U.S. federal authorities charged six Belize business executives with the creation of a scheme designed to aid Americans in the evasion of $500 million in taxes as well as dodging their reporting obligations under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act. Undercover law enforcement agents investigated the conspiracy by posing as […]
Category: Offshore Accounts/International Tax Disputes
Federal prosecutors faced a three-judge panel in an effort to replace the probation sentence of Beanie Babies founder Ty Warner with prison time after the billionaire was found guilty for failing to report more than $24 million to the Internal Revenue Service. Warner pleaded guilty to one count of tax […]
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development has revamped efforts to overhaul the international tax system as it presented its first set of guidelines to finance ministers of the group of 20 largest economies. The guidelines are an attempt to make it more difficult for companies to shift profits to […]
Just as financial institutions began getting a grip on the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development threw a curveball by introducing the new global version. The OECD proposal is called the Global Standard for Automatic Exchange of Information and it will be the […]
An investigation into whether Zurich-based UBS had been aiding German clients evade taxes ended on Tuesday with a $403 million settlement, the largest fine ever paid to a country by a Swiss lender. While the Swiss lender was able to put to rest allegations in Germany, it is still likely […]
Following last month’s Zwerner decision, in which a Florida jury upheld three 50% civil FBAR penalties against a business man and banker, the IRS has again imposed the maximum civil FBAR penalty against a taxpayer for three years. Ashvin Desai, a medical device manufacturer living in San Jose, California, was […]
Walgreen Co’s Chief Executive Greg Wasson said on Tuesday that the company is exploring the idea of moving outside the U.S. as it considers buying the remaining shares it doesn’t already own in European pharmacy Alliance Boots GmbH. The company has been under increased pressure from shareholders to use a […]
U.S. taxpayers hiding assets abroad should take note of the Internal Revenue Service’s plan to sharply increase penalties for such acts, while those who unintentionally fail to disclose offshore accounts will experience much more leniency. The IRS’s June 18 changes to offshore disclosure programs constitute the latest in the U.S. […]
With FATCA compliance on the horizon and the U.S. Program for Swiss Banks well underway, many U.S. taxpayers have been receiving letters from their banks requesting information about whether the accounts held at their institutions have been disclosed to the IRS and asking for permission to disclose relevant account information […]
Australian officials have designed a six-nation alliance to combat multinational companies’ strategies to avoid tax. China, Japan and Britain have already joined this Australian group and the United States is planning to join soon. Due to concern over potential outcry from many companies regarding the legality of the alliance, the […]