More on IRS Commissioners Position on Offshore Disclosure and International Enforcement

The Journal of Accountancy has just interviewed the IRS Commissioner. The following two questions addressed the IRS on the recent Offhsore Voluntary Disclosure Program and US tax enforcement abroad:

JofA: What can you tell us about processing the estimated 14,700 voluntary disclosures last fall under the reduced-penalty program for foreign financial transaction reporting?

Shulman: For several years, we have been very focused on offshore compliance. When he was a senator, President Obama emphasized offshore compliance and then came in and immediately gave us tremendous new resources for it. [Treasury] Secretary [Timothy] Geithner made this an agenda item at the G8 [Group of Eight summit].

The U.S. government is getting very serious about rooting out offshore tax evasion. And while we’re increasing the risk that you’re going to get caught if you’re hiding assets overseas, we made an offer where people could come in and pay their taxes and interest and a stiff penalty but avoid going to jail. The response was overwhelming. We would have never imagined that 14,700 people would come in.

We are still in the early stages, wading through those returns, looking at information, at patterns of institutions or advisers who help people park money overseas and not pay taxes. Where we don’t have enough information from a taxpayer, we’re digging deeper with further questions and potential audits. This will be a treasure trove of information for us to look for and pursue other wrongdoing.

JofA: Can you say anything about what the government’s next move might be in the UBS case or other foreign financial transaction reporting initiatives?

Shulman: Our offshore compliance effort is a multifaceted and multiyear effort. Probably, the next big thing, I hope, will be passage of FATCA, the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act. A blueprint was put forward by President Obama in his 2010 budget, and legislation has been introduced by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, [Former] House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel and others. It will require financial institutions doing business as qualified intermediaries to report more information and do more due diligence, so it will give us a lot more and better information. If people don’t sign up to be a QI, there will be withholding at the source.

The president last year gave us funding to hire 800 new people in our international operations. In the 2011 budget that was just put forward, he added funding for another 800 people, so we’re building up expertise. I’m spending a lot of time with my counterparts in foreign governments, comparing notes and sharing information, so international cooperation is being stepped up. We started a high-wealth unit recently, which will look at the web of finances of high-wealth American taxpayers, and that will include their foreign accounts and resources. We are moving on multiple fronts.

Five Facts about the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion

If you are living and working abroad you may be entitled to the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion.  Here are five important facts from the IRS about the exclusion:

1. The Foreign Earned Income Exclusion United States Citizens and resident aliens who live and work abroad may be able to exclude all or part of their foreign salary or wages from their income when filing their U.S. federal tax return. They may also qualify to exclude compensation for their personal services or certain foreign housing costs.
2. The General Rules To qualify for the foreign earned income exclusion, a U.S. citizen or resident alien must have a tax home in a foreign country and income received for working in a foreign country, otherwise known as foreign earned income. The taxpayer must also meet one of two tests: the bona fide residence test or the physical presence test.
3. The Exclusion Amount The foreign earned income exclusion is adjusted annually for inflation. For 2009, the maximum exclusion is up to $91,400 per qualifying person.
4. Claiming the Exclusion The foreign earned income exclusion and the foreign housing exclusion or deductions are claimed using Form 2555, Foreign Earned Income, which should be attached to the taxpayer’s Form 1040. A shorter Form 2555-EZ, Foreign Earned Income Exclusion, is available to certain taxpayers claiming only the foreign income exclusion.
5. Taking Other Credits or Deductions Once the foreign earned income exclusion is chosen, a foreign tax credit or deduction for taxes cannot be claimed on the excluded income. If a foreign tax credit or tax deduction is taken on any of the excluded income, the foreign earned income exclusion will be considered revoked.

New Offshore and International Tax Provisions in just enacted HIRE ACT

To pay for the hiring incentives in the recently enacted “Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Act” (the 2010 HIRE Act), Congress passed several offsetting revenue raisers, including a comprehensive set of measures to reduce offshore noncompliance by giving IRS new administrative tools to detect, deter and discourage offshore tax abuses. Here is a brief overview of the new offshore anti-abuse provisions.

Increased disclosure of beneficial owners

Reporting on certain foreign bank accounts. The Act imposes a 30% withholding tax on certain income from U.S. financial assets held by a foreign institution unless the foreign financial institution agrees to disclose the identity of any U.S. individual with an account at the institution (or the institution's affiliates) and to annually report on the account balance, gross receipts and gross withdrawals/payments from such account. Foreign financial institutions would also be required to agree to disclose and report on foreign entities that have substantial U.S. owners. Congress expects that foreign financial institutions will comply with these disclosure and reporting requirements in order to avoid paying this withholding tax. These provisions are effective generally for payments made after 2012.

Reporting on owners of foreign corporations, foreign partnerships and foreign trusts. The Act requires foreign entities to provide withholding agents with the name, address and tax identification number of any U.S. individual that is a substantial owner of the foreign entity. Withholding agents are to report this information to the U.S. Treasury Department. The Act exempts publicly-held and certain other foreign corporations from these reporting requirements and provides the Treasury Department with the regulatory authority to exclude other recipients that pose a low risk of tax evasion. Any withholding agent making a withholdable payment to a foreign entity that does not comply with these disclosure and reporting requirements is required to withhold tax at a rate of 30%. These provisions are effective generally for payments made after 2012.

Extending bearer bond tax sanction to bearer bonds designed for foreign markets. Bearer bonds (i.e., bonds that do not have an official record of ownership) allow individuals seeking to evade taxes with the ability to invest anonymously. Recognizing the potential for U.S. individuals to take advantage of bearer bonds to avoid U.S. taxes, Congress took a number of steps in the 1980's to eliminate bearer bonds in the United States. First, they prevented the U.S. government from issuing bearer bonds that would be marketed to U.S. investors. Second, they imposed sanctions on issuers of bearer bonds that could be purchased by U.S. investors. The Act extends many of these sanctions to bearer bonds that are marketed to foreign investors and prevents the U.S. government from issuing any bearer bonds. These provisions apply to debt obligations issued after the date which is two years after the new law's enactment date.

Foreign financial asset reporting

Disclosure of information with respect to foreign financial assets. The new law requires individuals to report offshore accounts and other foreign financial assets with values of $50,000 or more on their tax returns. Individuals who fail to make the required disclosures are subject to a penalty of $10,000 for the tax year; an additional penalty can apply if Treasury notifies an individual by mail of the failure to disclose and the failure to disclose continues. These provisions apply for tax years beginning after the new law's enactment date.

Penalties for underpayments attributable to undisclosed foreign financial assets. For tax years beginning after the new law's enactment date, the Act imposes a penalty equal to 40% of the amount of any understatement that is attributable to an undisclosed foreign financial asset (i.e., any foreign financial asset that a taxpayer is required to disclose and fails to disclose on an information return).

New 6-year limitations period. For returns filed after the new law's enactment date as well as for any other return for which the assessment period has not yet expired as of the new law's enactment date, the Act imposes a new six-year limitations period for omissions of items from a tax return that exceed $5,000 and are attributable to one or more reportable foreign assets. The Act also clarifies that the statute of limitations does not begin to run until the taxpayer files the information return disclosing the taxpayer's reportable foreign assets.

Other disclosure provisions

New reporting rule for PFICs. Effective on the new law's enactment date, activities with respect to passive foreign investment companies (PFICs) are subject to a new reporting rule. Unless otherwise provided by IRS, each U.S. person who is a shareholder of a PFIC must file an annual information return containing such information as IRS may require. A person that meets this new reporting requirement could, however, also have to meet the new reporting rule requiring disclosure of information with respect to foreign financial assets (see above). It is anticipated that IRS will exercise its regulatory authority to avoid duplicative reporting.

Electronic filing. For returns the due date for which (determined without regard to extensions) is after the new law's enactment date, the Act creates an exception to the general annual 250 returns threshold for electronic filing: IRS will be permitted to issue regs requiring filing on magnetic media for any return filed by a financial institution with respect to any taxes withheld by it for which it is personally liable. Thus, IRS will be authorized to require a financial institution to electronically file returns with respect to any taxes withheld by the financial institution even though the financial institution files less than 250 returns during the year.

Provisions related to foreign trusts

Clarifications with respect to foreign trusts. Under present law, a U.S. person is treated as the owner of the property transferred to a foreign trust if the trust has a U.S. beneficiary. Under current Treasury regulations, a foreign trust is treated as having a U.S. beneficiary if any current, future or contingent beneficiary of the trust is a U.S. person. Notwithstanding this requirement, some taxpayers have taken positions that are contrary to this regulation. In order to enhance compliance with this regulation, the Act codifies this regulation into the statute. This provision is effective on the new law's enactment date. The Act also clarifies that a foreign trust will be treated as having a U.S. beneficiary if (1) any person has discretion to determine the beneficiaries of the trust unless the terms of the trust specifically identify the class of beneficiaries and none of those beneficiaries are U.S. persons or (2) any written oral or other agreement could result in a beneficiary of the trust being a U.S. person. As a final clarification, the Act clarifies that the use of any trust property will be treated as a payment from the trust in the amount of the fair market value of such use.

Presumption with respect to transfers to foreign trusts. For transfers of property after the new law's enactment date, the Act provides that if a U.S. person directly or indirectly transfers property to a foreign trust (other than a trust established for deferred compensation or a charitable trust) IRS may treat the trust as having a U.S. beneficiary unless such person can demonstrate to the satisfaction of IRS that under the terms of the trust, (1) no part of the trust may be paid or accumulated during the year for the benefit of a U.S. person, (2) that if the trust were terminated during the year, no part of the trust could be paid to a U.S. person (3) and that such person provides any additional information as IRS may require with respect to such transfer.

Minimum penalty with respect to failure to report on certain foreign trusts. Under pre-Act law, a taxpayer that fails to file an information return with respect to certain transactions involving foreign trusts (e.g., the creation of a foreign trust, the transfer of money or property to a foreign trust, or the death of a U.S. owner of a foreign trust) is subject to a penalty of 35% of the amount required to be disclosed on such return. If IRS uncovers the existence of an undisclosed foreign trust but is unable to determine the amount required to be disclose on such return, it is unable to impose a penalty. The Act strengthens this penalty by imposing a minimum penalty of $10,000 on any such failure to file. This provision applies to notices and returns required to be filed after Dec. 31, 2009. Notwithstanding this minimum penalty, in no event may the penalties imposed on taxpayers for failing to file an information return with respect to a foreign trust exceed the amount required to be disclosed on the return.

Dividend equivalent payments

Dividend equivalents treated as dividends. For payments made on or after the date that is 180 days after the new law's enactment date, the Act treats a dividend equivalent as a dividend from U.S. sources for certain purposes, including the U.S. withholding tax rules applicable to foreign persons. A dividend equivalent is any substitute dividend made pursuant to a securities lending or a sale-repurchase transaction that (directly or indirectly) is contingent upon, or determined by reference to, the payment of a dividend from sources within the U.S. or any payment made under a specified notional principal contract that directly or indirectly is contingent upon, or determined by reference to, the payment of a dividend from sources within the U.S. A dividend equivalent also includes any other payment that IRS determines is substantially similar to a payment described in the preceding sentence. Under this rule, for example, IRS may conclude that payments under certain forward contracts or other financial contracts that reference stock of U.S. corporations are dividend equivalents.

Tax Data Theft Abroad Helps US Tax Evasion Effort

Tax data thefts at HSBC in Switzerland and other offshore banks are leading more whistleblowers to come forward to U.S. tax authorities, a top Department of Justice prosecutor said on March 5, 2010. The whistleblowers -- many former bank employees who worked in information technology -- could help the U.S. government look for the next bank after UBS AG that may be helping clients evade taxes and further deter wealthy individuals from stashing money offshore. "A lot of folks, and they seem to be IT (information technology) people, see what's happening" in Germany and France and are coming to the U.S. with information, Kevin Downing, a top DOJ lawyer said to a group of private and government lawyers at a conference in Washington. "It's a cottage industry right now," Downing said, declining to name specific banks that could be implicated.

UBS agreed last year to pay $780 million and hand over 4,450 client names to settle criminal and civil charges against the bank after it admitted it actively helped U.S. clients evade U.S. tax law. Germany has said it is prepared to pay for data offered by whistleblowers on clients of Swiss banks who may have been evading taxes, even if the information has been obtained illegally. Germany's move came after France, another key market for Swiss private banks, announced it had obtained sensitive data belonging to potential tax evaders, some of which belonged to the Swiss private banking operations of HSBC

Tax enforcement authorities around the world are coordinating activities on a greater basis than ever, lawyers said. "That data got into the hands of the IRS (Internal Revenue Service)," noted George Clarke, an attorney for wealthy clients at Miller Chevalier.

IRS announces limited FBAR reporting relief

Notice 2010-23, 2010-11 IRB

A new notice provides administrative relief to certain persons who may be required to file Form TD F 90-22.1, Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR), for calendar year 2009 and earlier calendar years.

Background. Each U.S. person who has a financial interest in or signature or other authority over any foreign financial accounts, including bank, securities, or other types of financial accounts, in a foreign country, if the aggregate value of these financial accounts exceeds $10,000 at any time during the calendar year, must report that relationship each calendar year by filing TD F 90-22.1, with the Department of the Treasury on or before June 30, of the succeeding year.

On Aug. 31, 2009 (see Federal Taxes Weekly Alert 08/13/2009), IRS published Notice 2009-62, 2009-35 IRB 260, which extended the filing deadline for (i) persons with no financial interest in a foreign financial account but with signature or other authority over that account (“signature authority”); and (ii) persons with a financial interest in, or signature authority over, a foreign financial account in which the assets are held in a commingled fund (“foreign commingled funds”). This extension was provided in order for the Treasury Department to have the time necessary to develop comprehensive FBAR guidance.

Since the issuance of Notice 2009-62, the Treasury Department has published proposed FBAR regs, as well as proposed revisions that clarify instructions for the FBAR (see next article below).

New relief. To provide taxpayers with guidance on who is required to file FBARs due on June 30, 2010, and in particular to provide immediate guidance to taxpayers on how to answer FBAR-related 2009 federal income tax return questions (e.g., Schedule B of Form 1040, the “Other Information” section of Form 1041, Schedule B of Form 1065, and Schedule N of Form 1120), IRS is providing the following administrative relief:

·       Signature authority. Persons with signature authority over, but no financial interest in, a foreign financial account for which a FBAR would otherwise have been due on June 30, 2010, will now have until June 30, 2011, to report those foreign financial accounts. This new deadline applies to FBARs reporting foreign financial accounts over which the person has signature authority, but no financial interest, for the 2010 and prior calendar years.

·       Certain foreign commingled funds. Persons with a financial interest in, or signature authority over, a foreign commingled fund that is a mutual fund are required to file a FBAR unless another filing exception, as provided in the FBAR instructions or other relevant guidance, applies. IRS won't interpret the term “commingled fund” as applying to funds other than mutual funds with respect to FBARs for calendar year 2009 and prior years. Thus, IRS won't apply its enforcement authority adversely to persons with a financial interest in, or signature authority over, any other foreign commingled fund with respect to that account for calendar year 2009 and earlier calendar years. A financial interest in, or signature authority over, a foreign hedge fund or private equity fund is included in this relief.

·       FBAR-related questions on federal tax forms. Provided the taxpayer has no other reportable foreign financial accounts for the year in question, a taxpayer who qualifies for the filing relief provided in Notice 2010-23 should check the “no” box in response to FBAR-related questions found on federal tax forms for 2009 and earlier years that ask about the existence of a financial interest in, or signature authority over, a foreign financial account.

Treasury proposes clarifications to FBAR reporting requirements

FinCEN’s Proposes Clarifications to Foreign Bank Accounts Report (FBAR):  http://www.fincen.gov/news_room/nr/pdf/20100226.pdf

FinCEN's proposed FBAR regs:  http://www.fincen.gov/statutes_regs/frn/pdf/2010-4042.pdf.

The Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) recently issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) proposing to amend the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) implementing regs regarding the Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR).

Background. The FBAR form is used to report a financial interest in, or signature or other authority over, one or more financial accounts in foreign countries. No report is required if the aggregate value of the accounts does not exceed $10,000. When filed, FBARs become part of the BSA database. They are used in combination with Suspicious Activity Reports, Currency Transaction Reports, and other BSA reports to provide law enforcement and regulatory investigators with valuable information to fight fraud, money laundering, terrorist financing, tax evasion and other financial crime.

FinCEN delegated the authority to enforce the FBAR rules and to amend the form to IRS in 2003. However, FinCEN retained the authority to revise the applicable regs.

Overview of proposed changes. The proposed regs would:

·       include provisions to prevent persons from avoiding reporting requirements;

·       define a U.S. person required to file the FBAR and define the types of reportable accounts such as bank, securities, and other financial accounts;

·       exempt certain persons with signature or other authority over, but no financial interest in, foreign financial accounts from filing FBARs;

·       exempt certain low-risk accounts e.g., the accounts of a government entity or instrumentality for which reporting wouldn't be required;

·       exempt participants/beneficiaries in certain types of retirement plans and include a similar exemption for certain trust beneficiaries;

·       clarify what it means for a person to have a financial interest in a foreign account;

·       permit summary filing by persons who have a financial interest in 25 or more foreign financial accounts, or signature or other authority over 25 or more foreign financial accounts; and

·       permits an entity to file a consolidated FBAR on behalf of itself and the subsidiaries of which it owns more than a 50% interest.

Filing requirement. The proposed regs would use a new term U.S. person to indicate persons that would be required to file an FBAR. A U.S. person would be defined as a citizen or resident of the U.S., or an entity, including but not limited to a corporation, partnership, trust or limited liability company, created, organized, or formed under the laws of the U.S., any state, the District of Columbia, the Territories and Insular Possessions of the U.S. or the Indian Tribes.

This definition would apply to an entity regardless of whether an election has been made under Reg. § 301.7701-2 or Reg. § 301.7701-3 to disregard the entity for federal income tax purposes. The determination of whether an individual is a U.S. resident would be made under Code Sec. 7701(b) and its regs except that the definition of the term “United States” provided in the FinCEN regs 31 CFR 103.11(nn) would be used instead of the definition of “United States” in Reg. § 301.7701(b)-1(c)(2)(ii). FinCEN believes that this approach is appropriate because it would provide for uniformity regardless of where in the United States an individual may be. In addition, it believes this approach would take into account that individuals may seek to hide their residency in an effort to obscure the source of their income or location of their assets.

Accounts subject to reporting. The regs would be amended to add definitions of the accounts subject to reporting. Bank account would be defined a savings deposit, demand deposit, checking, or any other account maintained with a person engaged in the business of banking. Securities account would be defined as an account maintained with a person in the business of buying, selling, holding, or trading stock or other securities. The proposed regs would define “other financial account” to mean:

·       An account with a person that is in the business of accepting deposits as a financial agency;

·       An account that is an insurance policy with a cash value or an annuity policy;

·       An account with a person that acts as a broker or dealer for futures or options transactions in any commodity on or subject to the rules of a commodity exchange or association; or

·       An account with a mutual fund or similar pooled fund which issues shares available to the general public that have a regular net asset value determination and regular redemptions

14 ODD BALL TAX DEDUCTIONS - REALLY!

Kiplinger has set forth 14 unusual tax deductions. Who knows maybe one applies to you.  The Tax Courts have allowed items ranging from breast augmentation, swimming pools to moving the family pet. Click this link to find out more.

IRS Launches High-Wealth Task Force and Prepares Audits

On Oct. 26, 2009, IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman announced the creation of a new specialized industry group to target high-wealth individuals. Surprisingly, this Global High Wealth Industry Group will be housed within the Large and Mid-Size Business (LMSB) Division, and the IRS is planning a number of examinations to test the program. According to Shulman, many other countries already employ specialized task forces to pursue their wealthiest taxpayers. The idea is to centralize IRS compliance efforts for high-wealth individuals because the IRS has to look at sophisticated financial, business, and investment arrangements with complicated legal structures and tax consequences. The task force will take a unified approach to its audits by focusing on the entire web of business entities controlled by a wealthy individual, including issues involving offshore structures, income sources and tax residency.

The IRS has ostensibly been targeting high-income taxpayers all along, but Shulman seemed to indicate in his comments that current IRS efforts typically involve identifying single returns for audit based on the usual scoring systems for audit selection. The new program would instead look at everything that may be connected to a single taxpayer, including trusts, private foundations, partnerships, equity-sharing arrangements, royalty and licensing agreements, and privately held and related entities where the taxpayer may have actual or beneficial ownership. The IRS has already hired flowthrough specialists and international examiners for the team and is considering adding economists, appraisal experts and industry specialists.

The IRS has not yet settled on a formal definition of high-wealth individuals, but Shulman specifically noted that other countries have often drawn the line at $30 million. He said the IRS will initially focus on individuals with “tens of millions of dollars” in assets or income.

US and Chile Sign New Income Tax Treaty on 2/4/10

WASHINGTON – In a ceremony at the U.S. Department of the Treasury today, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner and Chilean Finance Minister Andrés Velasco signed a new income tax treaty between the United States and Chile that would provide certainty and stability of tax treatment for U.S. and Chilean cross-border investors.

If approved by the U.S. Senate, this treaty would be the first bilateral income tax treaty between the United States and Chile and would be only the second U.S. tax treaty with a South American country.

Provisions of the new tax treaty with Chile include:

Reductions in source-country withholding taxes on certain cross-border payments of dividends, interest and royalties;
Rules to determine when an enterprise or an individual of one country is subject to tax on business activities in the other country; and

Rules to enhance the mobility of labor by coordinating the tax aspects of the U.S. and Chilean pension systems.

The new tax treaty also contains other important provisions, including mechanisms through which the U.S. and Chilean tax authorities may collaborate to resolve tax disputes and relieve double taxation; provisions to ensure the full exchange between the U.S. and Chilean tax authorities of information for tax purposes; protections against discriminatory tax treatment; and provisions to ensure that only residents of the two countries enjoy the benefits of the treaty.

Tax Rules for International Flight Crews Working and Living Abroad

The IRS has recently released guidance for international flight crews working and living abroad. Click on the following link to our website to review those rules.  http://www.expatattorneycpa.com/id69.html  If you need help with your individual situation, return preparation or planning, do not hesitate to contact Don.

14,700 Total Offshore US Taxpayers Enter Voluntary Disclosure Program

The IRS has announced that 14,700 individual taxpayers filed by 10/15/09 to enter the Voluntary Offshore Disclosure Program. The filings disclosed bank accounts and other assets hidden in over 70 countries. The taxpayers entered the program in an attempt to reduce their penalties for failure to file certain forms with their tax returns to disclose their foreign bank accounts, foreign corporations, foreign trusts, etc.

New Tax Law Increases Penalties for Late Filing Partnership (1065) and Subchapter S Corporation Returns (1120S)

New High Cost Penalty  for Failure to File Partnership or S Corporation Returns on time!

Civil penalties apply for failure to file a partnership and S corporation returns. The penalty is $89 times the number of partners or shareholders for each month (or fraction of a month) that the failure continues, up to a maximum of 12 months for returns required to be filed after Dec. 31, 2008.

New law. Under the just enacted law, the base amount on which a penalty is computed for a failure with respect to filing either a partnership or S corporation return for a tax year beginning after Dec. 31, 2009, is increased to $195 per partner or shareholder. (Code Sec. 6698(b)(1) and Code Sec. 6699(b)(1), as amended by Act Sec. 16)
RIA observation: Over the fiscal period 2011 to 2019, this provision is projected to raise $642 million (partnership penalties) and $587 million (S corporation penalties).

Forbes Magazines 10 Best Places in World to Retire

Forbes has determined the 10 best places in the world to retire outside of the USA.  Factors they consider were not limited to taxes. They considered quality of life, health care, and other factors.  Some of the countries include France, Australia, Austria, Italy, Thailand, Malaysia,  Canada and Panama. Click here to read the article and more about their favorite countries.

Individual Income Tax Rates Around the World

We often are asked where is the best country to live and work in to reduce foreign taxes.  Wikepedia has a chart showing the various income tax rates for individuals and corporations in various countries. Check it out here.   Of course you can always consider Dubai which has no taxes.

Remember, so long as you are a US Citizen or permanent resident you still must file your US form 1040 with the IRS each year and report your worldwide income. Failure to file  timely special forms required for foreign financial accounts, foreign corporations, partnerships and trusts, and other related forms can also result in substantial penalties.

Mr. Schulman is pictured.  He is the Commissioner in charge at the INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE and is primarily responsible for the dramatic  increase in international tax regulation at that agency.

RS Commissioner Doug Shulman's remarks before the AICPA's National Conference on Federal Taxation in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 26, 2009

In prepared remarks before the AICPA's National Conference on Federal Taxation on Oct. 26, IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman touched on a wide array of topics but the comments that will most likely attract the most interest involve what he called “the globa liz ation of tax administration.” Specifically, Shulman spoke of the dividends to be rea liz ed from the recently closed offshore settlement offer, and of the formation of a new Global High Wealth Industry group housed within its Large and Mid-Size Business (LMSB) operating division.

New IRS focus on global high wealth industry. Shulman announced that IRS was in the process of forming a Global High Wealth Industry group housed within its Large and Mid-Size Business (LMSB) operating division. This new unit will centra liz e and focus IRS compliance expertise involving high-wealth individuals and their related entities, which can often have an international component. Initially at least, IRS will be looking at individuals with “tens of millions of dollars of assets or income.”

A new unit was necessary, Shulman said, to properly deal with high wealth individuals' use of sophisticated financial, business, and investment arrangements with complicated legal structures and tax consequences. These may include trusts, real estate investments, royalty and licensing agreements, revenue-based or equity-sharing arrangements, private foundations, privately-held companies, and partnerships and other flow-through entities that require looking at the entire, and often huge, spectrum of transactions and entities. A single high wealth individual may have actual or ben eficial ownership of numerous related entities, sometimes alone and sometimes along with other family members or business associates. Shulman added that there are “other tax considerations regarding high wealth individuals, including international sourcing of income and tax residency, and offshore structures and bank accounts, to name just a few.”

IRS's game plan will be to take a unified look at the entire web of business entities controlled by a high wealth individual, to better understand the entire economic picture of the enterprise controlled by him or her and to assess the tax compliance of that overall enterprise (transfer tax as well as income tax issues). Shulman revealed that IRS has already begun hiring some agents and specialists, such as flow-through specialists and international examiners, and will add over time individuals with specia liz ed skills and expertise, such as economists to identify economic trends, appraisal experts to advise on valuation issues, and technical advisors to provide industry or specia liz ed tax expertise. Shulman said IRS “will also build new risk assessment techniques to identify high-income and high-wealth individuals and their related enterprises that should be reviewed holistically.”

Offshore income settlement offer. Over 7,500 people came forward under IRS's special offshore voluntary compliance program that ended on Oct. 15 (see Federal Taxes Weekly Alert 09/24/2009 and 04/02/2009). Shulman wouldn't speculate on how much tax money would be salvaged from the initiative but stressed that the effort will continue to pay off as taxpayers who are now back in the U.S. tax system will continue to pay taxes on their offshore income in the years to come.

Shulman also revealed that IRS will be mining the voluntary disclosure information from people who have come forward to identify financial institutions, advisors, and others who promoted or otherwise helped U.S. taxpayers hide assets and income offshore and skirt their tax responsibilities at home. In addition, IRS will increase its scrutiny of annual FBARs (Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts) or foreign bank and financial account reports. Current law requires that U.S. taxpayers file an FBAR if their foreign financial accounts total more than $10,000, but current rules make it difficult to catch all of those who do not, Shulman said. Aside from the President's proposal for legislation that would toughen the reporting rules, there is an active project at IRS working to update definitions and instructions under the current FBAR rules. Shulman also revealed that future offshore efforts would be focused on multiple points around the globe, and that IRS is opening international Criminal Investigation offices in several new locations around the world ( Beijing , Panama City and Sydney ).

7,500 Give Offshore Tax Data to I.R.S.

By BLOOMBERG NEWS
Published: October 14, 2009

More than 7,500 American taxpayers have voluntarily disclosed secret offshore accounts to the Internal Revenue Service, which is cracking down on overseas tax evasion, the agency said on Wednesday.

Those who have come forward have provided information about accounts holding from $10,000 to $100 million since the I.R.S. extended a Sept. 23 deadline for participating in the voluntary disclosure program, said Doug Shulman, the I.R.S. commissioner.

People who come forward voluntarily can avoid criminal prosecution and their identities will remain a secret under federal law requiring tax records to be kept confidential.

The partial amnesty ends Thursday and will not be extended a second time, he said.

Americans with undeclared offshore accounts have been under growing pressure since Switzerland agreed Aug. 19 to hand over data to the authorities in the United States on as many as 4,450 UBS accounts. The move was to settle a lawsuit in which the United States had sought information on as many as 52,000 accounts.

“We’re going to be scouring the 7,500 disclosures to identify financial institutions, advisers and others” who helped taxpayers skirt their obligations, Mr. Shulman said in a conference call. “This entire effort is not just about UBS and a single country.”

It is not yet known how much overlap might exist between the names that UBS will eventually provide and the 7,500 people who have come forward to the I.R.S., Mr. Shulman said.

The I.R.S. will open offices in Beijing, Panama City and Sydney in connection with the investigation, which has revealed accounts held in 70 countries and on every continent except Antarctica, he said. The agency also intends to add about 800 employees in the next year and add staff to eight existing overseas offices, including Hong Kong and Barbados.

Congressional report focuses on international tax avoidance and evasion:

  The annual cost to the federal government of offshore tax abuses may reach as high as $100 billion per year, according to a Congressional Research Service (CRS) report released on Sept. 18. (R40623 - Tax Havens: International Tax Avoidance and Evasion) The government loses income tax revenue from individuals and corporations when profits and income are shifted into low-tax countries known as tax havens. Multinational firms are adept at artificially shifting profits from high-tax to low-tax jurisdictions, the report noted. One such method is to shift debt to high-tax jurisdictions. “Since tax on the income of foreign subsidiaries (except for certain passive income) is deferred until repatriated, this income can avoid current U.S. taxes and perhaps do so indefinitely,” CRS said. Individuals can evade taxes on passive income, such as interest, dividends, and capital gains, by not reporting income earned outside the U.S. There are several legislative proposals that address the problem of tax havens and associated evasion issues, including the Stop Tax Haven Abuse Act (S. 506, H.R. 1265; draft proposals by the Senate Finance Committee; two other related measures, S. 386 and S. 569; and an Obama administration proposal. “Most provisions to address profit shifting by multinational firms would involve changing the tax law by repealing or limiting deferral, limiting the ability of foreign tax credit to offset income, addressing check-the-box [a regulation introduced in the late '90s with provisions that were originally intended to simplify questions of whether a firm was a corporation or a partnership and that had unintended consequences for foreign firms], or even formula apportionment,” the report said. The administration's proposals include one to disallow overall deductions and foreign tax credits for deferred income and restrictions on the use of hybrid entities. Individual evasion could be reduced by proposals to increase information reporting and expand enforcement by shifting the burden of proof to the taxpayer and increasing penalties.

IR-2009-84 - IRS ANNOUNCES EXTENSION OF OFFSHORE VOLUNTARY DISCLOSURE PROGRAM DEADLINE TO 10/15/09

IR-2009-84, Sept. 21, 2009

WASHINGTON ─ The Internal Revenue Service today announced a one-time extension of the deadline for special voluntary disclosures by taxpayers with unreported income from hidden offshore accounts. These taxpayers now have until Oct. 15, 2009.

 

Under special provisions issued in March, taxpayers with these hidden accounts originally had until Sept. 23, 2009 to come forward. Those taxpayers who do not voluntarily disclose their hidden accounts by the new deadline face much harsher civil penalties, where applicable, and possible criminal prosecution.

IRS officials decided to extend this deadline after receiving repeated requests from tax practitioners and attorneys around the country following an influx of taxpayer requests. By extending the deadline for a short period of time, the IRS is providing relief for those taxpayers who had intended to come forward prior to the deadline, but faced logistical and administrative challenges in meeting it. The extension will allow tax preparers and attorneys the necessary time to interview and advise their backlog of taxpayers with these hidden accounts, and prepare the necessary paperwork to qualify for the special penalty provisions.

The IRS also announced that there will be no further extensions.

BLOOMBERG, AP AND NY TIMES CLAIM IRS HAS EXTENDED OFFSHORE VOLUNTARY DISCLOSURE PROGRAM UNTIL 10/15/09

Though not yet confirmed in writing by the IRS, Bloomberg, the NY Times and AP have all released stories that the IRS has extended the IRS Voluntary Offshore Disclosure Program deadline for apply to October 15, 2009. The final application date was previously September 23, 2009.  The IRS stated that it has already received 3,000 applications whereas in all of 2008 it only received 80 disclosure filings.

TAX AGENCIES TRACING TAX DODGERS ON LINE

It has been released that many State tax agencies are using social media and other on line social sites to successfully track down individuals who owe taxes and have failed to pay or file their returns.  Though the IRS may not be doing this yet (they are often slow), the success various States have had with this technique will no doubt result in the IRS doing the same in the future.  The Wall Street Journal Article on the techniques used can be found here.