's Finance Minister said.
Switzerland needs the tax deal so that it can normalise its banking relations with the United States, but Widmer-Schlumpf has played down expectations that Switzerland could force a breakthrough before the November election, suggesting the ball is firmly in the U.S. court.
After the election in November, it would be several months before a new administration came in, then three or four more for new officials to get up to speed, Widmer-Schlumpf said.
Asked if the U.S. political line would change if Romney won the election, she said she thought not.
Our take is that repealing FATCA is political suicide for either party. How can either party justify repealing law which is designed to convert former tax dodgers into taxpayers?
Bradley Birkenfeld awarded $104 million (13% ) as UBS tax case whistleblower
U.S. tax authorities have awarded $104 million to a whistleblower in a major tax fraud case against Swiss bank UBS AG that widened a government crackdown on Americans avoiding taxes in Switzerland, his lawyers said on Tuesday. This approximately 13% of the amount the Government recovered from UBS ( $780 million in fines, penalties, interest and restitution).
We first posted that Bradley Birkenfeld was freed last month from prisonon August 1, 2012. His attorneys announced the $104 million reward made under an Internal Revenue Service whistleblower program.
Birkenfeld turned over information about UBS to the authorities, but later he was jailed after the government said he withheld other information.
UBS entered into a deferred prosecution agreement in early 2009 and paid $780 million in fines, penalties, interest and restitution. The case was a key turning point in a U.S. effort to combat tax evasion in Switzerland and elsewhere overseas.
If you have unreported income from Foreign Banks and you want to Get Right with the IRS, 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).
Posted by TAXAID COM at 9:04 AM No comments:
Last Chance for Voluntary Disclosures before FATCA becomes effective in 2013!
January 1, 2013 is the effective date of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) and with its implementation the associated FATCA disclosures. FATCA ends historical bank secrecy as previously relied on by many US depositors.
In anticipation of FATCA implementation, the IRS, revised its Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), clarifying many uncertainties in the current OVDP, tightening some areas and relaxing others. In addition, the IRS released, updated versions of some of the documentation that taxpayers will be required to file as a part of their acceptance into the OVDP.
The clarifications establish that the OVDP is available to taxpayers who have both offshore and domestic issues that require disclosure. Additionally, the IRS clarified which years are to be included or covered in the required eight-year voluntary disclosure period: for taxpayers who submit voluntary disclosures prior to the due date or extended due date for 2011, the disclosure period includes 2003–2010. For taxpayers who submit disclosures after the due date or extended due date for 2011, the disclosure period is 2004–2011.
The IRS added two new categories of persons ineligible for the OVDP. Under the OVDP, a taxpayer is required to notify the U.S. Attorney General of any appeal or document submitted in connection with an appeal of a foreign tax administrator's decision to provide account information to the IRS and any such a person who fails to provide the required notice will no longer be eligible to make a voluntary disclosure. Second, the IRS may announce that certain taxpayer groups that have or had accounts at specific financial institutions will be ineligible due to U.S. government actions in connection with the specific financial institutions. Each announcement is to provide notice of the prospective date upon which eligibility for the specific taxpayer group ends.
The IRS also revised certain documentation, the Offshore Voluntary Disclosure letter used to make the formal application to the OVDP has significantly changed and now has a required attachment/questionnaire which, to some extent, replaces an earlier document known as the Foreign Financial Institution Statement and further expands upon the details of the offshore account and the persons involved in the creation of the account. The disclosure letter and the attached questionnaire now call for information regarding deposits/withdrawals, entities affiliated with the account, and a host of information relating to communications with representatives of the foreign financial institution.
The OVDP in response to situations involving U.S. citizens,including dual citizens, residing abroad added two new provisions.The first, which previously posted as Tax amnesty offered to Americans in Canada, describes the IRS giving Canada persons the opportunity to request an extension of time to make the election to Canada to defer U.S. income tax on income earned in, but not yet distributed from, Canadian registered retirement savings plans (RRSPs), pursuant to the U.S.-Canada Income Tax Treaty. If the election is granted, the RRSP balance will not be included in the offshore penalty base upon which the 27.5% penalty attaches.
The second which previously posted as Instructions - New Streamlined Filing for Non-Resident & Non-Filer U.S. Taxpayers! which describes the IRS' new procedure (to take effect September 1, 2012) that will allow U.S. citizens, including dual citizens, residing abroad to become tax-compliant, without necessarily facing penalties, if they are low-compliance risk taxpayers who owe little or no back taxes (generally, those persons who have simple tax returns and owe $1,500 or less in tax for each of the covered years).
Posted by TAXAID COM at 8:22 AM 1 comment: