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Legislative Change in Switzerland

For many decades, Switzerland has held the gold standard in banking secrecy. No one would know if you had accounts there and many investors with financial interests in the United States – U.S. citizens or otherwise – used this loophole to avoid taxation of large sums. The long-held tradition of […]

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Law Makers Attack Offshore Tax Evasion with New Bill

A bill aimed at obtaining greater information from foreign banks about US citizens and corporations with overseas accounts was introduced recently in Congress. If passed, the new law would curb the use of offshore accounts by US citizens to shield assets from taxation and severely penalize those individuals and organizations […]

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IRS Whistle-Blower on UBS Case

With $70 billion per year in uncollected taxes at stake, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is cracking down on offshore tax evasion. The concentrated effort began in earnest last year after an extensive investigation into the activities of the Swiss banking giant UBS AG uncovered the largest offshore tax evasion […]

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IRS Issues Guidance on FBAR and Foreign Income Tax Issues

Dual-citizen Americans who live, work or have bank accounts in a foreign country have unique tax concerns. Especially important are tax regulations pertaining to income earned abroad and to bank accounts housed in foreign countries. The rules can be confusing, and many taxpayers have unwittingly failed to comply. Others chose […]

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IRS Hunt For Tax Cheats Has Unintended Results

The Internal Revenue Service is hunting for anyone attempting to cheat the tax system by using foreign accounts. Unfortunately, this new tactic to settle unpaid taxes on illicit activities has resulted in huge penalties for citizens living in other countries, likely an unintended consequence. Sorting Through the Aftermath Instead of […]

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IRS Extends FBAR Filing Deadline

For people or business entities with foreign accounts, tax season extends well past April. Indeed, those with foreign accounts find themselves facing a second round of tax season in the middle of summer. Unfortunately, simply noting foreign accounts on an annual tax return is not enough; an additional form is […]

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IRS Commissioner Warns of Additional Offshore-Account Investigations

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Commissioner, Doug Shulman, said the IRS is further targeting offshore accounts. At an international tax symposium in December, Shulman also stated that the agency is “seriously considering” another amnesty period for people with undeclared offshore accounts to voluntarily come forward. Targeting Offshore Accounts Following the […]

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IRS Assesses Another 150% Civil FBAR Penalty

The IRS has asserted multiple maximum civil FBAR penalties against Ashvin Desai, who failed to disclose the existence of offshore accounts or report interest income from the accounts on his tax returns. Desai, a sixty-four year old born in Mumbai, India, was sentenced last week to six months of imprisonment […]

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