The IRS filed a federal tax lien against Robert De Niro, stemming from $6.4 million in unpaid tax liabilities from the 2013 tax year. The lien was filed on February 3, 2015, and the actor paid the balance in full three weeks later. The 71 year old actor, best known […]
Author: Lawrence Brown
Prior to his death in 1980, Maurice Pinot opened a Swiss account with approximately $1 million, which would pay interest and dividends to his longtime companion, and after her death, to her daughter. That daughter, Micheline Fournie, an 81 year old French citizen with U.S. residency, is now resisting pressure […]
There doesn’t seem to be a great deal of dispute among the politicos in Washington about whether the U.S. tax code needs reform or not. Just about everyone agrees it needs fixing. The question then becomes, just what is likely to be possible considering the current makeup of Congress and […]
A former UBS client has been sentenced to four months of incarceration and two years of supervised released by a federal court in Georgia. The internet entrepreneur was convicted of FBAR violations, stemming from his undeclared offshore accounts in Switzerland and other countries. Gregg Kaminsky, the founder and CEO of […]
The owner of Le Perigord, a popular French restaurant in Midtown Manhattan, has pleaded guilty to obstruction charges stemming from undeclared Swiss bank accounts he held from 1992 to 2011. Georges Briguet, 77, grew up on his family’s vineyard in Switzerland. In 1960, he moved to New York and opened […]
Federal and state tax laws are often in alignment with each other on the basic structure of deductions, exemptions and so on. But how does federal tax law take account of the fact that federal taxes may be affected by differences in state tax structure? In Texas, this is a […]
IRS in 2009. This program has been beneficial to many taxpayers in resolving tax debt and avoiding federal tax liens. But as the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) found in a recent report, there are several ways in which the Fresh Start program could be improved. In this […]
In 2009, in the midst of the Great Recession, the IRS launched an initiative intended to ease the burdens of financially strapped individuals and businesses burdened by back taxes. It was called “Fresh Start.” The program sought to help taxpayers find ways to avoid federal tax liens and resolve their […]
In an appearance before the House Committee on Ways and Means, IRS Commissioner John Koskinen announced changes in the way the IRS will investigate cases of suspected structuring, particularly as it relates to civil forfeiture. The Bank Secrecy Act of 1970 requires banks to file a Currency Transaction Report (CTR) […]
Top tennis players usually earn income in several different countries during the year. Minimizing their tax liabilities requires some creative planning, including changing their residence to a tax friendly country. Andre Agassi once unsuccessfully argued against British tax authorities when they taxed him on a portion of his Nike endorsement […]