Virginia La Torre Jeker, J.D. — US tax matters affecting international clients
I was hoping that tax reform would have done away with, or at least modified, the troublesome provisions surrounding the PFIC or so-called “Passive Foreign Investment Company”. This was not to be and it prompted me to review the PFIC rules and count the ways they cause trouble! What is a PFIC? A PFIC is … Continue reading PFICs – The Fairytale Definition That Lives Happily Ever After…
As many will remember, the Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program (OVDP) closed on September 28th with the promise that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) would issue new guidance on voluntary disclosures made after that date. The guidance just arrived in the form of a 5-page Memorandum by Kristen B. Wielobob, Deputy Commissioner for Services and Enforcement, … Continue reading It’s Finally Here: The IRS Bible for Voluntary Disclosures
Over the summer, I blogged about the newly formed “Joint Chiefs of Global Tax Enforcement”, or the “J5”, for short. Five countries form this international coalition: Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The goal of the J5 is to combat transnational tax crime through increased collaboration; in other words, these … Continue reading Newest Targets: “Enablers” and “Cryptocurrencies”
My blog post containing tax-saving tips for the filing of a US income tax return when one is married to a non-resident alien spouse is here. It will be helpful to read that post before embarking on this one as it sets out the basics and provides the income tax rates and brackets for the 2018 … Continue reading Married to A Non-US Spouse? Use of “Resident” Election, Filing FBAR and Form 8938
Sometimes an individual will come to me with a pesky problem – they have filed a tax return, but it fraudulently omitted income. Typically, a lot of income. Typically, from foreign sources. Always, in hopes the omission will go unnoticed by the IRS. The thinking is along the lines that since the omission involves foreign … Continue reading Too Little, Too Late: Fixing the Fraudulent Tax Return
Below is a copy of my post as it appeared (May 21 2018) on my former blog "Let's Talk About US Tax" hosted by AngloInfo. We had a very interesting case decided May 16 2018 when a district court in Texas granted Dominique Colliot’s motion for summary judgment (United States, v. Dominique G. Colliot). The … Continue reading Can You Claim a Refund of Your “Willful” FBAR Penalty?
My blog post reproduced below was originally posted on AngloInfo "Let's Talk About US Tax" Posted on October 12, 2015 by Virginia La Torre Jeker J.D., When someone dies owning an unreported financial account, the heirs and executors of the estate are faced with a serious problem. First, assuming there is undeclared income earned with respect to the … Continue reading The Unreported Offshore Account – Still Alive After Death & Plaguing Executors and Heirs
This FBAR case hit close to home. In fact, it hit home! The Department of Justice proudly announced that it flushed out a Beverly Hills plastic surgeon hiding money in Dubai and got him sentenced to one year and one day in federal prison. Marc Edward Mani, 50, will serve jail time for failing to … Continue reading Jail Time for Plastic Surgeon Hiding Money in Dubai
I don’t have much to say about this case, simply because not much needs to be said. In United States v. Gentges (USDC SDNY Dkt. 7:18-cv-07910), the Government is bringing a lawsuit to collect a “willful” FBAR penalty for the tax year 2007 in an amount close to USD904,000. The penalties relate to two Swiss bank accounts … Continue reading New FBAR “Willful” Penalty Case: But You Can’t Blame the IRS!
I have been blogging recently (here and here) about the IRS’ aggressive stance in determining what constitutes a taxpayer’s “willful” failure to file an FBAR and the fact that mounting court cases show the judiciary is buying in to the IRS’ position. Courts appear to be more easily upholding a finding of “willfulness” when it … Continue reading Kotholos – New Case Shows IRS Aggression in Asserting FBAR “Willful” Penalty
