IRS and International Tax Agencies Fight Global Tax Evasion

Many countries are now banding together to locate and prosecute global tax evaders through J5 and the OCED to work together to mutual catch the evaders and report to countries who may be owed taxes by the evaders.  Therefore if you are paying taxes in the country you live in but not paying taxes in another country (such as the USA) where you should, you now run the risk of being turned in to the IRS.

READ MORE HERE

WORRIED ABOUT IRS CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION? THERE ARE NOT THAT MANY EACH YEAR.

The link below is to the IRS Criminal Investigation Division 2019 Report.  Might be worth reading if you are worried about your situation.  Our of the 330 million plus Americans, the IRS last year only
instituted approx 1500 criminal investigations and less than 1000 resulted in criminal prosecutions.  If it does get that far, it is worth worrying about since they have a 91% conviction rate.

Download the pdf report here.... full of a lot of information that may be useful to you.

If you have personal concerns and was to discuss it with a tax attorney.  We offer mini consultations by phone, skype, whatsapp, etc.  Email us at ddnelson@gmail.com

IRS URGES AMERICANS TO COME CLEAN FAST BEFORE THEY GO THRU PANAMA PAPERS

The IRS also encouraged any U.S. citizens and companies that may have money in offshore accounts to contact the agency now before any possible illegal activity on their part is identified. According to media reports, the documents contain information on potentially thousands of U.S. citizens and firms that have at least an indirect connection to offshore accounts affiliated with Mossack Fonseca. Many other firms provide similar services, and the Treasury Department estimated last yearthat more than $300 billion dollars of illicit proceeds are generated in the United States annually, with criminals using such companies here and abroad to launder funds.

Are You Guilty of Tax Perjury on your US Tax Return?

INTERNAL REVENUE CODE SECTION 7206 SAYS:

Any person who -  

(1) Declarations under penalties of perjury (this is what you sign when you sign your form 1040 tax return on page 2)

Willfully makes and subscribes any return, statement, or other document, which contains or is verified by a written declaration that it is made under the penalties  of perjury, and which  he or she does not believe to be true and correct as to every material  matter...

   shall be guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than    $100,000   ($500,000 in the case of a corporation), or imprisoned not more than 3 years, or       both, together    with the costs of prosecution.

   If you may have violated this tax law and want to discuss your exposure with an Attorney/CPA   under the protection of Attorney - client privilege email Don at ddnelson@gmail.com to set   up a consultation.

IRS CRIMINAL PRIORITIES AND PROSECUTION RATE IN 2014

IRS  2014 Investigative Priorities: Criminal Investigation’s highest priority is to prosecute the following tax crimes:

  Identity Theft Fraud
  Return Preparer Fraud ; Questionable Refund Fraud
  International Tax Fraud
  Fraud Referral Program
  Political/Public Corruption
  Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF)
  Bank Secrecy Act and Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) Review Teams
  Asset Forfeiture
  Voluntary Disclosure Program
  Counterterrorism and Sovereign Citizens FY14 Business Results:

In 2014 there were only 4,297criminal investigations initiated by the IRS and out of this there were only 3,110 criminal convictions..  This is from a total US population of approx 330 million people. Therefore, you have to be a pretty bad person or a special target for the IRS to even bother with seeking criminal prosecution.

If you are one of those pretty bad persons, email us at ddnelson@gmail.com for help.

What is Correct FBAR Statute of Limitations? 6 years or ???

You still may not be safe after six years.  Closing the foreign account and not filing could make things worse!  Read more below:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/robertwood/2013/12/17/whats-the-fbar-statute-of-limitations/

HSBC DEPOSITOR FOUND GUILTY ON FAILURE TO FILE FBARS AND SHOW TAXABLE INCOME FROM DEPOSITS

Read all details including a copy of the courts guilty verdict in the Federal Tax Crimes Blog by Jack Townsend.

Avoid these problems by catching up now. After IRS contacts you, it is too late to apply for the amnesty allowed in the Offshore Disclosure Program.  We can help

US Expats in Mexico and Denmark on 1/1/13 Will Have Their Financial and Tax Information Disclosed to US

The United States has entered into its second and thir  bilateral exchange of financial and tax information agreements regarding the implementation of FATCA with  Mexico and Denmark.  This new agreements target non-compliant U.S. taxpayers owning foreign accounts.The agreemenst will be  become  on January 1, 2013.

The reciprocal nature of the United States' agreement with  Mexico and Denmark will allow the countries to use the automatic exchange of information to discover non-compliant taxpayers. The good old days of "what happens in Mexico, stays in Mexico" are almost over.

Now is the time to start reporting to the IRS all of your previously unreported Mexican and Denmark business and financial activities before these new programs are geared up.  If in the future the IRS discovers you have unreported income or assets in Mexico or Denmark, and you have not been filing the proper reporting forms with your tax return, it most certainly will impose high monetary penalties and will most likely also seek criminal penalties. The average prison sentence for tax evasion usually runs 3-4 years.  

We can help you catch up. Email us at ddnelson@gmail.com or visit our website at www.TaxMeLess.com  

IRS WHISTLEBLOWER EARNS $104 MILLION

A question we often get from expats living aboard is, "How can the IRS ever find out about my foreign assets or income?"  We always tell them that it is entirely possible the IRS will find out and we recommend they disclose all income and assets as required by US tax law.  Both US and foreign third parties can make a lot of money by turning in US taxpayers that are hiding their foreign assets and income from the IRS..

A UBS banker in Switzerland will receive $104 million as finders fee from the IRS in return for giving it names of US taxpayers that had secret accounts in Switzerland.  He is the banker that helped his US clients hide the money in Switzerland. .  In the course of his disclosures to the IRS he misrepresented some information and  had to spend a few years in prison for that crime.  He will still (despite his time in prison) collect his fee from the IRS which is a percentage of the taxes the IRS will collect from the US taxpayers he gave up to the IRS. READ MORE HERE

The IRS expects a lot more Whistleblowers to come forward and reveal the information they know about US taxpayers not complying with the law.  This is good reason to only discuss  your potential tax problems with a reputable US Attorney where all communication is protected from disclosure by "Attorney-client privilege." The law forbids an attorney from revealing any client information to the IRS unless that specific information goes into preparing a tax return for that client.  Do not discuss any problematic tax  information   to anyone but an attorney. Under most state laws, information given to Enrolled Agents and CPAs is not protected and those professionals can be forced to disclose client's disclosures by the IRS and the Courts.

Ex-UBS banker sentenced for aiding U.S. tax evasion

A former senior UBS banker who helped the U.S. government expand its crackdown on offshore tax evasion was sentenced to five years probation on Friday for advising wealthy Americans on ways to hide their money from U.S. tax authorities. Renzo Gadola, who worked at Swiss bank UBS AG from 1995 to 2008, pleaded guilty in December to charges of conspiracy to defraud the United States. Almost immediately after his arrest on Nov. 8, 2010, Gadola started cooperating with U.S. officials, providing key insight into other bankers and Swiss financial institutions offering offshore banking services, according to prosecutors. He is currently out on bail.

U.S. authorities, who suspect tens of thousands of Americans are using Swiss banks to avoid paying billions of dollars in taxes, are conducting a widening criminal investigation into scores of Swiss banks and international banks with Swiss operations. Banks under investigation include Credit Suisse, HSBC Holdings Plc and Basler Kantonalbank, a large Swiss cantonal, or regional, bank, according to U.S. judicial sources. Cantonal banks are largely government-owned in Switzerland.

Gadola turned over the names of bankers and participated in recorded conversations with clients, according to an unsealed government document filed last week requesting leniency in his sentencing. 

The case against Gadola, an investment adviser based in Switzerland, highlighted how some bankers continued to help wealthy Americans conceal money from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) even amid a U.S. probe into UBS that mushroomed into a major international judicial and diplomatic affair. In 2009, UBS paid $780 million to settle criminal charges from the U.S. Department of Justice that it helped thousands of wealthy Americans evade taxes. UBS ultimately agreed to disclose 4,450 client names and ended its U.S. cross-border banking business. The bank was accused by federal prosecutors of helping some 17,000 American clients with $20 billion in assets hide their accounts from the IRS.

Gadola's case involved a Mississippi client who kept $445,000 in a safe deposit box before transferring it first to UBS and then to a Basler Kantonalbank account. The unidentified client said he wanted to declare the money under a voluntary disclosure program launched by the IRS, but Gadola advised against it, arguing the money would go undetected by officials. 

Martin Lack, a former senior UBS banker, was indicted in August for selling offshore tax evasion services. Lack, a Swiss national, is a fugitive. Lack was Gadola's business partner after Gadola left UBS, and the two worked to help American clients hide money in Swiss cantonal banks following the crackdown on UBS, according to people briefed on the matter.

Swiss Bankers Charged with Helping 180 US clients hide assets abroad

Two Julius Baer Group Ltd. (BAER) client advisers were charged with helping U.S. customers of the Zurich- based bank evade taxes, according to an indictment and a person with knowledge of the matter.

Daniela Casadei and Fabio Frazzetto conspired with more than 180 U.S. clients and others at the bank to hide at least $600 million in assets from the Internal Revenue Service, according to the indictment in federal court in New York and the person, who wasn’t authorized to speak about the matter. The indictment refers to the bank as Swiss Bank No. 1. Read more in Bloomberg

If You Failed to Enter the IRS Offshore Disclosure Program (At Risk Taxpayers)

You should immediately seek competent legal and tax advice on how best to proceed  with filing your past tax returns and IRS foreign asset reporting forms now that the September 9, 2011 deadline has passed, if you failed to enter the Program.

Most delinquent t taxpayers  that have not disclose their foreign assets, filed the special IRS Offshore Forms, or have not filed their tax returns for past years probably do not face criminal action, but may incur horrendous penalties which grow worse the longer they wait to come forward.  You alternatives are now fewer than they used to be but there are still steps you can take.

There are no clear preferable courses of action but if you talk with a professional and learn your alternatives, it will help you make a decision on planning your future course of action.  Best to talk with an  experienced  tax attorney in any event to give yourself the privacy and confidentiality of attorney-client privilege. Contact us to make an appointment for a phone or skype consultation to discuss your individual situation and create a strategy to proceed.  Offshore Disclosure Email.

To read more about the IRS General Disclosure Program click here.

Enron Whistleblower Scores $1.1M Reward from IRS

The Internal Revenue Service has paid a $1.1 million reward to an anonymous whistleblower for information that exposed an alleged tax fraud scheme by Enron, Bankers Trust and others before the company collapsed. Many of these schemes involved use of offshore accounts and entities to avoid US taxation.

It is one of the few whistleblower rewards the new IRS Whistleblower Office has made since Congress created the IRS Whistleblower Office and a new tax whistleblower program in 2006. The IRS made the award under the previous whistleblower program (known as the IRS 211 program), which allowed the IRS to award whistleblowers nothing or up to 15 percent of the tax funds the IRS recovered as a result of the whistleblower’s information.

The whistleblower, a Wall Street banker who has chosen to remain anonymous to protect his job and career, received the maximum reward of 15 percent. 

This same program is being used to catch expatriates living and working abroad with unreported foreign income and assets.  Your foreign banker, investments advisor, friend, neighbor or accountant can decide it is more profitable to turn you in to the IRS, than to remain loyal to you. Be careful out there!