Former IRS Examiner Charged With Leaking Whistleblower's Name To Big Bank Target

Leaking names is a serious offense. And the one who is guilt must be punished in order to avoid such incidents in future.

A former Internal Revenue Service examiner was arrested today at his home in Edgewater, N.J. on charges that he illegally leaked the name of a confidential tax whistleblower to an executive of the same bank that was the whistleblower’s target—a bank that allegedly had $1 billion in unreported U.S. income.

According to a four count criminal complaint filed in the Southern District of New York yesterday and unsealed today, Dennis Lerner, 59, also violated federal conflict of interest laws by seeking a job with that bank while he was examining it, and then improperly seeking to influence his former colleagues at the IRS in their dealings with the bank.

Source:

Robert E. McKenzie

Forbes

 

 

Reed Amendment Gernerating Enforcement in 2012?

We have learned about 2-3 Expatriates who were recently denied entry into the US by Homeland Security at the Airport and put on the next plane out of town. These events happened at at different Metropolitan Airports in different US cities. We have also heard that some U.S. consular officers may have unofficially applied the Reed Amendment to refuse issuance of a visa to former U.S. citizens.  

This new official/unofficial enforcement of the Reed Amendment may be a reaction to the news about Facebook’s co-founder Eduardo Saverin having renounced his U.S. citizenship, which we discussed in our May14, 2012 post "Facebook's Co-Founder Just Defriended America." At the time there was speculation regarding whether The Reed Amendment would be applied to him thereby preventing him reentry into the U.S. and Reed himself sent a letter to Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano urging her to bar Saverin from re-entry.

The Reed Amendment was an amendment to the United States' Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 regarding the admission of former U.S. citizens.  It added the following text to the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965's list of "Classes of aliens ineligible for visas or admissions" (8 USC § 1182 - Inadmissible aliens)

 

(E) Former citizens who renounced citizenship to avoid taxation

Any alien who is a former citizen of the United States who officially renounces United States citizenship and who is determined by the Attorney General to have renounced United States citizenship for the purpose of avoiding taxation by the United States is inadmissible.

The U.S. government has never issued regulations to implement the Reed Amendment.  One issue with the enforcement of the law was that the Attorney General was never authorized to obtain the required information from the Internal Revenue Service in order to be able to make the determination whether a former American's loss of citizenship was motivated by tax reasons. In 2004, Congress threw out the relevance of tax avoidance motives altogether and imposed an exit tax.
 

However, Senator Charles Schumer stated that the Reed Amendment "was written in a manner that inhibits its enforcement", and so he and Bob Casey introduced new legislation, the Ex-Patriot Act, which would make former U.S. citizens inadmissible to the United States and charge them 30% capital gains tax on their U.S. investmentson for people such as Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin, unless they show they didn’t renounce their U.S. citizenship to avoid taxes.

 

Under the bill, if you renounce with a $2 million net worth or an average income-tax liability of $148,000, tax avoidance is presumed.  Previously when presumed tax avoidance was in the law (it was changed in 2004), expats usually showed family, political, geographic or other reasons to leave.

Other highly controversial proposals would revoke or deny passports to those owing the IRS $50,000 or more; see our post Tax Delinquents May Have Passports Canceled & Be Questioned at Air & Sea Ports.  

Other related news conserning tax related actions being taken by Homeland Security was discussed in our post Dead Beat Taxpayers Residing residing outside U.S. ques Toned at U.S. border regarding back taxes. This post discussed theat Taxpayers traveling to the United States with unpaid U.S. tax assessments can be detained at the border, questioned, and flagged for follow-up enforcement. If a taxpayer has an unpaid tax liability and is subject to a resulting Notice of Federal Tax Lien, the IRS may submit identifying taxpayer information to the Treasury Enforcement Communications System (TECS), a database maintained by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

If you have Tax Problems and are Considering Traveling, contact the Tax Lawyers at Marini & Associates, P.A. for a FREE Tax Consultation at www.TaxAid.us or www.TaxLaw.ms or Toll Free at 888-8TaxAid (888 882-9243).

50 of the World's Safest Banks - Most Are Non US.

According to Global Finance Magazine’s ranking of the world’s safest banks, the top 9 banks in the magazine’s World’s 50 Safest Banks list are all state-backed institutions. All indications from this report is that for banking safely, global citizens had better go to the local government and avoid the U.S.

The  2012 list is comprised of the following Banks based upon credit ratings and assets:

1. KfW – (Germany)

2. Bank Nederlandse Gemeenten (BNG) – (Netherlands)

3. Zürcher Kantonalbank- (Switzerland)

4. Landwirtschaftliche Rentenbank- (Germany)

5. Landeskreditbank Baden-Württemberg – Förderbank (L-Bank) – (Germany)

6. Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations (CDC) – (France)

7. Nederlandse Waterschapsbank – (Netherlands)

8. NRW.Bank – (Germany)

9. Banque et Caisse d’Épargne de l’État – (Luxembourg)

10. Rabobank Group – (Netherlands)

11. TD Bank Group – (Canada)

12. Bank of Nova Scotia- (Canada)

13. DBS Bank – (Singapore)

14. Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp – (Singapore)

15. United Overseas Bank – (Singapore)

16. Caisse centrale Desjardins – (Canada)

17. Royal Bank of Canada – (Canada)

18. National Australia Bank – (Australia)

19. Commonwealth Bank of Australia – (Australia)

20. Westpac Banking Corporation – (Australia)

21. Australia and New Zealand Banking Group – (Australia)

22. Kiwibank – (New Zealand)

23. HSBC Holdings – (United Kingdom)

24. Nordea – (Sweden)

25. Bank of Montreal – (Canada)

26. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce – (Canada)

27. Svenska Handelsbanken – (Sweden)

28. China Development Bank -(China)

29. Bank of New York Mellon Corp – (United States)

30. Agricultural Development Bank of China – (China)

31. National Bank of Abu Dhabi – (United Arab Emirates)

32. CoBank ACB – (United States)

33. Pohjola Bank – (Finland)

34. National Bank of Kuwait -(Kuwait)

35. DZ Bank – (Germany)

36. Banque Fédérative du Crédit Mutuel (BFCM) – (France)

37. U.S. Bancorp - (United States)

38. National Bank of Canada – (Canada)

39. Northern Trust Corp – (United States)

40. Qatar National Bank – (Qatar)

41. Samba Financial Group – (Saudi Arabia)

42. BancoEstado – (Chile)

43. La Banque Postale – (France)

44. Bank of Taiwan – (Taiwan)

45. Shizuoka Bank – (Japan)

46. Banco de Chile – (Chile)

47. BNP Paribas – (France)

48. Wells Fargo – (United States)

49. Standard Chartered – (United Kingdom)

50. SEB – (Sweden)
 

If you have question concerning Offshore Bank Accounts, contact the Tax Lawyers at Marini & Associates, P.A. for a FREE Tax Consultation at www.TaxAid.us or www.TaxLaw.ms or Toll Free at 888-8TaxAid (888 882-9243).

 

Sources:

Global Finance Magazine

Wall Street Journal

 

 

US Taxpayers Living in Canada - This is Your Last Chance To Report your Offshore Account!

We previoustly posted More Swiss Bank Files Being Transferred to the IRS! - where we discussed that Credit Suisse AG has handed over more internal documents to U.S. authorities.

"The documents concerned comprise e-mail correspondence, including attachments, with clients domiciled in the U.S., as well as internal e-mail correspondence, including attachments, about clients domiciled in the U.S. and the U.S. cross-border business in general during the period from June 2001 to March 2011."

Other banks that confirmed that they sent documents, including employee names, to the U.S. are the private-banking unit of HSBC Holdings, Julius Baer Group AG, Zuercher Kantonalbank and Basler Kantonalbank.

So if you are US taxpayer, living in Canada, who had an account with one of theses Swiss Banks and you have not made a voluntary disclosure, YOU ARE ABOUT TO BE DISCOVERED!

Technically, once the IRS has obtained your identity from these records, you do not qualify for voluntary disclosure.

The mere fact that the Service served a John Doe summons, made a treaty request or has taken similar action does not make every member of the Joe Doe class or group identified in the treaty request or other action ineligible to participate.

However, once the Service or the Department of Justice obtains information under a John Doe summons, treaty request or other similar action that provides evidence of a specific taxpayer's noncompliance with the tax laws or Title 31 reporting requirements, that particular taxpayer will become ineligible for OVDP and Criminal Investigation's Voluntary Disclosure Practice.

For this reason, a taxpayer concerned that a party subject to a John Doe summons, treaty request or similar action will provide information about him or her to the Service should apply to make a Voluntary Disclosure as soon as possible.

If you are a US Person Living in Canada and have Unreported Income From Swiss Banks, contact the Tax Lawyers at Marini & Associates, P.A. for a FREE Tax Consultation at www.TaxAid.us or www.TaxLaw.ms or Toll Free at 888-8TaxAid (888 882-9243).

The U.S. Exchange of Information & FATCA

The U.S. Treasury has indicated that the lack of a double tax treaty or tax information exchange agreement will not prevent a jurisdiction from entering into a FATCA Intergovernmental Agreement with the U.S. as the U.S. would be willing to sign an IGA and a TIEA at the same time.

The U.S. exchange of information network is shown on the table Below. This information is provided by the OECD and jurisdictions may have signed further agreements that are not reflected.

 

Source :

FSI Tax Post

Your Last Chance To Report your Offshore Account!

Yesterday we  posted More Swiss Bank Files Being Transferred to the IRS! - where we discussed that Credit Suisse AG has handed over more internal documents to U.S. authorities.

"The documents concerned comprise e-mail correspondence, including attachments, with clients domiciled in the U.S., as well as internal e-mail correspondence, including attachments, about clients domiciled in the U.S. and the U.S. cross-border business in general during the period from June 2001 to March 2011."

Other banks that confirmed that they sent documents, including employee names, to the U.S. are the private-banking unit of HSBC Holdings, Julius Baer Group AG, Zuercher Kantonalbank and Basler Kantonalbank.

So if you are US taxpayer who had an account with one of theses Swiss Banks and you have not made a voluntary disclosure, YOU ARE ABOUT TO BE DISCOVERED! 

Technically, once the IRS has obtained your identity from these records, you do not qualify for voluntary disclosure.

The mere fact that the Service served a John Doe summons, made a treaty request or has taken similar action does not make every member of the Joe Doe class or group identified in the treaty request or other action ineligible to participate.

However, once the Service or the Department of Justice obtains information under a John Doe summons, treaty request or other similar action that provides evidence of a specific taxpayer's noncompliance with the tax laws or Title 31 reporting requirements, that particular taxpayer will become ineligible for OVDP and Criminal Investigation's Voluntary Disclosure Practice.

For this reason, a taxpayer concerned that a party subject to a John Doe summons, treaty request or similar action will provide information about him or her to the Service should apply to make a Voluntary Disclosure as soon as possible.

If you have Unreported Income From Swiss Banks or are a Swiss Bank Employee named in these documents, contact the Tax Lawyers at Marini & Associates, P.A. for a FREE Tax Consultation at www.TaxAid.us or www.TaxLaw.ms  or Toll Free at 888-8TaxAid (888 882-9243).


 

Swiss Bankers Expecting Large Cash Outflows

UBS has confirmed that the Swiss banking industry is expecting large cash outflows due to the recently agreed bilateral withholding tax treaties with Germany, Austria and the UK. Switzerland's second largest bank Credit Suisse made similar remarks last week.

UBS expects Swiss banks to see European clients withdraw "hundreds of billions of francs" as a result of steps to stop foreigners using secret accounts to evade taxes. 

Juerg Zeltner, head of UBS wealth management, reiterated an estimate he gave in May that Switzerland's biggest bank could see outflows of 12-30 billion Swiss francs ($12.8-31.9 billion) from total European assets under management of over 300 billion. 

German financial services consultancy Zeb/Rolfes Schierenbeck Associates estimates Swiss banks could see European clients pull up to 200 billion francs by 2016 of the 789 billion it believes they currently hold in untaxed assets.

Putting the potential outflows in context, Zeltner said UBS had seen about 200 billion francs of withdrawals during the financial crisis, when the bank had to be rescued by a government bailout after huge subprime losses. Client assets fell almost double that amount due to market and currency moves.

Swiss bank secrecy - which has helped the country build a $2 trillion offshore financial centre dominated by UBS and Credit Suisse - has come under heavy fire in recent years as cash-strapped governments elsewhere have sought to fight tax evasion.

If you have Unreported Income From Swiss Banks, contact the Tax Lawyers at Marini & Associates, P.A. for a FREE Tax Consultation at www.TaxAid.us or www.TaxLaw.ms or Toll Free at 888-8TaxAid (888 882-9243).

 

 

 

Source:

Reuters

CityAM

 

More Swiss Bank Files Being Transferred to the IRS!

Credit Suisse AG is handing over more internal documents to U.S. authorities in response to Washington's crackdown on tax evasion, according to one of its internal memos.

All client-specific data have been removed from the business records that will be transferred, as they were from the first batch of records. The employees whose names are in the data aren't suspected of having helped Americans avoid taxes.

A spokesman for Credit Suisse confirmed their interal memo invites staff members who aren't sure whether their names will be included in the coming transfer to contact a help desk for more information.

Employees will now be informed in advance when information containing their names is transferred to U.S. authorities. The changes were outlined in a recent internal memo to employees and were agreed to in cooperation with the Swiss Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner.

"The documents concerned comprise e-mail correspondence, including attachments, with clients domiciled in the U.S., as well as internal e-mail correspondence, including attachments, about clients domiciled in the U.S. and the U.S. cross-border business in general during the period from June 2001 to March 2011," Hans-Ulrich Meister, who heads Credit Suisse's private-banking unit, told staff in the memo.

The latest records scheduled for transfer to the U.S. include names of employees of Credit Suisse's private-banking division who served clients in relation to business with the U.S.

All client-specific data have been removed from the business records that will be transferred, as they were from the first batch of records. The employees whose names are in the data aren't suspected of having helped Americans avoid taxes.

Employees whose names were included in a first batch of data sent to the U.S. said they felt betrayed and some said they were worried that they risk being arrested or questioned if they travel to the U.S.

Other banks that confirmed that they sent documents, including employee names, to the U.S. are the private-banking unit of HSBC Holdings, Julius Baer Group AG, Zuercher Kantonalbankand Basler Kantonalbank.

If you have Unreported Income From Swiss Banks or are a Swiss Bank Employee named in these documents, contact the Tax Lawyers at Marini & Associates, P.A. for a FREE Tax Consultation at www.TaxAid.us or www.TaxLaw.ms or Toll Free at 888-8TaxAid (888 882-9243).

Source:

Wallstreet Journal

 

Justice Department Announces New Directive to Fight Stolen Identity Refund Fraud

The Justice Department's tax division announced Sept. 18 a new directive (No. 144) aimed at streamlining the prosecution of stolen identity refund fraud (SIRF) cases.  

Tax Division Directive 144, which takes effect on Oct. 1, 2012, will allow prosecutors in U.S. Attorneys’ Offices that designate a point of contact for SIRF cases to open tax-related grand jury investigations, to charge by complaint criminals who are engaged in SIRF crimes and to obtain seizure warrants for forfeiture of criminally derived proceeds arising from SIRF crimes, all without prior authorization from the Tax Division. 

To ensure fair and consistent nationwide enforcement of tax laws, the Tax Division has supervision over virtually all criminal proceedings arising under the internal revenue laws.  Tax refund fraud involving the use of stolen identities has emerged as fast-growing and insidious crime that is all-too-simple in its execution. Strong coordination at all levels of law enforcement is vital to combating these criminals. The Tax Division has issued Directive 144 to further these coordination efforts. 

The Tax Division has retained its authority in SIRF cases to review and authorize the filing of charges by indictment and information. Simultaneous with the issuance of Directive 144, the Tax Division has announced new expedited review procedures in cases involving arrests in jurisdictions where the U.S. Attorney’s Office is participating in the procedures established in Directive 144. 

It is important that the IRS obtain information, through SIRF investigations, to intercept fraudulent tax refund claims before erroneous refunds are sent to fraudsters. The procedures set out in Directive 144 and the new expedited review procedures are designed to facilitate this goal.

If you have a Tax Problem, contact the Tax Lawyers at Marini & Associates, P.A. for a FREE Tax Consultation at www.TaxAid.us or www.TaxLaw.ms or Toll Free at 888-8TaxAid (888 882-9243).

 

 

 

Former Jenkens & Gilchrist Attorney Pleads Guilty in Tax Shelter Scheme

Donna Guerin, 52,  a former partner at the now defunct Jenkens & Gilchrist law firm, entered the plea in U.S. District Court to conspiracy to defraud the United States and tax evasion.

During the guilty plea proceeding Guerin acknowledged that she knew that the tax shelter transactions would be allowed by the IRS only if there was a reasonable possibility of a profit and if the clients were entering into the tax shelter transactions for genuine, non-tax business reasons.

Guerin, said she helped draft opinion letters to make it seem like wealthy clients were investing in legitimate business ventures when they were not.

The judge asked her if she knew that what she was doing was wrong and illegal. "I came to that understanding over time," she answered.

The charges of conspiracy to defraud the United States and tax evasion carry a 5- 10 year in prison term. Sentencing for the Elmhurst, Ill., resident was set for Jan. 11. She also agreed to forfeit $1.6 million.If you want Solid Defendable Tax Advice, contact the Tax Lawyers at Marini & Associates, P.A. for a FREE Tax Consultation at www.TaxAid.us or www.TaxLaw.ms or Toll Free at 888-8TaxAid (888 882-9243).

 

 

Sources:

AccountingToday 

ABC News

Treasury's Assistant Secretary Corwin to Meet with Government Officials to Discuss Efforts to Combat Offshore Tax Evasion in Asia & Europe.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of the Treasury announced today that Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Tax Affairs Manal Corwin will travel to Europe on September 17-21 and to Asia on September 24-28. Corwin will meet with members of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), members of the Global Forum on Tax and Transparency, government officials, and business leaders to discuss the implementation of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) and global efforts to combat offshore tax evasion.

In response to interest expressed by numerous EU member countries to conclude FATCA intergovernmental agreements, Corwin will attend a meeting in Brussels hosted by the European Commission. The meeting, which will be held on Tuesday, September 18, will include government officials from all EU member states. The remainder of the week Corwin will be in Paris. On Thursday, Corwin will lead a briefing session on FATCA and the Model Intergovernmental Agreements for financial industry stakeholders. This meeting is hosted by the OECD with the participation of the Business and Industry Advisory Committee (BIAC) to the OECD. On Friday, Corwin will attend a meeting of the Steering Group of the Global Forum on Tax and Transparency.

Throughout the week, Corwin will participate in bilateral meetings with government officials from various European and non-European jurisdictions who have expressed interest in further progress toward concluding FATCA agreements.

The following week, Corwin will meet in Singapore (Where all the Swiss Deposit migrated to?) with government officials and business leaders across Asia to discuss FATCA implementation and to engage with interested jurisdictions regarding the possibility of concluding intergovernmental agreements.

 

 If you have Unreported Income From Foreign Banks, contact the Lawyers at Marini & Associates, P.A. for a FREE Consultation at www.TaxAid.usorwww.TaxLaw.msor Toll Freeat 888-8TaxAid (888 882-9243).

Call US before Uncle Sam finds you!

Use of NOL's After Changing Status From Resident Alien to Nonresident Alien

In PLR 201228013, the IRS considered whether an individual who incurred net operating losses (NOLs) while a resident alien could use the NOLs after he became a nonresident alien. The IRS ruled that he could to the extent the NOLs were allocable and/or apportionable to gross income effectively connected with a U.S. trade or business (gross ECI).

Taxpayer, a citizen of Country A, was a resident of the United States solely by reason of §7701(b)(3) “substantial presence test". LLC, a limited liability company formed under the law of a state of the United States, was wholly owned by Taxpayer and was a“disregarded entity” (within the meaning of Regs. §301.7701-3(a)). LLC was engaged in Business X within and without the United States. Taxpayer had NOLs as a result of the activities of LLC.

Taxpayer planned to relocate to Country A and remain there for a number of years, after which he would return to live in the United States.

For U.S. income tax purposes, he would be a nonresident alien while living in Country A and, after returning to the United States, would again become a resident alien under the substantial presence test.

Taxpayer would continue to carry on Business X (LLC) while living in Country A, and during that time Business X would continue to have a fixed place of business in the United States. The taxable income of Business X attributable to that fixed place of business would be taxable as business profits attributable to a permanent establishment under Article 7 of the U.S.-Country A Income Tax Treaty.

Taxpayer represented that a portion of the NOLs generated while he was a resident would have been allocated and/or apportioned to gross ECI had he been taxed as a nonresident alien during that time.

Taxpayer requested a ruling that, during the period he is taxed as a nonresident alien, properly apportioned NOLs may be offset against his gross ECI.

Similarly, Taxpayer requested a ruling that he may carry over properly apportioned NOLs generated while a nonresident alien to taxable years during which he is a resident again. In addition, Taxpayer requested a ruling that NOLs generated when he was first a resident may be carried over to taxable years during which he is a resident again.

The IRS ruled that:

1. Properly apportioned NOLs generated while Taxpayer was a resident may be offset against gross ECI realized while Taxpayer is a nonresident alien.

2. Properly apportioned NOLs generated while Taxpayer is a nonresident alien may be offset against gross income from Business X realized by Taxpayer after he reacquires resident status.

3. NOLs generated while Taxpayer was first a resident may be offset against gross income from Business X realized by Taxpayer after he reacquires resident status. The years in which Taxpayer is a nonresident alien will be taken into account in determining whether any such NOLs are still available under §172(b)(1).

If you Are Leaving the US, contact the Tax Lawyers at Marini & Associates, P.A. for a FREE Tax Consultation at www.TaxAid.us or www.TaxLaw.ms or Toll Free at 888-8TaxAid (888 882-9243).

Switzerland Will Allow Grouped Client Disclosure Requests begining in January 2013

The Swiss parliament has agreed that foreign tax authorities will be able to make grouped requests for administrative assistance, specifying suspected tax avoiders by behaviour patterns rather than by name. Unless challenged by foreign clients, the law will come into effect in January 2013.

Parliament has approved grouped requests for administrative assistance on tax matters in line with international standards - further weakening Switzerland’s banking secrecy law.

The move follows pressure to crack down on tax evasion. See
Troubled times for Swiss Bankers &  End of Banking Secrecy for Switzerland?

If you have Unreported Income From Foreign Banks, contact the Lawyers at Marini & Associates, P.A. for a FREE Consultation at www.TaxAid.usorwww.TaxLaw.msor Toll Freeat 888-8TaxAid (888 882-9243).

Call US before Uncle Sam finds you! 

 

 

Source:

 

Swissinfo.ch

 

 

United Kingdom Signed Bilateral FATCA Agreement

Page Content

​

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of the Treasury announced today that it has signed a bilateral agreement with the United Kingdom to implement the information reporting and withholding tax provisions commonly known as the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA).

 

Enacted by Congress in 2010, these provisions target non-compliance by U.S. taxpayers using foreign accounts. The bilateral agreement signed this week is based on the model published in July of this year and developed in consultation with France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom and marks an important step in establishing a common approach to combatting tax evasion based on the automatic exchange of information.

 

These provisions target noncompliance by U.S. taxpayers using foreign accounts. Signing the bilateral agreement sets forth a way to tackle tax evasion based on the automatic exchange of information.

“Today’s announcement marks a significant step forward in our efforts to work collaboratively to combat offshore tax evasion,” said Treasury Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy Mark Mazur.

 

“We are pleased that the United Kingdom, one of our closest allies, is the first jurisdiction to sign a bilateral agreement with us and we look forward to quickly concluding agreements based on this model with other jurisdictions.”

 

The Treasury Department is in communication with several other governments who have expressed interest in concluding a similar bilateral agreement to implement FATCA and expects to sign additional bilateral agreements in the near future.

 

The Treasury Department and the IRS also are continuing to work towards finalizing the regulations implementing FATCA in the near term.

 

If you have Unreported Income From Foreign Banks, contact the Lawyers at Marini & Associates, P.A. for a FREE Consultation at www.TaxAid.usorwww.TaxLaw.msor Toll Freeat 888-8TaxAid (888 882-9243).

Call US before Uncle Sam finds you!

Source:

US Treasury

FORMER US AIRWAYS PILOT SENTENCED IN NORTH CAROLINA TO 10 YEARS IN PRISON FOR TAX FRAUD

WASHINGTON – Charles A. Davis, 63, formerly of Mooresville, N.C. was sentenced today in U.S. District Court to 120 Months in Prison for committing tax fraud, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced. U.S. Judge Richard L. Voorhees in the Western District of North Carolina also ordered Davis to serve 12 Months of Supervised Release after his prison term and Pay $538,569 as restitution to the IRS.

If you have Tax Problems, contact the Tax Lawyers at Marini & Associates, P.A. for a FREE Tax Consultation at www.TaxAid.us or www.TaxLaw.ms or Toll Free at 888-8TaxAid (888 882-9243).

Source:

DOJ

Tax Court Holds That No Abuse Discretion By IRS Appeals Officer in Denying Offer

The Internal Revenue Service's rejection of a taxpayer's offer in compromise of $28,000 for a tax liability of more than $150,000 was not an abuse of discretion, because the taxpayer failed to prove any special circumstances warranting

During the CDP hearing the settlement officer advised petitioner that the OIC would not be accepted because petitioner’s Form 1120 submitted with the OIC showed loans to shareholders of $443,887 as of October 1, 2007, and $468,888 as of September 30, 2008.

Both settlement officers encountered multiple pieces of evidence in the administrative record which stated that outstanding loans to shareholders payable to petitioner existed, including the first Form 1120.  

 

Additional information relevant to the shareholder loan issue was then requested, and both OICs were rejected when petitioner failed to provide satisfactory evidence that no loans to shareholders existed. The information requested of petitioner was not available to the settlement officers internally (indeed, many of the internally available records stated that loans to shareholders existed), and no blanket request from petitioner was made.  

Therefore the Tax Court found that the IRS's determinations were not arbitrary, capricious, or

without sound basis in fact or law.

If you need an Offer in Compromize, contact the Tax Lawyers at Marini & Associates, P.A. for a FREE Tax Consultation at www.TaxAid.us or www.TaxLaw.ms or Toll Free at 888-8TaxAid (888 882-9243).

A-VALEY v. COMM, UNITED STATES TAX COURT, T.C. Memo. 2012-199

Docket No. 17863-09L. Filed July 17, 2012.

 

 

 

Swiss - US Tax Deal Terms Not Likely to Ease if Romney wins

A Romney White House would make the same demands as the current
administration has before agreeing to wipe the slate clean for 11 Swiss banks suspected of helping wealthy Americans evade taxes, Switzerland's Finance Minister said.

Switzerland needs the tax deal so that it can normalise its banking relations with the United States, but Widmer-Schlumpf has played down expectations that Switzerland could force a breakthrough before the November election, suggesting the ball is firmly in the U.S. court.

After the election in November, it would be several months before a new administration came in, then three or four more for new officials to get up to speed, Widmer-Schlumpf said.

Asked if the U.S. political line would change if Romney won the election, she said she thought not.

Our take is that repealing FATCA is political suicide for either party. How can either party justify repealing law which is designed to convert former tax dodgers into taxpayers?

If you have Unreported Income From Swiss Banks, contact the Lawyers at Marini & Associates, P.A. for a FREE Consultation at www.TaxAid.usor www.TaxLaw.msor Toll Free at 888-8TaxAid (888 882-9243).

Call US before Uncle Sam finds you!

Source:

Rueters

 

Bradley Birkenfeld awarded $104 million (13% ) as UBS tax case whistleblower

U.S. tax authorities have awarded $104 million to a whistleblower in a major tax fraud case against Swiss bank UBS AG that widened a government crackdown on Americans avoiding taxes in Switzerland, his lawyers said on Tuesday. This approximately 13% of the amount the Government recovered from UBS ( $780 million in fines, penalties, interest and restitution).

We first posted that Bradley Birkenfeld was freed last month from prisonon August 1, 2012. His attorneys announced the $104 million reward made under an Internal Revenue Service whistleblower program.

Birkenfeld had sought a large payout for his role in a tax-dodging case that resulted in early 2009 in UBS entering into a deferred prosecution agreement and paying $780 million in fines, penalties, interest and restitution.

Birkenfeld turned over information about UBS to the authorities, but later he was jailed after the government said he withheld other information.

UBS entered into a deferred prosecution agreement in early 2009 and paid $780 million in fines, penalties, interest and restitution. The case was a key turning point in a U.S. effort to combat tax evasion in Switzerland and elsewhere overseas.

If you have unreported income from Foreign Banks and you want to Get Right with the IRS, contact the Tax Lawyers at Marini & Associates, P.A. for a FREE Tax Consultation at www.TaxAid.us or www.TaxLaw.ms or Toll Free at 888-8TaxAid (888 882-9243).

Source:

Rueters