IRS Slipshod Work and Document Destruction Can Mean Big Problems – Especially for Expatriates

The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) has been documenting some careless work being carried out by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). We have the most recent TIGTA report (Number 2022-40-036) of May 4, 2022 reporting that the IRS destroyed 30 million “paper-filed information return documents” without bothering to process them beforehand. This destruction … Continue reading IRS Slipshod Work and Document Destruction Can Mean Big Problems – Especially for Expatriates →

Oops… Made a Mistake on an FBAR?

The Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) contained in Title 31 of the United States Code, requires that every year US persons must report certain foreign financial accounts, such as bank accounts, brokerage accounts and mutual funds, to the Treasury Department and to keep certain records with regard to these accounts. The reporting is done by filing … Continue reading Oops… Made a Mistake on an FBAR? →

Treasury Inspector General Says FATCA is a Big Fat Flop ….So Far

The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) just issued a damning report on FATCA: Additional Actions Are Needed to Address Non-Filing and Non-Reporting Compliance Under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (Report # 2022-30-019 4/7/22), available here. The TIGTA audit was undertaken to evaluate IRS efforts to actually use the reams and reams of … Continue reading Treasury Inspector General Says FATCA is a Big Fat Flop ….So Far →

Tax Tips for the US Investor in a Foreign Start-Up: Convertible Notes

My earlier blog post, here examined some of the United States income tax consequences that could occur when a taxpayer mistakenly classifies an advance to a foreign corporation as a “loan” but that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) treats as a stockholding interest (“equity”) in the corporation. Two follow up posts, here and here examined the … Continue reading Tax Tips for the US Investor in a Foreign Start-Up: Convertible Notes →

Determinative Factors: “Debt” v. “Equity” and Your Loan to a Foreign Corporation (Part II)

My recent blog post, here examined some of the tax consequences that could occur when a taxpayer mistakenly classifies an advance to a foreign corporation as a “loan” but that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) treats as a stockholding interest (“equity”) in the corporation. Last week’s blog post began examining factors used by the courts … Continue reading Determinative Factors: “Debt” v. “Equity” and Your Loan to a Foreign Corporation (Part II) →

Determinative Factors: “Debt” v. “Equity” and Your Loan to a Foreign Corporation (Part I)

My earlier blog post detailed some of the US tax consequences that could occur when a taxpayer makes, what he thinks is a “loan” to a foreign corporation, but that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) later determines should be treated as an “equity” interest in the corporation. As set out in my earlier blog post, Treasury … Continue reading Determinative Factors: “Debt” v. “Equity” and Your Loan to a Foreign Corporation (Part I) →

Foreign Corporate Tax – How Will it Impact the US Taxpayer of a CFC or PFIC?

While the focus of today's post is how the United Arab Emirates (UAE) forthcoming Corporate Tax (CT) may impact US persons who are shareholders in a so-called Controlled Foreign Corporation (CFC) or Passive Foreign Investment Company (PFIC), the analysis applies equally to other jurisdictions which impose tax on the corporate entity. We examine today the … Continue reading Foreign Corporate Tax – How Will it Impact the US Taxpayer of a CFC or PFIC? →

Looking for Mr. FBAR: FBAR Filings for Trustees, Beneficiaries & Trust Grantors

My earlier post set out certain details about the responsibility for a trust to file the Report of Foreign Financial Accounts (Form 114), or FBAR, with respect to foreign accounts it owns or is deemed to own under the FBAR rules. Today’s discussion covers the situation when trustees, trust beneficiaries and grantors (i.e., the trust … Continue reading Looking for Mr. FBAR: FBAR Filings for Trustees, Beneficiaries & Trust Grantors →

UAE Federal Corporate Tax: How Will it Impact the US Taxpayer? Part I

My most recent article, co-authored with Clarence Ellis and published by Bloomberg, is copied in full below. The article examines in unique detail the latest news in the tax world of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which announced it will start to impose tax on business enterprises in the Emirates. Before you read the full … Continue reading UAE Federal Corporate Tax: How Will it Impact the US Taxpayer? Part I →